Nationalise British Steel now call

A chorus of voices is now backing Unite in calling for the nationalisation of British Steel if crunch talks fail.

British Steel owner Jingye, a Chinese company, is in talks with the UK government to provide a lifeline of raw materials to the Scunthorpe plant, which it desperately needs to ensure its blast furnaces keep running. Talks on Thursday did not reach a deal, and were set to continue today (Friday, April 11).

The latest steel crisis arose after Jingye said last month that its Scunthorpe plant’s two blast furnaces were no longer financially viable, which has risked the future of the site and 2,700 jobs.

Talks since then have involved the government providing funding for raw materials that would keep the blast furnaces going, until discussions could be had on the long-term future of the plant. Raw materials to maintain the operation of the blast furnaces are essential, because once the furnaces run out of ‘fuel’ and are forced to shut, they’re prohibitively expensive to restart.

The Guardian highlighted a source familiar with the matter that a shipment of coking coal had arrived at a port in Immingham, Lincolnshire, but it had not yet been paid for. Jingye has already rejected a proposal of £500m in funding

Business and trade department select committee chair Liam Byrne is the latest person to back Unite’s call for the nationalisation of British Steel.

“As the global trade war escalates, now is not the time to lose critical sovereign capability like primary steelmaking,” Byrne said. “The owners clearly don’t have a long-term interest in modernising the business for the future, so ministers might as well bite the bullet and warn Jingye they are now in last chance saloon.

“The government has been very generous in its offer but the clock is ticking down as the coke on hand runs out and the consultation on redundancy runs down,” he added. “If the owners don’t respond, ministers should have a plan to nationalise ready to go, backed by the new firepower of the national wealth fund.”

Commenting on the latest developments in British Steel, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “While Unite is in continuing dialogue with British Steel and the UK government, we are very clear that if a deal cannot be struck to secure the long-term future of the steelmaker under private ownership, that the government must bring it under public control in the national interest.

“British Steel’s success is key to any future UK industrial strategy,” she added. “It is a strategically important business which supplies other UK steelmakers with product and provides 95 per cent of the UK’s rail tracks.

“Sustaining over 4,000 jobs across the UK and a further 20,000 in the supply chain, it would be an economic catastrophe if the worst were to happen and government was to allow British Steel to collapse. It is a national asset supporting UK Plc that cannot simply be left to the market.

“In discussions with Unite, the government has clearly moved and has made an offer to invest heavily in British Steel,” Graham continued. “This offer comes with long-term job guarantees, anything less would be a complete misuse of taxpayers’ money. British steel now needs to make the necessary commitments.

“Going forward ministers must also tackle the underlying problems facing a steel industry that has been hit by high energy costs which leaves them paying far more for electricity than their competitors in France and Germany.”

“The government must also use its buying power to put UK steel at the heart of major UK infrastructure projects as part of a joined up industrial strategy that supports UK manufacturing.”

By Hajera Blagg