This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

Grangemouth is the community I grew up in, and I am proud to represent it today. I will always stand with the town and with the workers that make it.

My family home was right in the shadow of the refinery. With my childhood bedroom only 200 yards away, and overlooking the site, it wasn’t always the quietest neighbour. 

The flashing lights and flaring would light up my childhood bedroom. The number of big tankers on the road meant we always had to be careful on the streets, and the smells and noise would often keep me awake long into the night.

It's hard to overstate the importance of the refinery to the town. It underpins so much of the local economy. Everyone knows someone who works there and so many of the local shops and businesses depend on it.

My family was no different. My parents had a lot of friends who worked there, and lots of the people I went to school with had family members who worked there. There are fewer people who work there now, but a lot of good people have given their prime years to that site.

A lot of those workers were out in force for the March for Jobs earlier this month. It was a big day for the community, with trade unions and the Kinneil Brass Band lining the streets, and a united call to protect the workers whose jobs are under threat.

A worker-led transition

When any factory or plant shuts its doors there will be a human impact, and hundreds of human stories. Grangemouth is no different. The people who work there have children to feed, bills to pay and lives to live.

If hundreds of jobs disappear overnight then the whole town will suffer, which is why there must be an immediate focus on supporting the workers and safeguarding jobs in the area.

There’s a huge uncertainty in the air. Nobody knows what will happen next, but a lot of people are fearing the impact it could have on them and their families.

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One thing we do know for sure is that the pain and anxiety that the site owners are inflicting on their workers is the exact opposite of the just and fair transition that every Green wants to see.

When INEOS announced they were cutting and running, a lot of workers found out by reading about it in the media. In fact, it was me who broke it to a couple of trade union reps when I was calling them to express my solidarity. Nobody should be kept in the dark like that while the rest of the country is speculating about their future.

In the 1980s we saw the terrible toll and huge social cost when industries were suddenly ripped out of towns and villages and workers were thrown on the scrapheap. The recklessness and cruelty of the Thatcher government led to so much pain and so many broken communities and shattered lives. Large parts of Scotland still bear the scars of it even today.

A vision for the next 100 years

The refinery has been on the site for nearly 100 years, and we need to ensure that what is there for the next 100 years does good for the community and the workers, and plays its part in building a greener Scotland.

Scotland is blessed with an abundance of resources that any country would envy, and Grangemouth has some of the most skilled and talented workers anywhere in our country who can be at the heart of powering our way to a greener future.

But it won’t happen by itself and warm words and good intentions from politicians will not cut it. It will need a lot of work from a lot of people to make it happen, I’m determined to make sure that it does. Both our governments have a crucial role to play, and so do the workers. Grangemouth can and must be a blueprint of that collaborative and managed transition in action.

That’s why, right from the start I have joined the trade unions in calling for a proper multi-agency process that involves workers from the outset. That means everyone – Petroineos, the Scottish and UK governments, unions, workers, and the local community – all being around the table.

We all need to work together to ensure that jobs and opportunities are being encouraged and created in communities like mine, and that there are properly funded opportunities for workers to retrain and learn new skills.

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There is no shortage of work that we need to do: building an integrated and green transport network for the 21st century, building warmer, greener homes across our country, delivering the groundbreaking renewable technology that will take us there. Grangemouth can be central to this kind of national rejuvenation. 

I still live a short distance from my childhood home. I see the refinery every day and those workers will always have my support and my solidarity. 

I know that wherever I live in future, Grangemouth will always be a big part of me and that it will always be the community that made me. It can’t be left behind. We all need to pull together if we are to ensure a secure, sustainable and prosperous future for the site and for the town.

Gillian Mackay is an MSP for the Central Scotland region.