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THE Lindsey oil refinery is a 500-acre leviathan of soaring towers and contorted pipes that looks as if it has been scooped out of America’s rustbelt and dropped on an otherwise bucolic Lincolnshire landscape. Outside the plant from January 28th was a less prepossessing sight. Hundreds of striking workers huddled in the cold, a patchwork of wool hats and thick gloves intermittently dusted with snow, brandishing placards protesting the presence of foreign workers hired to expand the refinery.