Nigel Farage said Labour is acting to save British Steel because they are “terrified” of his party Reform UK taking over their traditional heartlands. The Prime Minister met British Steel workers near Scunthorpe, Lincs, today (Saturday) after a whirlwind day in Westminster saw the highly unusual step of MPs and Lords recalled to Parliament for the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill, which passed the House of Commons unopposed.
The Bill comes as the government said it would likely nationalise the Scunthorpe steel plant, which employs around 2,700 people, in response to the Chinese owners of the site, Jingye, wanting to close down its two blast furnaces. The closure would have ended Britain’s steel production capacity.
Jingye retain ownership of the company for now, but new legislation allows the British government to ensure the plant still operates and to enter the site by force if necessary.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the intervention but said Labour were also acting because “they are terrified of what the Reform vote is doing to the north west, the north east, areas like that”.
Speaking outside Westminster, he said his message to the Government was: “Half a thank you for doing something. I was out with those Scunthorpe steel workers on Tuesday. I bet the “Spoons” tonight in Scunthorpe will be absolutely rammed.
“I wish I could go and join them again because they were so anxious and they are proud working people. So there’s half a thank you for that but frankly you can’t work with Jingye you have got to nationalise it and try and plan a future.”
He added: “Saviours of the world! Suddenly we are now an industrial powerhouse! Well talk about leaving it a bit late. I was in Scunthorpe on Tuesday and it was pretty obvious when we came out. There were literally three working days left to save primary steel production in Britain.
“They’ve done it on a Saturday because they wanted it to be dramatic and they wanted to say ‘Look we’re the Labour Party, we’re on the same side as workers’ and they are terrified of what the Reform vote is doing to the north west, the north east, areas like that. So that’s why they’ve done it.”
Mr Farage continued: “It’s just a sticking plaster. Frankly if Jingye, the Chinese owners, are bad faith actors, which I have believed them to be for five years, and today the business secretary said they are not acting in good faith, they should have just done the whole hog today, nationalised it and then tried to find a way of selling it on.”
Meeting with steelworkers in Scunthorpe, Lincs, the Prime Minister Sir Keir told them: “You are the people who have kept this going.
“You and your colleagues for years have been the backbone of British Steel, and it’s really important that we recognise that.
“And I felt it was really important today, having been in Parliament this morning, to come straight up here to see you face to face to have that discussion with you.
“Because this shouldn’t be a remove thing that’s happening down in Westminster, in Parliament, it should be something that’s living and breathing. It’s your jobs, your lives, your communities, your families.”
The steelworkers thanked the Prime Minister for the Government’s action, with one adding: “We’re not there yet, we’ve still got a lot of hard work to do.”