The Aporia · Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices

Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices

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Rojas, J. p. F. (2026, September 23). Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/money/markets/article-16151767/Economic-vandalism-industrial-scale-Jim-Ratcliffe-slams-Labours-energy-policy-Ineos-mothballs-vital-chemicals-plants-ridiculously-high-UK-gas-prices.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

Jim Ratcliffe, head of Ineos, criticizes Labour's energy policy for causing "economic vandalism" due to soaring gas prices that are 12 times higher than in the US and eight times higher than in China. This has led Ineos to idle three chemical plants in Hull, potentially affecting up to 4,000 jobs directly and across supply chains. Ratcliffe argues that these high costs force reliance on more carbon-intensive production from abroad, increasing environmental impacts while undermining Britain’s manufacturing base.

Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder of Ineos, a major chemical company, announced that his firm would temporarily halt production at three chemical sites in Hull due to extremely high natural gas prices in the UK. Gas costs are 12 times higher than in the US and eight times more expensive than in China, where coal is predominantly used. This decision affects up to 4,000 jobs, with about 240 directly employed by Ineos and another 3,000 indirectly linked through supply chains.

Ratcliffe cited high UK taxes and immigration as factors contributing to the country's economic challenges, blaming them for high gas prices that are making it difficult for Ineos to compete globally. The affected plants produce raw materials used in pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics, detergents, construction materials, and military explosives. Workers at the sites will remain employed during the temporary closure while Ineos seeks alternative solutions, such as securing liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from the US or waiting for a decrease in UK gas prices.

Written for “Ineos Plant Shutdowns Gas Prices” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Jim Ratcliffe halts production at Hull chemical plants over ‘ridiculous’ gas prices Same event

The Guardian

Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos to mothball three major chemical sites in Hull Same event

BBC News

Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100

Ineos pauses production at its three Hull plants, blaming UK gas prices Same event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 65/100

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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 45 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss Jim Ratcliffe's criticism of the UK, they describe different incidents: Article A focuses on his general loss of confidence in the UK due to high taxes and immigration, while Article B details his specific criticism of Labour's energy policy leading to Ineos mothballing chemical plants.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

12%

2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

68/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Economy/Business

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8421 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

John-paul Ford Rojas

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🔮 said that as many as 4,000 jobs at the sites in Hull and across the wider supply chain could be affected if they close down permanently.

2026-09-23 · assertive framing · Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

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Topics

Britain British China Hull Ineos

Subjects

Ineos PERSON · 7× Ratcliffe PERSON · 5× China GPE · 4× Hull ORG · 4× Labour ORG · 3× Britain GPE · 2× British NORP · 2× Jim Ratcliffe PERSON · 2× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

‘Not only is the ridiculously high gas price in the UK destroying our manufacturing base and the jobs of hard-working people on Humberside, it is also massively increasing the environmental burden. Jim Ratcliffe said high gas prices were destroying Britain's manufacturing base ‘The UK government’s energy policy is leading to economic vandalism on an industrial scale, exporting jobs to China and the United States and driving up global CO2 emissions at a stroke.’ Gas prices have been soaring, along with oil, after Donald Trump’s Iran war resulted in energy supplies from the Middle East being choked off. But the government’s critics say its opposition to new North Sea drilling and continued windfall taxes on UK oil and gas operators have made the situation worse.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23

🔮 said that as many as 4,000 jobs at the sites in Hull and across the wider supply chain could be affected if they close down permanently.

2026-09-23 · Daily Mail

Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

- See more This is Money on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Jim Ratcliffe has accused Labour of ‘economic vandalism on an industrial scale’ after ‘ridiculously high’ gas prices prompted the tycoon to mothball three vital chemical plants. Ratcliffe's company Ineos asserted

prices → see → Ineos

said that as many as 4,000 jobs at the sites in Hull and across the wider supply chain could be affected if they close down permanently. uncertain

they → say → chain

The factories produce raw materials – exported across Europe – for a range of goods including pharmaceuticals, clothes, cosmetics, detergents, building materials and military explosives. asserted

factories → produce → pharmaceuticals

Ratcliffe, the billionaire tycoon behind the Ineos industrial empire, said: ‘I’m sure people will find it hard to believe that we are being forced to mothball some of the most efficient plants in Europe but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the US and 8 times that of China, we just cannot compete.' Replacement products from the US have twice the carbon footprint – and those from China eight times – of those made at the more efficient Hull plants, Ratcliffe added. asserted

Ratcliffe → say → plants

situation → destroy → operators

By hobbling the domestic supply of energy, the policies make Britain increasingly reliant on imports from overseas at a time of global volatility. asserted

Britain → hobble → volatility

Ineos directly employs 245 people at the Hull plants. asserted

Ineos → employ → plants

They are expected to be kept on for the time being as the plant is idled. asserted

plant → expect → time

Operations could be restarted if Ineos buys cheaper liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from the US, or wait for UK prices to go down. uncertain

prices → restart → US

Gas is critical to the factories as it is used both as an energy source and an ingredient in the chemicals production process. asserted

it → use → process

Two of the plants have already ceased production with the third due to come offline in coming days, Ineos said. asserted

Ineos → cease → days

The move comes after Ineos last October cut 60 jobs at the site blaming ‘dirt-cheap carbon-heavy’ imports from China flooding the market. asserted

imports → come → market

Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'This is a devastating indictment of the failed energy policies that have left British industry on its knees. asserted

that → say → knees

'If we want high-skilled manufacturing jobs to stay in Hull and across the UK, we must stop driving our industries overseas and start making British energy cheap, secure and competitive once again.’ Ratcliffe’s comments are just his latest broadside against Labour, days after he said he had lost confidence in the UK and said it was ‘on the slide’. asserted

it → want → slide

The businessman – best known as a major backer of Manchester United football club – warned the country’s decline was due to the party’s failure to tackle welfare and immigration and also took aim at its high tax burden. And Ratcliffe told the BBC that failing to invest further in North Sea oil and gas amounted to ‘insanity’. asserted

failing → know → insanity

Earlier this month, Ineos chairman Brian Gilvary warned that ‘years of policy instability’ over the industry had caused investment to dry up. asserted

investment → warn → industry

Separately this week, a North Sea business task force called for the windfall tax on oil and gas firms to be scrapped as it revealed 25,000 jobs in the industry have been lost since Labour came to power. asserted

Labour → call → power