Building a positive future for the steel industry in Britain will require strategic, supportive action from the government, writes Anna Turley MP
Last month the government finally announced some detail on its much vaunted intentions for an industrial strategy. Those of us familiar with the struggles of the steel industry and who have been calling for a more active state response for some time, this announcement is very welcome. A steel sector deal could save the industry from crisis and allow it to thrive.
While government support through its industrial strategy will be initially targeted at only five key sectors – life sciences, low-carbon vehicles, industrial digitalisation, creative industries and nuclear – ministers have indicated that others will be included if they can organise and make a clear case for action. The steel industry is ready to present its case, and indeed ministers have already met with Community Union and others to start those conversations.
Steel is a key foundation industry which supports many other sectors and is crucial to securing a renaissance for British manufacturing. It must be at the heart of any industrial strategy. But several years of indifference and complacency under previous, laissez-faire-minded ministers have left the industry at risk of perpetual crisis and decline. On Teesside we paid the price with the hard closure of Redcar steelworks, but the industry continues to play an important role in our region with British Steel’s long products business and the Material Processing Institute’s cutting-edge research and development into new steel technology. To ensure our steel has a positive future, trading and regulatory reform is desperately needed which is why these sector deals are so crucial.
Last month members of parliament on the steel all-party parliamentary group launched our ‘Steel 2020’ report – the result of a select committee style inquiry we held into the needs of the steel industry. We collected testimony from a range of industry experts, from business leaders and research and development specialists to international trade body representatives and trade unions. Our report sets out recommendations in seven key areas for the government to incorporate into its industrial strategy:
- A radical reshaping of the energy market to reduce uncompetitive energy costs and improve efficiency.
- A free and fair international trade environment post-Brexit, with trade defence instruments against Chinese dumping and single market access.
- A positive procurement policy to ensure domestic steel is used as far as possible in public projects.
- A national review of business rates, removing the perverse incentives that punish investment in capital by steel producers.
- Supporting supply and value chains to re-shore key areas of manufacturing in the United Kingdom.
- A strategic role from government including support on research and development, innovation through a materials catapult, investment through a national bank for industry, and support for training and skills retention.
- A more collaborative relationship between industry and the trade unions, including worker representation on boards, and financial support to ensure assets and skills are not lost if plants close.
These proposals could form the basis of any steel sector deal. They offer a blueprint for how the government could reshape policy to turn the fortunes of the steel industry around. Importantly, this is not about a return to protectionism for a ‘failing industry’ but levelling the playing field for one which has huge potential.
While the industry is on a much smaller scale than it once was, a myriad of steel businesses across the UK are supplying sectors from automotive and aerospace to defence, rail and construction. They are at the cutting edge of technology, working alongside research institutes likes MPI in my constituency to develop the next generation of steel products.
With steel at the heart of the government’s industry strategy and action to take the industry out of crisis, the best days of the steel industry could well be ahead of us.
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Anna Turley is member of parliament for Redcar. She tweets at @annaturley
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