Labour MP loses it and tears into Ed Miliband over ‘catastrophic’ energy decision

Labour MP Brian Leishman strongly criticised Ed Miliband in Parliament after the Grangemouth oil refinery officially shut down. Leishman, who represents the area in Scotland where the refinery was located, was very angry and said the decision was a disaster for Scottish industry. He accused Miliband of failing to protect jobs and called the closure “industrial vandalism.” He was upset that Scotland now has no oil refineries left and will have to bring in all its fuel from other places.

In Parliament, Leishman passionately told other MPs that this was the end of over 100 years of oil refining at Grangemouth. He said Scotland had once again been badly affected by decisions made about its industries. He criticized both the Conservative Party, who were in power before, and the Scottish National Party (SNP), who run the Scottish Government, saying neither did anything to stop this outcome.

Leishman then turned his frustration towards the Labour leadership. He reminded them that during the General Election campaign, Labour promised to save the refinery jobs. He asked directly what had changed and why nothing was done to protect Scotland’s energy future.

Ed Miliband seemed surprised by Leishman’s emotional speech but responded by saying the Labour Government had already put money into helping the workers at Grangemouth. He said the government committed £200 million and is working closely with the Scottish Government to invest in the future of the area. Miliband added that he hopes to continue working with all MPs to improve the situation.

The refinery’s operator, Petroineos, sent an email to workers saying that all refining had officially stopped and job losses had begun. The message said the part of the plant that processes crude oil had been shut down, ending the refinery’s long history. It explained that the market in Scotland could no longer support such a facility.

Meanwhile, the SNP Government has called for the UK Government to take over and run the refinery, but the UK Government has refused to do so.