After months of rumour, the giant Indian conglomerate Tata has announced a plan for 2,800 job cuts at the UK’s largest remaining steelworks in Port Talbot, the closure of its blast furnaces and, with it, a large chunk of the UK’s capacity to produce its own crude steel. The country risks making the same economic mistakes as it did in the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher’s government allowed much of our critical industrial capacity to be privatised or offshored – but now we know far more about the environmental risks, too. With the future of mass steel production in Britain and our commitment to net zero at stake, it really is time to make some tough choices.
Do we continue, out of step with much of the global north, surrendering meekly to the ransom notes delivered by the market? Do we give a group such as Tata an effective veto on the survival of an industry that underpins 26.6% of our GDP? Or do we choose another path – one of industrial renewal, and with it, a new framework for our security and self-sufficiency?
