Ratcliffe mothballs three Hull chemical plants over 'ridiculously high' gas prices, blaming Labour's 'economic vandalism'

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has closed two Ineos chemical plants in Hull and will bring a third to a halt within days, blaming Labour's energy policy for causing 'economic vandalism on an industrial scale'. As many as 4,000 jobs — 1,000 held directly by Ineos and 3,000 in the supply chain — face permanent loss if the sites do not reopen. UK gas prices stand 12 times higher than in the US and eight times those in China, rendering the plants uncompetitive despite their ranking among Europe's most efficient. Ineos is pushing for tariff barriers against Chinese imports and is in talks about sourcing liquefied natural gas directly from the US, though that route would take up to a year to arrange.

The Hull plants manufacture raw materials for pharmaceuticals, aspirin, cosmetics, detergents, military explosives and building materials that are exported across Europe.

Ratcliffe warned that shifting British output to US or Chinese producers would DOUBLE or OCTUPLE carbon emissions, making Labour's net-zero policy self-defeating.

Ineos joins a lengthening roster of UK industrial casualties — among them British Steel and a Yorkshire bioethanol plant — that have collapsed under surging energy costs since last year.