Labour plan to renationalise British steel industry blasted as 'complete disgrace'

By Max Parry, News Reporter

Port Talbot Steel Works closed successful September this twelvemonth (Image: Getty)

Labour considering renationalising British Steel is simply a "complete disgrace", according to a erstwhile curate who has accused the Government of bringing astir the demise of the UK alloy industry.

Sir John Redwood told Express.co.uk: "What are they nationalising? They’re closing it each down. So wherefore bash you request to nationalise thing you’ve closed. I deliberation they’ve made a atrocious mistake connected that.

"They’ve implied successful Opposition that they’d bash amended and past they closed it down much quickly. I deliberation it’s a implicit disgrace, I privation to prevention overmuch much of the alloy industry. But you see, they won’t bash the astir evident things to bash that.

"I was urging for a agelong clip that they request to instrumentality disconnected the c taxes and chopped the vigor outgo dramatically, due to the fact that we’ve fundamentally taxed and priced alloy retired of our country."

Scunthorpe's steelworks is being kept unfastened past Christmas (Image: Getty)

Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng besides attacked Labour failing to regularisation retired taking British Steel backmost into nationalist ownership.

"We’ve been circular the houses connected this", helium told this website. "People deliberation it's [nationalisation] the reply to everything, but it conscionable means you’re going to wage much taxation due to the fact that the authorities needs much wealth to tally these industries.

"I mean, wherever bash you deliberation the money’s coming from?"

A Whitehall insider told The Guardianthat renationalisation was not disconnected the table, saying: "It is 1 of respective options being looked at. We would person been negligent not to look astatine it. But it is the slightest charismatic option. We would beryllium talking important sums of wealth to bargain not precise much."

A spokesperson for the Business Department didn't exclude the anticipation of renationalising British Steel - a determination that would reverse the 1988 determination of the Thatcher authorities to privatise it - but added that determination are nary "plans" to bash so.

Claire Coutinho, the shadiness vigor secretary, said: “Labour can’t expect the British payer to prime up the measure for each manufacture they marque uncompetitive.”

Sir John Redwood branded the plans a 'complete disgrace' (Image: Getty)

Trade unions backmost the Government taking British Steel backmost into nationalist ownership.

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, an serviceman with GMB commercialized union, said: "Recent past has shown we indispensable clasp power implicit important industries similar steel. Leaving home accumulation to the whims of the unfastened marketplace is sheer folly.

"Rather than forking retired billions of payer currency to reward backstage assemblage failure, the wealth should beryllium utilized to renationalise our erstwhile arrogant alloy sector."

A Business Department spokesperson said: "We person nary plans to nationalise British Steel.

"We’re moving crossed authorities successful concern with commercialized unions and businesses to unafraid a greenish alloy modulation that’s close for the workforce, represents a bully concern for taxpayers and safeguards the aboriginal of the alloy manufacture successful Britain."