Making a direct contribution of some £2.4 billion towards the UK economy, the UK steel industry underpins our entire manufacturing base and is an essential material for the UK’s automotive, construction, engineering, and packaging sectors. However, as we write, its very existence is under threat. The impact not just here in Wales but for the whole of the UK would be devastating.
If our steel industry is to continue and grow, the Tory government in Westminster needs to drop the warm words and the sticking-plaster politics and do something meaningful to help the industry. Labour backs our steel industry; it is a foundation of communities here in Wales and across the UK and a sector of national strategic importance.
Across the UK, the steel sector employs 34,500 people in well-paid jobs, attracting graduates and younger workers looking for high-skilled work in one of our country’s core industries. Take Tata’s Llanwern steelworks in Newport East, where the average age of the workforce has fallen significantly in recent years. Labour knows steel has a bright future ahead that will keep good jobs in Wales for decades to come
