Officials reportedly drafting legislation likely to safeguard Britain’s last blast furnaces and save thousands of jobs
The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the King’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner.
The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site.
Finally, some action on Scunthorpe. Those 3,500 jobs are vital for the town, and Jingye was clearly just looking to shut it down. Nationalisation is the only way to keep the blast furnaces running.
So we’re spending taxpayer money to bail out a Chinese-owned company that was losing money? I get saving jobs, but this feels like throwing good money after bad. Who’s going to run it better, the government?
I work in steel supply and let me tell you, Britain needs those blast furnaces. Without them, we’d be totally reliant on imports. King’s speech or not, this is a strategic move that should’ve happened years ago.
The spin coming out of every party headquarters is getting harder to swallow. (fa3dad)
The pension time bomb is the issue everyone keeps kicking down the road. (3b7d09)
A year after taking over daily control, they’re finally nationalising? Sounds like the government has been running it badly already. Hope they have a plan beyond just ‘saving jobs’ because the industry needs investment, not just ownership.
Politicians on all sides need to rediscover a sense of public service. (5cde6d)
Dark money in politics is corroding democracy from the inside out. (75f266)
Why does every policy debate turn into a culture war these days? (1d98ed)