The GMB trade union has launched a campaign to save what is left of the British ceramics industry, hit hard by rising energy costs. But it is a vital sector supplying other industries.

A proposed security pact with the EU to be signed at the EU summit on 19 May will subordinate Britain’s defence interests to those of the EU. The Labour government calls this a “reset” in relations with the EU, but it’s far more extensive, and damaging.

The closure of the last two steel blast furnaces in Britain happened at the end of March. This is a disastrous development for British industry and all workers given the fundamental importance of steel.

Steel is a vital product, yet the future of the industry in Britain is continually threatened. Recent moves by the government are an opportunity to change that, as long as it addresses energy costs.

Tata Steel is cutting jobs at Port Talbot steelworks, driven by net zero. That will damage the steel industry and the wider economy.

The government claims it has rescued Tata Steel, but the deal threatens the existence of Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steel works. Thousands of skilled jobs are at risk.

The government has failed to protect Newport Wafer Fab, Britain’s biggest silicon chip maker, putting a vital part of our technological infrastructure at risk.