The Guardian view on steel on the brink: Britain’s last blast furnaces face extinction

‘This is about whether Britain wants to retain the ability to make the steel that underpins its national infrastructure.’ Photograph: Monty Rakusen/Getty Images/Image Source

As John Lennon sang, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. His lyric must be ringing in ministers’ ears this week. The UK’s last two blast furnaces – the final embers of a 160-year industrial legacy – may go cold within weeks. British Steel, which is owned by China’s Jingye, has reportedly cancelled raw material orders while seeking more government cash. The Scunthorpe site, which supplies 95% of Britain’s rail tracks and supports thousands of jobs, is now running on fumes.

The UK government has a strategy. A consultation. A council. And £2.5bn – eventually. But this crisis demands more than paralysis by analysis. With a global trade war brewing, this is no time to lose industrial sovereignty. The government ought to take the advice of the business select committee chair, Liam Byrne, and nationalise British Steel – because it offers a clear way forward. Keep the furnaces hot. Buy time. Launch a green steel transition – with public oversight, investment in new technologies and workforce planning.