Ineos chemicals plant is saved but what is the strategy for the rest of heavy industry? | Nils Pratley

"Is the commitment clear, though? What, precisely, does the prime minister mean by places like Grangemouth? Which heavy industries and plants is the government pledging to shield from the forces of sky-high energy prices and carbon taxes? Is there a strategy here? Or does intervention happen only at the 11th hour when an important plant is threatened with imminent closure and ministers panic about knock-on consequences?"

"The government is willing to suffer any embarrassment that comes with handing a financial support package to a company controlled by a foreign-based billionaire, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. On the other hand, the oil refinery on the site was allowed to close this year and be switched to an import terminal. Meanwhile, the ethylene plant up the road at Mossmorran a place quite like Grangemouth, one might think is due to be shut by its owner, ExxonMobil, in February after talks with ministers came to nothing."

The government provided £120m of public money to save the Ineos ethylene plant at Grangemouth. The intervention protected ethylene production for five years, citing its critical role for medical-grade plastics, advanced manufacturing, automotive and aerospace supply chains. The rescue highlights selective support for strategically important facilities while similar local assets faced closure, such as the site oil refinery and ExxonMobil's Mossmorran ethylene plant slated to shut. The government also intervened to take control of British Steel at Scunthorpe. A clear, consistent guiding principle for when the state steps in remains difficult to identify, and long-term industrial strategy and plans remain unresolved.

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