The Bill to grant the Government powers to nationalise steel companies such as British Steel, subject to a public interest being met, has had its second reading in Parliament.
The legislation builds on the Government’s Steel Strategy, launched in March, which sets out a long‑term plan to revitalise the UK steel sector, restore domestic production to sustainable levels and secure steel’s role in critical sectors including national infrastructure, defence, and clean energy.
In a transcript from Hansard, The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle MP, yesterday told the House of Commons: “For generations, the steel industry has stood at the very heart of our national story. From the furnaces of Sheffield to the docks of Port Talbot, from Scunthorpe to Redcar, steel forged not only the railways, ships, bridges and factories that powered the industrial revolution, it built communities, livelihoods and a sense of pride in Britain.
“Steel made in Britain built our Navy, helped to defend our freedoms in times of war and laid the foundations for modern infrastructure right around the world. When people speak of the United Kingdom becoming a great industrial nation, they speak of the skill, resilience and determination of the steelworkers who helped to shape that destiny by the fruits of their labour.
“The decline of the steel industry destroyed jobs, diminished skills and damaged communities, but it never, ever diluted the pride, resilience and determination of those working people.
“Today, this Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill repays, in part, the debt that we owe Britain’s steel communities. Steel is integral to the key growth-driving sectors of our industrial strategy: to advanced manufacturing and the car industry; to clean energy, in our wind turbines and our grid infrastructure; and to security and defence, in fighter jets, battleships and submarines.
“It is essential to this Government’s growth mission to create a strong, resilient economy delivering for working people. That is why Britain’s steel sector accounts for thousands of jobs, right across the country.”
Following the debate, the bill will continue to the next stage of the Parliamentary process.