INEOS responds to UK Government's industrial strategy
- STATEMENT: On the UK Government’s new industrial strategy and the future of British manufacturing
“INEOS welcomes the Government’s acknowledgement of the impact that high energy prices are having on UK manufacturing, bringing about closures.
The proposals to cut electricity prices, in the long-awaited industrial strategy revealed on Monday, are an important first step and a positive signal. The initiative closely aligns with concerns raised by INEOS over the past two years, emphasizing the necessity of competitive energy and feedstock pricing, especially for gas, to sustain and grow the UK’s chemical sector.
But let’s be clear: British industry and especially the chemical sector relies far more heavily on gas than electricity. And UK gas prices remain among the highest in the world, undermining our competitiveness and investment prospects.
We applaud the Government for addressing electricity costs but progress is slow, the measures are partial, and they fall short of what is required. Our call for urgent reform in energy pricing, grid connections, carbon levies, and policy stability must not be ignored.
As Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned, Britain is sleepwalking into deindustrialization. We’re watching strategic Foundation Industries that underpin the Government’s Industrial Strategy, slowly bleed out. Not because they can’t compete, but because UK policy makes them uncompetitive.
Two-thirds of British manufacturing has disappeared in the last 25 years alone, while during that same period, the UK population has risen by more than 10 million. That should alarm every policymaker in the country.
If the UK is serious about reversing the closure of British manufacturing, highlighted by INEOS and many within our sector, then far-reaching, immediate reforms on industrial gas pricing and carbon tax reduction are essential. Without them, investment, jobs, and UK capability will continue to drift overseas.”
—Tom Crotty, Director of Corporate Affairs, INEOS.
Comments