British Steel - what next? Government must not leave steel to the whims of foreign owners

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves watch a stainless steel making process during a visit to Outokumpu Stainless Ltd in Sheffield, South Yorkshire where, prior to coming to Government, they discussed the energy crisis and its impact on high energy using industries. (PA)

placeholder image — Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves watch a stainless steel making process during a visit to Outokumpu Stainless Ltd in Sheffield, South Yorkshire where, prior to coming to Government, they discussed the energy crisis and its impact on high energy using industries. (PA)

Steel is synonymous with the Yorkshire region, Sheffield in particular forging for itself a world- class reputation for design and manufacture of the highest quality product available anywhere in the world.

There are skills, knowledge and expertise held amongst metallurgists, here, that quite simply do not exist anywhere else on the planet: world-class steel is only made possible by peerless talent.

And it isn’t just a matter of heritage; it isn’t just about the jobs nor the pride we feel in the work we do and are capable of doing. Being able to manufacture steel of the highest quality to any design or specification is critical to national security.

Because the moment we allow our furnaces to die down and our forges to sit idle is the moment the need for knowledge evaporates and capability wanes. That is why, whatever the cost, the Government must ensure Britain’s steel industry is not left unanchored out at sea, being buffeted around by the pressures of the open market and the whims of foreign owners.

The steel industry in this country is not to be played with, fast-and-loose, it must be given security and certainty in equal measure, particularly at a time of such geo-political instability.

Of course, intervening such that British Steel becomes renationalised comes at a cost, but the price of losing control of such a critical piece of national capability will be as harmful in terms of pragmatisms as it is in reputation.

The workers and their families deserve comfort in certainty, absolutely, but just as important is the safety and security of the country at a time when tensions around the world are running high.