British steel should be nationalised and the Government award them the full contract for HS2
Labour has urged the government to nationalise British Steel in order to protect jobs and the steel industry.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the collapse of British Steel would have a “devastating impact” on Scunthorpe.
British Steel is on the verge of administration as it continues to lobby for government backing, sources say.
The UK’s second-biggest steel maker had been trying to secure £75m in financial support to help it to address “Brexit-related issues”.
If the firm does not get the cash it would put 5,000 jobs at risk and endanger 20,000 in the supply chain.
“If an agreement cannot be struck with British Steel, the government must act to take a public stake in the company to secure the long term future of the steelworks and protect peoples’ livelihoods and communities,” said Mr Corbyn.
The government said it would leave “no stone unturned” in its support for the steel industry.
If we fail to Nationalise now it will cost in the long run.
The one thing you can certain of is that once the furnaces go out the price of steel will go up. Any future infrastructure work in the UK will cost much more if we have lost the ability to produce our own steel.
If we have to have HS2 it should be built with British steel.
We are not fans of HS2 and see it as little more than a Tory vanity project that will give them an excuse to dip their sticky hands into the public purse but if it must be built let it be with British nationalised steel.
HS2 requiring 1.3 million tonnes of steel between 2020 and 2025.
The later stages of HS2 will need a further 730,000 tonnes of steel, to be used beyond 2025.
The steel estimates for HS2 do include much more than reinforcement products, and include steel for stations, bridges and the trains themselves, but the 220km of twin tracks, of which 29km is tunnels, will represent a significant chunk of the overall totals.
In the words of Paul Nowak, the deputy general secretary of the TUC, “HS2 is a real opportunity for British steel to shine”.
The contract to supply the reinforcing steel for Hinkley Point C using 230,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel, in phase 1 was awarded to Neath-based Express Reinforcements, using steel produced in Cardiff. this was seen as encouraging for the UK’s steel industry to see that a domestic firm beat overseas competitors to secure this £100 million deal. But now we need to secure British jobs and take the competition out of the equation, nationalise British steel and give the contract for HS2 to guarantee it’s future.
Trident submarines built with FRENCH steel was a ultimate betrayal of British workers
In 2016 the Tories snubbed British steel for the new fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines.
A French firm won the contract to supply metal for the hulls. It could have protected at least 1,000 UK jobs.
The deal to supply steel for hulls of the four Successor boats – part of the £41billion renewal of the Trident programme – is worth tens of millions.
Had the work been kept in the UK , it could have protected 1,000 jobs and helped save part of the Scunthorpe plant where three plate mills were mothballed.
“We have a strong tradition of manufacturing in this country and as a flagship project (HS2) we should be provided with a guarantee that the construction will benefit not just passengers but industries such as steel too.”
We simply cannot allow our steel industry to collapse this is an essential integral part of our country both economically and our security.
“If the Government get behind our domestic steel sector it will pay dividends all round and help create a sustainable future.”
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