Residents may have seen the news from the steelworks this morning on their transition to electric arc furnace production and the potential job losses. Like many across our area, I am very concerned about these proposals. Below you will find the comment I gave to the press.
If any residents have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
I am the granddaughter of a steelworker, the steelworks is at the heart of our community and employs almost 3500 people. This announcement is causing a lot of anxiety across the entire community – not just among those directly employed who are now concerned about their jobs but also throughout the supply chain and local economy.
Not only are these the people that I represent in Parliament but they’re the people I went to school with, my neighbours, my family’s friends – this is personal to me and I know this is felt across Scunthorpe too. I stand absolutely with steelworkers and our community and will continue to challenge the government on what I believe is right, not just for our area but for the UK’s ability to make its own steel.
I do not support this move. British Steel is privately owned and free to make business decisions but if they want hundreds of millions of pounds of government support then the government should use that investment to secure steel jobs and our sovereign capability to produce steel using blast furnaces.
I have made this clear to Ministers and to the PM.
With reports that Tata Steel may be decommissioning their blast furnaces in Port Talbot, the UK now stands on the extreme verge of not being able to produce virgin steel for the first time in living memory. Many countries are exploring how to decarbonise their steel sectors without shutting down their blast furnaces, recognising that producing virgin steel is a vital strategic capability. The UK should do the same.
Any support that the government decides to provide to British Steel must be come with conditions. There must be reassurances on jobs, and a pledge to retain virgin steelmaking capabilities while we explore ways to run blast furnaces in a greener way.
I welcome work on a masterplan between British Steel and North Lincolnshire Council to utilise unused parts of the British Steel site to attract green jobs. It does have the potential to provide new jobs in our area and is an example of a good, proactive council looking-out for our local community.
Not one of us can go a single day without needing steel. It underpins every aspect of modern life, and it’s only going to get more important this century. For the sake of the UK as well as Scunthorpe, we need to have a strong steel industry.