This week, the Government was forced to nationalise British Steel to prevent a total collapse of the industry. While this emergency move protects thousands of jobs and safeguards a critical industry, it’s a costly sticking plaster, and one that should never have been needed in the first place.
British Steel had a commercially sound, forward-looking plan to modernise its operations. The goal was clear: build a new electric arc furnace in Teesside, where the land was cleared, the power grid was ready, and the route to cleaner, greener steel was cheaper and faster. Scunthorpe would follow later, once the groundwork was laid.
But after last year’s General Election, Labour stepped in, egged on by union pressure, and insisted that investment go to Scunthorpe first. The site, riddled with decades of neglect, is nowhere near ready. It will take billions and years of delays just to bring it up to scratch.
The result? British Steel was asked to take the hit, absorb the costs, and carry on regardless. Unsurprisingly, it couldn’t. Labour’s political interference drove a viable business model into the ground. Now, the taxpayer is left to pick up the pieces, with an eye-watering bill to nationalise, repair and rebuild.
Let’s be absolutely clear: nationalisation is better than closure. But it’s a rescue that comes at enormous cost, thanks to Labour’s decision to put political point-scoring ahead of practical investment.
Our steelworkers deserve better than this. So do the communities that depend on them. And so do the taxpayers now forced to underwrite this avoidable mess.
If we want to see a strong, sustainable future for British industry, we need decision-making rooted in reality, not ideology.
