Britain's bioethanol industry facing collapse as ministers refuse bailout
One of the country's biggest plants has announced plans to close.
It came following the decision to withhold financial aid after Labour gave the go-ahead for cheap US imports to flood the market.
Hull-based Vivergo, which is owned by London-listed Associated British Foods (ABF), said the choice not to support a 'key national asset' was 'deeply regrettable'. About 170 jobs are at risk, as well as 4,000 roles in the supply chain.
Unions said 'the Government is choosing to effectively ship jobs abroad'. Bioethanol, which is made from wheat, corn or sugar beet, is added to products including E10 petrol.
The future of the sector was thrown into doubt by Keir Starmer's trade pact with Donald Trump, which opened the door to tariff-free imports of 1.4billion litres of ethanol from across the Pond. The deal, which removed a 19 per cent levy, sparked fears that domestic suppliers would be unable to compete, and British wheat farmers would be left without a vital source of demand.
Bioethanol makers Vivergo Fuels and Ensus had warned that without government support they would be forced to close after the agreement made their businesses 'commercially unviable'. But the German-owned Ensus plant in North Yorkshire will continue to hold talks with ministers.
That is because it also makes nearly a third of the UK's commercial carbon dioxide, a by-product of bioethanol used in fizzy drinks and the medical and nuclear industries.
ABF warned that clean energy jobs would move overseas. It said: 'In making this decision, the Government has thrown away billions in potential growth in the Humber, a sovereign capability in clean fuels that had the chance to lead the world.'
The Government said it had taken 'the difficult decision not to offer direct funding as it would not provide value for the taxpayer or solve the long-term problems the industry faces.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
20 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘The Left blacklisted me for criticising smug London Review of Books'
The founder of a literary magazine claims he has been blacklisted by the Left for criticising the London Review of Books (LRB) as 'smug'. Booklaunch, the UK's most widely distributed literary magazine, had previously given out tens of thousands of free copies of its publication with The Spectator and The New Statesman. But now Dr Stephen Games, its founder and editor, claims his independent literary magazine has been 'no-platformed' and 'cancelled' by The New Statesman under pressure from the LRB. Dr Games alleged the LRB 'poured poison in the ear of The New Statesman', causing it to sever its ties with Booklaunch. 'It's dirty and shabby and inexplicable that magazines that ought to be committed to free expression and plurality of expression should feel that Booklaunch is so threatening to them that they have to shut it out of existence,' he claimed. The New Statesman and the LRB have declined to comment on the row, and it remains unclear exactly why the relationship has soured. However, Dr Games believes it can be traced back to last summer's Issue 20 of Booklaunch, which carried an editorial that read: 'We used to worship at the LRB's altar. Not any longer.' The editorial went on: 'Something has happened at the LRB that makes one warier of its contributors and less confident about their judgments. The magazine's once unrivalled openness has been replaced by small-mindedness in which the rigour of proper argumentation is now accompanied by labelling, dog whistles and taunts. 'Fun for those who like that sort of thing; dishonourable if you hold the LRB to a higher account. So limited has the LRB become in what it will examine openly that it seems to be suffering from locked-in syndrome.' LRB coverage of Middle East criticised The editorial goes on to criticise the LRB for its coverage of the Middle East as 'uniformly one-sided', and compares it to Nazi 'propaganda', adding: 'Such a lack of balanced analysis does a disservice to the complex and deeply contested nature of the conflict... 'Der Stürmer [the Nazi propaganda tabloid] was similarly effective in its day: we often underrate propaganda as always crude and obvious; on the contrary, it can be intelligent, sophisticated, difficult for the ordinary reader to find fault with and attractive to read. Those who commission these essays are complicit... 'As it stands, its writing on the Middle East is reminiscent of the Inquisition – admit you're a heretic so we can burn you or deny it until we've tortured you to death.' The piece also accuses the LRB for endorsing 'the culture of the smug', with its 'side operation selling commercial fripperies, from branded tote bags to high-priced picnic blankets and umbrellas', and for having an array of writers hailing from 'upper class stock', citing Mary Wellesley, the daughter of the Marquess of Douro and Princess Antonia of Prussia, as an example. It also alleges the editorial team are 'ensconced in their Bloomsburian towers, away from the practical realities they critique and the divisions they promote'. Dr Games said the LRB also used to distribute Booklaunch, but claimed it terminated that arrangement following a misapprehension about Booklaunch allegedly telling an advertiser that it was part of the same stable as the LRB. Despite this, Booklaunch continued to have a positive relationship with its other distributors, The New Statesman and The Spectator, for around six years. 'Suddenly, and completely out of the blue, these two important media vehicles of the political Left [The New Statesman and the LRB] are acting in concert to squeeze us out,' Dr Games claimed. 'They must have a motive, but I can only guess what it might be. It looks to me like spiteful political cancelling.' 'Fine upstanding organs of the Left' Dr Games claimed it was 'very odd' that 'two major players should collude – which is what it looks like – to shut another player out of the market', describing Booklaunch as a 'minnow' by comparison. He said: 'It feels like the sort of thing that a cartel would do to prevent competition. 'It's an action which goes against what you would expect to be each magazine's commitment to free speech and free expression... they're both fine upstanding organs of the Left, and fine upstanding organs of the Left have recently been getting into the habit of, you know, cancelling people they don't like and no-platforming them. 'And this would seem to be an example of that.' The Telegraph has seen confirmation from The New Statesman that it planned to circulate Booklaunch in May, but that this never happened. The New World has since replaced The New Statesman as a distributor of Booklaunch.
