Anas Sarwar has been accused of being “completely silent” on Grangemouth and the WASPI campaign after new documents revealed he has not raised the issues with Sir Keir Starmer since the general election.
Documents uncovered through freedom of information requests by the SNP showed no record of written correspondence or meetings between the Scottish Labour leader and the Prime Minister.
Downing Street said it held “no information of relevance” after the SNP asked for meeting dates or correspondence relating to Mr Sarwar and Sir Keir Starmer where the Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) campaign was concerned.
The campaign relates to more than 330,000 Scots women born in the 1950s who were not adequately wared about changes to their state pension.
The Prime Minister said in December that the Treasury could not afford the compensation despite pre-government pledges.
The Scotland Office also confirmed no correspondence existed between Mr Sarwar and Scottish Secretary Ian Murray since the July 4 general election.
The FOI response stated: “So far as we are able to determined, the Scotland Office does not hold the information requested. This is because the Secretary of State for Scotland has not met with or received any written correspondence from Anas Sarwar MSP regarding compensation for WASPI Women."
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And the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also confirmed it held no information relating to Grangemouth between Mr Sarwar, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and energy minister Michael Shanks.
Hundreds of redundancies are expected at Grangemouth – Scotland’s last oil refinery – when it closes later this year, with only 65 jobs out of around 500 being retained for its transition to an import terminal.
A £1.5 million initiative joint project funded by the UK and Scottish Governments, known as Project Willow, is examining the feasibility of Grangemouth becoming a low carbon energy hub.
Scottish Labour has rubbished the claims no correspondence has taken place, adding that Sir Keir announced £200 million for the site post-refinery.
The Scottish Government also pledged an additional £25 million for the site.
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SNP MSP George Adam said: “Before the election, Anas Sarwar made huge promises to the people of Scotland; that their priorities would be at the heart of a Labour government and that he would be a voice for Scotland.
“But these new revelations make clear that Anas Sarwar has been completely silent and has refused to lift a finger on two major issues facing Scots: the future of Grangemouth and WASPI Women’s campaign for justice.
“Anas Sarwar has become notorious for his broken promises – including on energy prices, tax hikes and his betrayal of pensioners.
“And these new revelations show he has broken promises to Grangemouth workers and WASPI Women too.
“The SNP has taken concrete action to improve the future of Grangemouth with a £25 million Grangemouth Just Transition Fund and will not let up in our efforts to ensure WASPI Women get the compensation they deserve.
“However, Anas Sarwar has failed to do the same. How would he explain this? Does he simply have no interest in advocating for Scotland or is he so powerless that his own colleagues won’t take his calls?”
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: “This story is totally embarrassing mince from the SNP.
“While relationships in their party might be so bad that they can’t imagine talking to one another without a formal meeting, that isn’t how normal people behave.
“A Labour government is delivering £200 million for Grangemouth and will leave no stone unturned in seeking a sustainable industrial future for Grangemouth and its workers.”
It comes as Scottish Secretary Mr Murray said he was “confident” jobs will return to Grangemouth following the oil refinery’s closure this summer.
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