Labour Blamed for End of Steelmaking in UK as Blast Furnaces to Close – Guido Fawkes

Labour Blamed for End of Steelmaking in UK as Blast Furnaces to Close

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Jingye, the Chinese company which owns British Steel, is set to close its Scunthorpe steelworks blast furnaces with 2,000-2,700 jobs up for the chop. British Steel is the UK’s second largest steelmaker and blamed environmental costs among others:

“The blast furnaces and steelmaking operations are no longer financially sustainable due to highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel… The company had sought support from the UK government for a major capital investment in two new electric arc furnaces. However, following many months of negotiations no agreement has been reached.”

Ministers had offered £500 million to help keep electric arc furnaces open which was rejected by Jinye. Reynolds says “we will continue working tirelessly to reach an agreement with the company’s owners to secure its future and protect taxpayers’ money.” Early June is penned in for the closure of the plant. It’s low-carbon steel or no steel…