In Scunhorpe, trade unionists fight for the survival of the country's last blast furnaces. Now the government intervenes to secure jobs and steel production – but the future remains uncertain.
The fire must not go out: For days, the trade unionists in the steel mill in Scunhorpe have been fighting for the two blast furnaces not being switched off at this location in northern England. It is the last two blast furnaces in the United Kingdom, in which high -quality steel can be obtained from ore.
The Chinese owner Jingye Group has apparently reduced replenishment in the past few days. The fear was that the fire could soon go out. Founding the blast furnaces is technically complicated and, above all, extremely expensive. The Chinese owner apparently recorded high losses, 800,000 euros per day, reported British media.
Win time with new law
In order to prevent the worst and time to win, the British government brought the MPs of the lower and upper house out of the Easter break and adopted a law that is intended to enable the protection of steel production. Accordingly, the state can have the necessary raw materials delivered and order that the stoves continue to run.
Both chambers of the parliament made the law pass on Saturday. Economic Minister Jonathan Reynolds defended the step that steel production and, above all, jobs could be saved. It is about 2,700 employees.
Also nationalization possible
The government has thus gained time to negotiate two options. The owner speaks under which circumstances the continued operation is possible. The government had already offered 600 million euros for modernization, apparently the Chinese company wants twice.
In the room, however, there is also the idea that the government could nationalize the steelworks. Premier Keir Strander emphasized why the work is so important for Great Britain: “The future of British Steel hangs on the silk thread. It is about jobs, investments, growth, ultimately about security.”
Steel also required for upgrade
What Strander means that the government has decided to upgrade. Steel is required for this. In addition, it is to be built, there is money for infrastructure and housing construction, and steel is also essential for this. A trade war worldwide indicates that deals with tariffs and import restrictions – in this context it becomes more important for the government to be independent of the world market.
The Labor government is already discussing that this could be the beginning of a whole wave of nationalizations. The privatized water supplier Thames Water is also out of the question, millions are missing. And there are also problems in privatized rail traffic.
Government is under pressure
The government government is also under politically massive pressure. The right party Reform UK was able to record success in the last parliamentary elections – especially where Labor was once strong. The UK politician Richard Tice reform called for the nationalization in the lower house: “Let's get started, let's make British steel big again,” he said in the lower house.
However, it is not that easy: because British Steel is actually nothing more worth, so it should be to be acquired for one euro. But the owner could not get involved. Because if the blast furnaces go out, China could export even more steel to Great Britain. In addition, the investment requirement in Scunhorpe is huge. The Labor government would have to provide billions in order to make the work again profitably. And the money is simply missing.
