Corbyn to call for part-nationalisation of Britain’s steel industry
Jeremy Corbyn is to call for immediate state intervention in Britain’s declining steel industry this weekend in a speech that will also also seek to explain his patriotic vision for Britain.
The Labour leader will urge David Cameron and George Osborne to part-nationalise the sector, following the loss of 4,000 jobs in October. The industry has blamed cheap Chinese imports for a collapse in steel prices.
Reacting to some internal party criticisms that he has failed to show pride in Britain, Corbyn will also claim that Labour stands for some of the country’s greatest traditions, including trade unionism, the suffragettes and individuals such as the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, the athlete Mo Farah and the Beatles.
Corbyn’s intervention in the debate over steel comes as he prepares to raise the role of Indian companies with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, at a meeting on Saturday.
Source: Corbyn to call for part-nationalisation of Britain’s steel industry | Politics | The Guardian
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Opposition Day — [8th allotted day]: Steel Industry (28 Oct 2015)
Catherine West: Does my hon. Friend agree that there is no strategy across the country? For example, Govia Thameslink is about to have new trains built for 2018, for the Hornsey depot in my constituency, yet there seems to be no attempt to get it to purchase steel from our own steelmakers.
China is not the problem. They are suffering in the same way as us. There is an oversupply of steel capacity. China is having to reduce its prices to be competitive. We have gone below the level where we can afford to produce steel. There is no point in shoring up an industry that can’t compete. The price is likely to fall more with no prospect of it rising for years.
That’s why Corbyn is calling for part-nationalisation.
Once the facilities are gone, they’ll be gone for good. It makes economic sense to keep them ticking over in readiness for when competition picks up again.
I find it bizarre that I have to explain this to anybody.
I agree, Mike
Fully agree Mike we have seen the destruction of factories other than just steel production, and they would cost a fortune to re-establish, the fact that China can dump cheap steel on us also gives rise to the question why are we paying millions a day to brussels when there is no control over trade coming in just within?