‘Port Talbot is a painful reminder of the neglect of Welsh steel communities’ - Plaid Cymru
Ann Davies MP has tabled amendments to the Steel Bill calling for safeguarding of future steelmaking in Wales
Plaid Cymru MP for Caerfyrddin, Ann Davies, has tabled three amendments to the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill to strengthen protections and funding for steel communities in Wales.
The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill would allow the government to acquire a ‘strategic steel undertaking’ if it considers acquisition to be in public interest. The aim is to enable continued operations of a steel undertaking and prevent the loss of assets, skills, and supply-chain capacity if a strategically important steel undertaking is at risk of losing steelmaking or ironmaking capability due to closure, insolvency, or potential disruption to domestic supply. The UK Government says that this will enable it to nationalise British Steel, subject to a public interest test being met.
Ann Davies MP says that the closure of the blast furnaces in Port Talbot in 2024 stands as the “most painful example” of the recent neglect of Wales’ industrial communities, stating that the UK Government took extraordinary steps to protect the steelworks in Scunthorpe and Rotheram but did not do the same in Port Talbot.
Ms Davies will be giving a speech during the debate in the House of Commons this evening (Monday 8 June) and is expected to say that the need for certainty is “not theoretical”, citing the recent major fire at Port Talbot which caused significant disruption. She has also said that the reported delays to the plans for a £1.25bn electric furnace due to problems with electrical connectivity “only reinforces concerns that Welsh steel has too often been treated as an afterthought rather than a priority”.
Ann Davies MP’s first amendment would require the UK Government to consider nationalising steel sites in Wales to prevent job losses and stop the closure of Welsh steel plants to ensure that a situation like the mass job losses at Port Talbot cannot happen again and to end the double standards in how Welsh and English steel sites have been treated to date.
Her second amendment would require that whenever funding is provided to sites in England, equivalent funding must also be provided to sites in Wales, ensuring Welsh steel communities are not left behind.
Her third amendment would prevent financial assistance from being drawn from the National Wealth Fund, which is the main source of the UK Government’s £2.5 billion steel fund. This would help ringfence the Steel Fund so it can be used to invest in Welsh steel sites, supporting the significant investment needed to transition to low‑carbon steelmaking.
Speaking ahead of the debate in the House of Commons, Plaid Cymru MP, Ann Davies said:
“Industrial communities in Wales know all too well the consequences of being left behind and neglected when support is needed most. Port Talbot stands as the most painful example - where the blast furnaces were allowed to close in 2024 resulting in thousands of job losses and devastating a community that had a proud history of making primary steel for over a 100 years.
“When the future of Port Talbot’s steelworks hung in the balance, Plaid Cymru argued that everything, including nationalisation, should be on the table, yet those calls were both mocked and ignored. However, when the future of steel production in Scunthorpe and Rotherham came under threat, the UK Government was prepared to take extraordinary steps to protect jobs and safeguard strategic industry.
“Now, we know there will be further delays to the plans for a £1.25bn electric steel-making furnace in Port Talbot due to problems with electrical connectivity. This only reinforces concerns that Welsh steel has too often been treated as an afterthought rather than a priority.
“This Bill provides an opportunity to change that. Wales is home not only to Port Talbot, but also to major steel sites at Trostre, Llanwern, Shotton and Cardiff. These communities deserve the same commitment, protection and investment as has been afforded to other areas of the UK. That is why I have tabled amendments to ensure Welsh steel sites receive equivalent support whenever funding is made available in England, and to safeguard resources within the Steel Fund so they can be used to support the transition to low-carbon steelmaking in Wales. Plaid Cymru has consistently stood alongside our industrial communities, and we are determined to ensure they receive the fairness they deserve in the years ahead.”