MP urges action over future of Ineos jobs

An MP has called on the government to take urgent action to secure the future of jobs at a chemical park in Hull.

It comes after industrial giant Ineos announced in September it was pausing production at its three plants at Saltend Chemicals Park, blaming high UK gas prices.

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said he had met with Industry Minister Blair McDougall to discuss the future of the plants and called for a "resolution before Christmas" because "skilled jobs depend on it".

The Department for Business and Trade (DfBT) said the government had "already taken bold action to support our chemicals industry".

David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said the firm "welcomed" Stuart's support for the park and he was "right to recognise the importance of Ineos to the wider chemicals park" and the "thousands of jobs that depend on its future".

In September, Ineos said pausing production would affect up to 1,000 of its staff, of whom 245 work directly at the site.

Workers would be kept on while Ineos tries to buy liquefied natural gas from the US at lower prices - which could take up to a year - or waits for gas prices to go down, the BBC understands.

The firm said gas prices in the UK were 12 times higher than the US, and eight times more expensive than the coal-based processes used by Chinese competitors.

Stuart, who has been campaigning to protect jobs at Saltend since October 2025, said he met with McDougall on 4 November to "press for urgent action to get Ineos' three mothballed chemical plants producing again".

He said: "I was encouraged by my meeting with Blair McDougall. He understands the importance of Saltend, and I hope he will be the man to cut through the bureaucracy and get this sorted.

"But time matters. We need a resolution before Christmas, not months of delay while decisions work their way through Whitehall."

A spokesperson for the DfBT said the government would be "launching a fund backing key sites and businesses later this year".

"We recognise this commercial decision will mean this is a concerning time for workers in Saltend and their families," the spokesperson added.

"The company have already said that their decision does not necessarily mean the plants will close, and the Reindustrialisation Minister will continue to meet with INEOS and the industry to see how government can support them through their current challenges."

Brooks said "the fundamental problem remains unchanged", citing British chemical manufacturers being "crippled by gas costs that are simply uncompetitive nationally".

He added: "Ineos wants to manufacture in Britain, but we cannot operate at a permanent competitive disadvantage.

"We need urgent government action to reduce the cost of gas and carbon and create the conditions for British industry to compete."

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