Scunthorpe Steel on 12 April, when ministers gained the legal powers to take control. Photo Baxter Media/shutterstock.com.
The scramble to acquire the raw materials, notably iron ore and coking coal, needed to avert the closure of the Scunthorpe steel plant, highlights the folly of successive governments in prioritising imports over domestic production in our vital industries.
On 15 April, the government announced that a shipload of raw materials had been bought from the USA to be unloaded at nearby Immingham Docks. Other deliveries have also been arranged to get a steady supply of coke and iron ore pellets to keep the furnaces burning.
Yet a homegrown source of coking coal, from a proposed new mine in Cumbria, has been denied the opportunity to supply this raw material, in the name of decarbonising our energy. And the incoming Labour government sided with opponents of the mine.
It would undoubtedly have been far cheaper, and far cleaner, to source coking coal here than transferring huge loads around the world in diesel powered vessels. Moreover, it could be a reliable, continuous supplier, helping to secure jobs at Scunthorpe, and bringing welcome employment to the north west of Britain.
Instead of keeping the miners of Australia and other countries in work, the government should be compelled to reconsider its blocking of the Cumbria mine as a first step in its new-found commitment to British steelmaking.