Labour take Coryton hope to national conference (From Thurrock Gazette)
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Labour take Coryton hope to national conference
3:20pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News
THURROCK’S Labour Party is hoping a resolution it has passed will prevent a repeat of the Coryton Oil Refinery fiasco.
The group is calling for the national Labour Party to consider changing the rules on bankruptcy and administration, when the company concerned is running something of national importance, like Coryton.
The oil refinery, off The Manorway in Stanford-le-Hope, is being shut and converted into an import terminal after administrators PriceWaterhouse- Coopers struck a deal with Shell, Royal Vopak and Greenergy.
The group is hoping the resolution will be adopted at the national party conference.
Polly Billington, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Thurrock, said: “Businesses sometimes fail and it would be wrong for any Government to pledge to protect them all.
“But Coryton was an important part of the energy infrastructure of the country, as well as sustaining more than 800 jobs.
“It makes sense that if a company running something like that goes bankrupt, administrators have to consider the national implications of it closing. I hope we get the chance to make our case at Labour’s national conference in three weeks’ time.”