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Farage adviser said UK would be better off if it had not fought Nazi Germany
An adviser used by Nigel Farage and others in Reform UK to boost their social media popularity has suggested that Britain would be better off had it stayed neutral in the second world war instead of fighting Nazi Germany. Jack Anderton, who ran Farage's hugely successful TikTok account before helping Luke Campbell become the Reform mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, also said the UK should not support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. In a post on his personal blog about Britain's international standing, Anderton said that in a future world of 'meritocracy', the UK could 'regain' former colonies such as Australia, Canada and South Africa. He added that the UK should copy the policy of mass incarceration carried out by El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, widely condemned as an abuse of human rights. Anderton has never been employed by Reform but the 23-year-old established Farage on TikTok, where he now has 1.3m followers, before working closely on Campbell's election campaign. He remains a central part of Campbell's circle, and the mayor is known to have made efforts to get him on to his roster of staff, which have been thwarted because he cannot have political appointees. Anderton's personal blog, titled Britain Needs Change, includes an entry from last year about what he called 'a self-interested British foreign policy', arguing that the only conflict in the last century that was in the UK's interest was the Falklands war. 'Trillions of pounds of British taxes have been spent in foreign lands in the pursuit of 'democracy', 'human rights' and 'doing what is right',' the post said. 'More than a million British lives have been lost since WW1 in wars and battles that have never once been fought by British men, on this island.' Fighting in both the world wars ensured the UK was no longer a great power, he wrote: 'We impoverished ourselves for decades, we didn't finish paying the loans off to America until 2006. Our economy stagnated, we lost an empire, and we are pushed around by America. And Germany, a country we beat, has been richer than us since the 1970s. 'Alternative history is interesting; if Britain had not fought in WW1 and WW2, it would not have had to rely on America for economic support, and it would have had the independence to act accordingly. Britain could have developed India, Cyprus, Fiji, Malta, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, the Bahamas, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand. In the coming meritocracy, perhaps Britain could regain some of these nations.' The same post also argues against providing support for Ukraine after Russia's invasion: 'We are sending billions of pounds (that we cannot afford) to prop up a country that we have no allegiance to. Russia is not our enemy, they have not attacked Britain.' Anderton calls for a shake-up of the Foreign Office so that all decisions are made purely on the basis of whether or not they benefit Britain: 'Instead, what we have are people who should be working for the UN or a charity rather than working in the British Foreign Office.' In another post from 2024, on crime, Anderton enthusiastically endorses the policies of Nayib Bukele, who has dramatically cut gang violence and wider crime through mass detentions that have put 2% of El Salvador's population in prison. 'Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,' he wrote. 'I'd even argue the measures aren't that extraordinary and should be in place in times of normalcy. 'El Salvador is perhaps a lesson for those in Britain who wish to take back control of their country. Power works, and it is all that matters. State power when used effectively is basically omnipotent. The meritocracy will be established, criminals and corrupt officials will be jailed, immigration will drop to zero, houses will be built, and our citizens will once again feel proud of the country they call home.' Anderton was contacted for comment. Campbell's office referred the matter to Reform UK, who said Anderton was not employed by either the party or the mayor.
