Meeting of the Parliament 18 February 2026 [Draft]
I live locally and see the Mossmorran flare lighting up the sky regularly. I hear from local people how important the site is and how it provides—this is quite rare—well-paid jobs. I have visited the site on many occasions; I know how the system works and how important it is for the local economy.
I pay tribute to Mark Ruskell for his work over a number of years on the issue of just transition. To his credit, he has engaged with the issue on a serious basis. However, it is difficult—I hope that this is a fair reflection—for the Greens, as they are not perceived as a party that supports investment in the economy or in business. Their rhetoric is often quite damaging, particularly around tax and regulation. Mark Ruskell’s work has done some good in that respect, but we need to hear more from the Green Party about how it intends to bring long‑term economic growth to the country; otherwise, the fury that it rightly expresses on this occasion will be seen as quite hollow.
Too often, debates such as this one end up being a battle about us—between political parties. Employees at such sites get incredibly frustrated when something that should be about them turns into a debate about who is better than whom in the chamber. It should never be about that.
The discussion needs to be focused on what the employees need now and on how we can exploit the opportunity of the site. It is a good site, with good connections. It is well connected to the A92 and has a grid connection. It is quite rare industrial land, as it is in an area that is well populated and has access to good workers and good local education facilities, as well as reasonable access to the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is a good location. We should be shouting from the rooftops about the potential of the site and saying to future investors, “Come here and seek the opportunity that has been presented by the departure of this company.”
In periods of transition, the real danger is about what happens to the people. The people at the site are talented and, if they go away, they will probably find good jobs. Unfortunately, they might not find good jobs locally. How do we keep them in the area so that we can get the transition running smoothly? Alternatively, if they depart for a short period, how do we get them back quickly into the local economy through those rare well-paid jobs? That is the big challenge.
I agree with Daniel Johnson in one respect. When we react in a knee-jerk fashion after the event, that is far too late. We are brilliant at PACE, but we should never be brilliant at PACE providing employment opportunities for people; we should be looking much more at the long-term economic plan. In fact, I would go further than Daniel Johnson—this is not just about Mossmorran; we should look at the Scottish or even the UK economy in that way.