Why is steel so important for Britian’s economy?

Why is it so important that we are in control of our own steel manufacture?

 Steel is critical to many of our manufacturing needs.  It is used in our construction industry, in the manufacture of motor vehicles, schools, hospitals, all essential to our daily lives.  In addition, it is used to support our military which is critical to our national security.  In fact, without steel most things in the UK would not get made or built.

 The world today is very competitive, and most major nations now make steel. The biggest producer of Steel is China. China has now taken over the largest high grade iron ore mine in the world in Guinea. High grade iron ore is critical for steel production. China can now dominate the steel industry and to some degree the risk is that it could control other countries access to it. We have learnt recently that the Chinese owners of the steel works in Scunthorpe have deliberately sabotaged the facility by not supplying enough iron ore to keep the blast furnaces functioning.  What might they do next to dominate the market?

 In the UK the Steel industry is in a sorry state because of successive governments moving manufacturing overseas but also because UK steel is no longer profitable. This you would think is strange given that there is still such a demand for Steel.

In Britain the companies that own the last two Steel making facilities in the UK are in Scunthorpe and Port Talbot.  Tata which owns Port Talbot now plans to remove the Victorian blast furnaces from that facility and replace them with a system that generates an electric arch which require huge amounts of electricity to run.   Is this the right answer?  Some welcome this move whilst others claim it will only recycle the steel rather than producing new virgin steel.

Steel is vital to the UK economy and has communities that are worth preserving that depend on the Steel industry remaining in the UK.  If the UK is to be secure economically and nationally, Steelmaking in the UK must be saved and if necessary, we must be prepared to do whatever it takes to make our Steel manufacturing more competitive.

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If you’re an investor invest in British Steel and other British manufacturing businesses, if you’re a customer buy British made items. Let’s support our industries by buying British, especially Steel

The Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds thinks that Nationalisation maybe the only option but has said that the State can’t afford to run the Steel works forever. The cost of energy and electricity is high and if the Steel industry in Britain is to survive then the cost of powering the Steel furnace and other factories in the United Kingdom needs to be reduced. Consider the steel union’s suggestion that we investigate powering our furnaces with Hydrogen rather than electricity.

Call to the Government!  We need to take a long-term strategic approach to Steel manufacture and do what is necessary to ensure our steel production remains profitable, independent and continues to thrive in the UK.