Starmer unveils £200m investment in Grangemouth at Scottish Labour conference

Keir Starmer has unveiled a £200m investment in Grangemouth to support its future.

Speaking to delegates at the final day of the Scottish Labour Party conference in Glasgow, the Prime Minister announced that the government would allocate money from the National Wealth Fund to “grasp the opportunities” at the site.

He said: “An investment in Scotland’s industrial future – that’s the difference a Labour Government can make because we all know what happens if we don’t win this race, it’s written into the fabric of every community in this nation – the skilled jobs that disappeared, the communities that lost their place in the world.”

Starmer also announced that those who are made redundant will receive 18 months of full pay, with local businesses that employ redundant workers receiving national insurance relief.

It comes after protests from the Unite union calling for action to prevent job losses at the refinery and a demand from the Scottish TUC general secretary Roz Foyer

Starmer’s speech to conference also warned of “dangerous right-wing politics” amid a rise in support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in opinion polls.

The Prime Minister said that parties like Reform would seek to shape the political debate if Labour did not pave the way for improved living standards.

He said: “If we don’t show a path to the future, others will fill that void.

“In fact, they already are. A dangerous right-wing politics, even here in Scotland, that will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people, even as their proposals do the exact opposite.

“They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain – and it will never be the answer for Scotland.”

Starmer’s speech came as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar kickstarted the party’s campaign for next year’s Holyrood elections with a raft of policy proposals in a pledge to deliver “big, bold meaningful change” for Scotland.

The Prime Minister also used his speech to take aim at the SNP, who have been in government since 2007, accusing them of putting “gesture politics first” after voting against legislation that granted greater funding for the Scottish government.

He said: “While we will work with whoever the Scottish people elect, just imagine what we could achieve together. Imagine the possibilities for change – if we end the 19-year SNP rule in Scotland as emphatically as we ended 14 years of Tory rule in Britain.

“A Labour government in Westminster, a Labour government in Holyrood, with Anas Sarwar – a Labour First Minister.”

On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Starmer recommitted his support for Ukraine and said that Britain would take a “leading responsibility” in European security.

“There can be no discussion of Ukraine without Ukraine and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term secure future,” he said.

Read more on Scottish Labour conference:

• Interview: Ian Murray on the latest polls, pat leave and Labour ‘not aping Reform’
• Scottish Labour chiefs lose conference vote for biology-based single-sex spaces
• Joani Reid MP: ‘Here’s why Scottish Labour shouldn’t despair at the polls’
• Delegates at Scottish Labour conference set to debate motions on winter fuel, Cass review, and others
• Scottish Labour conference: Emergency motion on Palestine to be debated
• Scottish Labour conference speech: Sarwar vows ‘big, bold meaningful change’

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