Newslinks for Sunday 13th April 2025

Steel 1) Nationalisation “likely” after emergency legislation passed

“The UK government is taking control of Chinese-owned British Steel after emergency legislation was rushed through Parliament in a single day. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told MPs the government’s likely next step would be to nationalise the Scunthorpe plant, which employs 2,700 people. But he said he was forced to seek emergency powers to prevent owners Jingye shutting down its two blast furnaces, which would have ended primary steel production in the UK. MPs and peers were called back from their Easter holidays to debate the legislation in an extremely rare Saturday sitting of both houses of Parliament. It has now received Royal Assent after being passed by the Commons and Lords.” – BBC

• Starmer steels himself for the real battle: Labour v Reform – Sunday Times
• Miliband fears Starmer will sack him from the Net Zero job in Cabinet reshuffle – The Sun on Sunday
• Scunthorpe breathes sigh of relief – Sunday Telegraph
• Grangemouth closure ‘not comparable’ to British Steel, MPs told – BBC
• Royal Navy on alert to escort shipment in steel crisis – Sunday Times
• Chinese firm ‘trying to shut down British steel industry’ – Sunday Telegraph
• UK MPs post selfies to show attendance of rare Saturday session in parliament – The Observer
• Decline of coal raised electricity costs and shattered our steel industry – Sunday Times

>Today: ToryDiary: Labour is only making plans for Nigel. But nationalising steel would be deeply misguided.

Steel 2) Griffith: Net Zero dogma is to blame

“Neil Kinnock once pointed out the stupidity of ‘hiring taxis to scuttle round a city handing out redundancy notices to its own workers’, and Labour’s eco madness has hit similar heights. Red Ed Miliband closed our last coal mine months ago, only to then be forced into importing coal from abroad to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open. Net Zero will not work in its current form. And this government continuing to peddle its dogma is putting things like our steel industry at risk.” – Andrew Griffith, The Sun on Sunday

Other comment:

• Britain and its steelworkers will not be extorted by irrational executives – Jonathan Reynolds, Sunday Times
• Parties agree steel is in dire straits, but squabble over who to blame – Tim Stanley, Sunday Telegraph
• I have spent my life in this corner of Lincolnshire and witnessed how such job losses affect every part of a community – Martin Vickers MP, The Observer
• Protecting British Steel is just the start. We need to wean ourselves off cheap imported goods – Iain Duncan Smith, Sunday Telegraph
• A real steel industry without coal is pretty much impossible. How China must laugh at us. – Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
• The Labour Government’s net zero absolutism is undermining our national security and economic self-sufficiency – Suella Braverman, Sunday Telegraph
• Don’t let Net Zero scupper a chance to rekindle a vital asset – Leader, Mail on Sunday
• Scunthorpe had to be saved. Now to rescue steelmaking – Leader, Sunday Times

Trade 1) Starmer suspends tariffs on a range of goods

“Sir Keir Starmer is suspending import tariffs on dozens of goods to shore up British companies caught in Donald Trump’s trade war. Duty on 89 products from electric car batteries to fruit juice will be cut to zero for two years in a major state intervention to ease pressure on firms. Aluminium wheels and electric vehicle battery inputs will be among the goods to have tariffs reduced to cut costs for British businesses in the wake of Mr Trump’s raid on US imports.” – Sunday Telegraph

• Trump has spared iPhone, laptops and other electronics from his brutal China tariffs in surprise move – Mail on Sunday
• Voters want Keir Starmer to focus on rebuilding trade ties with EU, poll reveals – The Observer

Trade 2) Hannan: After visiting Washington, I’m convinced we can get a deal with the US

“What seems to be on the table is an initial deal that would provide for the abolition of tariffs, and would then lead on to something more ambitious. The initial deal would involve agreements on tech and AI, including a reduction in the digital sales tax that Britain imposes on US tech giants, as well as a zero-for-zero tariff accord. Britain has inherited a number of tariffs from the EU, including a 10 per cent levy on certain categories of US vehicle. All these would go…The US is not expecting a change in our food safety standards. All it is immediately asking for is to be allowed to sell food that meets those standards – that is, to have tariff- and quota-free access for unchlorinated chicken and growth-hormone-free beef.” – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph

Trade 3) Reeves: Now is not the time to turn our backs on the world

“The Labour party is an internationalist party. We understand the benefits of free and fair trade and collaboration. Now is not the time to turn our backs on the world but to face forward. The prime minister has shown that leadership when it comes to our country’s response to the war on Ukraine and the increase in defence spending. He has shown the calm and considered leadership that is needed at moments like this. We continue to pursue the best possible deal with the US. At the same time, we will continue to pursue future trade agreements with other economies, including India, and secure an ambitious new relationship with the EU that deepens ties with our largest trading partners and delivers for Britain.” – Rachel Reeves, The Observer

• EU chief ‘surprised’ at fish status in Brexit talks – BBC
• After this, what more proof does Britain need that it can’t ‘cosy up’ to Trump? – William Keegan, The Observer

