I couldn't agree more with Paul Brown's letter on manufacturing decline (The YP, February 24). We have seen a steady decline in our manufacturing base for decades to the extent that it now only represents about 10 per cent of GDP.

The lack of support and investment from Governments of both main parties has aided this decline. We are now seeing serious threats to our steel manufacturing capability.

This should be seen as a strategic industry necessary to support our defence and manufacturing industries.

The entrance to the steelworks plant in Scunthorpe as British Steel is planning to close the coke ovens at one of its plants, with the loss of up to 260 jobs. PIC: PA

We now only produce less than 1 per cent of the output of steel by China. We hardly have any home based defence manufacturing industry with the ongoing saga of the Ajax fighting vehicle having been an absolute disaster.

This vehicle could have been made in the UK if the government supported our home manufacturing facilities such as Vickers.

Similarly with our railway industry where we cannot build trains anymore and now there is a danger that if the government does not create the right environment to produce car batteries we will lose what remaining car manufacturing we still have. Once these large industries have gone they will not be created again.

Russia's aggression is a massive wake up call. We have been taken in by them as it tied western democracies to their energy supplies. This was obviously a clear strategy, developed over many years, that they would allow them to attack neighbouring states with impunity because of its energy stranglehold.

We could see the same scenario in China, that if it creates a stranglehold on steel supplies to the rest of the world it could act with impunity from the west by invading Taiwan and other areas in the South China Sea.

Western democracies need to support our strategic industries that allow us to be not dependent on autocratic states.

Whilst Paul states rightly this has nothing to do with Brexit. Not being part of Europe does present a steeper hill for our manufacturing industries to climb.

Steel should be treated as a strategic industry necessary for our defence - Yorkshire Post Letters