UNITE welcomed Grangemouth returning to the top of the political agenda today after Labour called for the site to be the centre of “energy industries of the future.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie made the remark just hours after the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had met with SNP First Minister John Swinney, putting the future of Scotland’s sole oil refinery at the top of the agenda for discussion.

Mr Swinney called the Sunday summit “an opportunity for collaborative working,” while Sir Keir stated “on the economy, energy and very pressingly on Grangemouth, there is room for us to have a constructive way of delivering for very many people across Scotland.”

The century-old site is responsible for 8 per cent of Scotland’s GDP and 11 per cet of its manufacturing base, but its future was thrown into chaos in November when PetroIneos announced plans to close Scotland’s only oil refinery in 2025.

The joint venture between PetroChina and anti-trade unionist tax-exile Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos instead plan to use the site solely as an import terminal, putting hundreds of skilled jobs at risk on the site and thousands in the wider economy.

Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme today, Dame Jackie described the meeting as “positive sign.”

Turning to Grangemouth, she added: “That’s an area where we can work together with the SNP to ensure that we are protecting jobs.

“Of course for us, we’ve said we want to make Grangemouth home to the industries of the future.

“We’ve talked about establishing a decarbonisation hub, linked to carbon capture and storage projects.”

Both the SNP Scottish and Tory UK governments had repeatedly come under fire from unions for an apparent lack of a transition plan for workers — both at the site and in the oil and gas industry in general — but Unite’s Scottish Secretary ​Derek Thomson welcomed the “Prime Minister’s resolve to protect jobs at Grangemouth.”

He said: “Unite firmly believes the refinery’s lifespan must be extended, and that investment must be unlocked to sustain its operations until any Just Transition can take place in a managed and orderly way.

“Grangemouth is the nation’s foremost industrial complex and it is pivotal to our manufacturing base and energy security.