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Why Aston Villa are missing Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio - and how Newcastle exploited their dire need to sign new players by shackling Youri Tielemans, writes JAMES SHARPE
Just before the hour mark, Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara collected the ball inside his own half, picked his head up, and spotted the run of Morgan Rogers ahead of him. Kamara tried to dink a little cross-field pass towards his Villa team-mate only to miscue it, caught it fat as a golfer would say, and like so many of his team's passes on the opening day of the new Premier League season, it ended up at the feet of a green shirt. He flung his head back and turned away in disgust. Seconds later, he brought down Anthony Gordon and found himself in Craig Pawson's notebook. Kamara's moment of frustration encapsulated Villa's goalless draw with Newcastle and made one thing abundantly clear: they need to sign some players. The problem is: they can't. Everyone knows Villa are locked in PSR's handcuffs. They have had to weaken their squad to keep in line with regulations. They are about to sell Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle for £40million but can't spend a penny of it. It was little surprise to hear Villa spend much of the second half voicing in musical form their opinion that the Premier League is 'corrupt as f***'. Villa last season could call on the precision of Marco Asensio and the speed and directness of Marcus Rashford, but not anymore. Villa are keen to get Asensio back on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and, boy, do they need him. 'We are ambitious, trying to respect the rules and trying to get the best players possible, trying to play the way we are: to be contenders for Europe and to compete like we did today,' said Emery afterwards on the current state of Villa's transfer window. 'We are not going to rest in case we can have some options in the transfer window.' In his programme notes, Emery had written that 'financial control rules came to football to avoid bankruptcies and payment defaults, with a good purpose. But as professionals we should review it, for this good tool will become a limitation for the clubs that are doing good management, who will never be allowed to dream and get higher goals.' Before kick-off, a huge display of Emery was hoisted into the air with a sign that read: 'No limits to our dreams'. There were plenty of limits to their team and to their play. The current state of Villa's squad meant that Emery started Youri Tielemans in the No10 role behind Ollie Watkins with Kamara and Amadou Onana behind them. It left Tielemans completely unable to dictate the game for Villa like he so often did last season. Whenever Villa had the ball, Newcastle sat deep in a 4-5-1 and the hosts just could not find a way through. They had no one to pull the strings. Kamara and Onana are both combative ball winners, and good at it, but neither possess the ability to pick locks like Tielemans – Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes was the only Premier League midfielder to complete more passes between the lines last season. It left Villa producing one of their sloppiest passing performances in front of their own crowd in a long time, even if the result means it is now a full year since they last tasted league defeat at home. They mustered just three shots and none in the first half. The last time they faced Newcastle at home, back in April, they had 23 and won 4-1. That day, Tielemans picked out Watkins' run with a splitting pass for Villa to take the lead inside a minute. There was none of that here. Tielemans was so often too high up the field, surrounded by green shirts, happy to let his team-mates behind him pause and ponder. Villa Park's 73 per cent pass competition was their lowest in a home fixture since December 2023. Villa have only had less than the 41 per cent possession they had here in a home game four times since the start of 2023. The only time Tielemans moved into a deeper role was when Ezri Konsa became an early contender for Most Obvious Red Card of the Season for pulling back Anthony Gordon when clean through on goal. While Villa found it impossible to play through Newcastle, without the likes of Rasmey and Rashford they offered little width to go around them either. Rogers drifted centrally to support Watkins, as he usually does, on the few occasions Villa managed to get into decent areas while it was John McGinn tasked with staying wide down the right but had little impact on the game with little support from Matty Cash at full-back. It made you wonder what Donyell Malen had to do to earn a start, having scored twice and set up three goals during pre-season. He did eventually come on in the 84th minute and had attempted one Villa's three shots by the 86th. Watkins, who'd bagged five goals in pre-season, endured a difficult afternoon too. His first shot of the game came after the hour and only on a handful of times was able to burst into space, on one occasion pulling a ball back into the six-yard area and pulling his shorts up in frustration, Fabien Barthez-style, when there was no one there to get on the end of it. Much of Villa's goalscoring hopes rest on Watkins' shoulders, a player who has not always found it easy to hold Emery's trust with Rashford and Jhon Duran often rivalling him for minutes while at the club despite only Erling Haaland and Mo Salah scoring more Premier League goals than Watkins since promotion in 2020. There were still some positives for Emery to take from the game, their year-long unbeaten milestone aside. Villa battled well and kept their shape after going down to 10 men. For all the possession Newcastle had, they were still unable to fashion many clear-cut chances. And whenever they had one in the first half, debutant goalkeeper Marco Bizot was on hand to keep them out. The 34-year-old, one of few summer signings, beat away an early strike from Anthony Elanga before tipping Gordon's effort around the post. His antics late on to run the clock down, including pretending to roll the ball to every defenders in front of him before booting it upfield before his eight-second time-wasting counter had ticked down to zero, suggested the spirit of Emi Martinez still lives on between the Villa sticks.
