MPs recalled early for emergency Saturday session to discuss future of British Steel
by Ella Bennett · LBCBy Ella Bennett
The House of Commons is to be recalled tomorrow for an emergency Saturday session to discuss the uncertain future of British Steel.
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The decision to bring MPs back to Parliament early comes amid fears British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe could close as soon as next month, which would mean Britain's last operating blast furnaces would be extinguished.
Sir Keir Starmer has said all options remain on the table for the future of the plant amid suggestions the UK could nationalise the company.
British Steel has launched a consultation on the proposed closure of blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant and the government has been talking to the company’s Chinese owner Jingye.
There have been calls for temporary nationalisation amid fears of thousands of job losses.
A No10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister has been clear, his government will always act in the national interest. All actions we take are in the name of British industry, British jobs and for British workers.
"Tomorrow Parliament will be recalled to debate the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill provides the government with the power to direct steel companies in England, which we will use to protect the Scunthorpe site.
"It enables the UK government to preserve capability and ensure public safety. It also ensures all options remain viable for the future of the plant and the livelihoods it supports.
“We have been negotiating with British Steel’s owners in good faith ever since coming to office. We have always been clear there is a bright future for steel in the UK. All options remain on the table.”
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Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley, was asked by LBC's Tom Swarbrick whether nationalisation was the right move.
He said: "I don't think nationalisation per se is the panacea of anything. It still ultimately means that we have a blast furnace that is out of date, falling down. Some say that it's in quite dangerous position as well.
"It's very, very old. Until you see these assets, you can't really appreciate it. So ownership of it per se is not necessarily the issue."
Houchen added, while the decision is "not ideal" it is the "right answer". He said: "We cannot afford for us to be the only developed nation, certainly in the G7, to not have our own steelmaking capability. It's an issue of commerciality, it's an issue of community and it's an issue of national security."
He went on to blame successive government for failing the industry. He said: "I mean, fundamentally, what we've had in this country under governments of both colours for 40 or 50 years now is a failure of steel policy.
"And what actually governments do from time to time is they lurch from one crisis to another, rather than thinking, what do we want the UK steel industry to look like in 10 or 15 years time? And we're now really at the fag end of that. It's failures of both governments going up a long, long time."