Rail Minister used phone while driving bus

“A minister is facing a police investigation after he admitted using his phone while at the wheel of a double-decker bus. Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, the rail minister, reported himself to the Metropolitan Police this week after he was spotted texting a friend while driving during rush-hour in central London last month. Hendy, a former head of Transport for London (TfL), owns two vintage Routemaster buses. On March 28 he was leading a tour of the capital for the Railway Family charity in one of the vehicles when a passenger saw him using his mobile phone.” – Sunday Times

Lib Dem MP refused entry to Hong Kong

“A Liberal Democrat MP has been refused entry to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson. Wera Hobhouse, 65, flew to the Chinese region — a British territory until 1997 — on Thursday but was held at airport security, questioned and put on the first flight home five hours later. She had her passport confiscated, was asked about her job and purpose of her trip, had her luggage searched and swabbed, and was then escorted to the boarding gate by four immigration officers.” – Sunday Times

• The shocking thing security sources have told me about China’s new ‘super embassy’ in London – and why Starmer has little choice but to turn a blind eye – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday

Miliband spends ten times more on foreign trips than Conservative predecessor

“Ed Miliband has spent 10 times more on foreign trips than his Tory predecessor, figures have revealed. The Energy and Net Zero Secretary spent £62,712 on overseas travel since coming to power last year, an analysis by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has found. By contrast, Claire Coutinho, his Conservative predecessor, spent £6,155 in the first six months of 2024 after being appointed to the role on Aug 31 2023.” – Sunday Telegraph

Badenoch compares her challenge to that faced by Hague

“Asked if her barometer for success is achieving the type of gains made by David Cameron as opposition leader during the late 2000s, Badenoch said: “[He] became leader eight years after we’d been in opposition — not two, three, months in. My situation is more like what William Hague faced [after Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997]. When you lose like that, the public don’t just come rushing back.”..The problem for Badenoch is that Starmer emerged from the doldrums partly through his war on Labour’s left and Jeremy Corbyn, and partly because Johnson imploded. He also did not have a challenger like Farage snapping at his heels from day one. For some in Badenoch’s party, the challenge feels insurmountable. Is the job harder than she expected? “I knew what I was getting myself into,” she said.” – Interview with Kemi Badenoch, Sunday Times

• Women may not love Nigel Farage, but they’re warming to Reform – Tom Calver, Sunday Times

Revision of equalties laws proposed to protect single sex spaces

“Women-only spaces will be protected in an overhaul of equality laws under plans being considered by the Government. Transgender people will be routinely asked to present Gender Recognition Certificates and organisations are compelled to define the difference between sex and gender under proposed changes to the equality code. Britain’s human rights watchdog last week submitted a 310-page revised version of its Statutory Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations to the Government.” – Sunday Telegraph

• Labour must show it understands women’s rights – Leader, Sunday Telegraph
• Rising number of UK women stopped and searched by police – The Observer

Other political news

• Manchester Arena terrorist attacks three prison officers – Sunday Telegraph
• “Bombshell email” that could free Lucy Letby – Mail on Sunday
• Penny Mordaunt joins British American Tobacco – BBC
• Ministers raise concern over NASUWT move for ‘combative’ ex-FBU chief – The Observer
• Rayner urged to hand back £10,000 she received from union at centre of Birmingham bin strikes – The Sun on Sunday
• Jobs fears as disability scheme owes businesses thousands – BBC
• Trafficking victims rejecting UK government support because they fear being deported – The Observer
• Scottish civil service salaries nearly double in eight years – Sunday Times
• Mourners say farewell at MSP Christina McKelvie’s funeral – BBC
• Nigel Farage helps vigilante gardener fill in ‘monstrous’ potholes with flowers – Mail on Sunday
• Tories “urging Houchen to give up peerage and become an MP” – The Sun on Sunday
• Universities call in consultants to stave off collapse – Sunday Times
• Tories want county’s Welsh language plan stopped – BBC
• MPs demand new candidates face criminal checks before they can be elected – Mail on Sunday
• Streeting orders inquiry into ‘unforgivable’ hearing test scandal – Sunday Times

Jenrick: It is beyond time to end anti-white racism

“Do we have a merit-based society any more? That’s the question after a week in which the absurdity of diversity policies plumbed new depths. On Wednesday the Telegraph revealed that West Yorkshire Police is currently preventing white candidates from applying to its constabulary programmes. The Home Secretary responded to this news by saying the recruitment practices appeared “fair” and that she would not intervene. Would she have responded the same way if the situation was reversed and ethnic minorities were blocked?…It’s time to end the social engineering of race, gender and identity into every aspect of our public and private lives and reforge a society that is colour-blind and merit-based. That is an essential prerequisite to the national renewal the country yearns for.” – Robert Jenrick, Sunday Telegraph

• Activist judges are getting too big for their wigs – Robert Colvile, Sunday Times

News in brief

• Farage is leading Labour’s policy – Ross Clark, The Spectator
• Political shoulder devils are distracting Labour from growth – Joseph Dinnage, CapX
• We need automation, not mass migration – Sam Bidwell, The Critic
• Quaker political interference has got out of control – Charlotte Gill, Daily Sceptic
• You got a licence for that? – Josie Appleton, Spiked Online