Speciality Steel UK

Debate between Lord Sarwar and Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sarwar (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his questions. Let me reassure him that my noble friend will continue to fact-check me on a regular basis in the absence of him answering questions directly.

The workforce is fundamental to this. We will of course make decisions based on what it means for production, GDP, growth and broader calculations, but for these communities—either those working directly at these sites or those relying on them for employment indirectly—this is their everyday life. Many of the sites, particularly Speciality Steel UK, are in some of the most deprived communities in the country. Therefore, it is important that we work right across government, including the Department for Education and the DWP, as well as with BIS colleagues, the local authority and the broader mayoral and regional authorities, to make sure that, where we can, we are protecting these jobs and provide reskilling opportunities.

To the noble Lord’s final point, we have to make sure that the next generation also feels that this is a sector in which they want to train and then work, because that too is very much a part of having a sustainable steel future for the UK.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his patience in dealing with some of the questions from opposition spokesmen—they were quite astonishing. I am old enough to go back to the Thatcher years. In 1980, she appointed Sir Ian MacGregor to run the British Steel Corporation and close down Redcar, Port Talbot, Consett, Corby, Shotton, Ebbw Vale and, in Scotland, Ravenscraig. Let us make sure that the Tories are never allowed to forget that. Would my noble friend consider arranging a little seminar, so that they can learn from history?

[Lord Sarwar (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his usually robust contribution. I gently tell him that, while he was here to witness what happened in 1980 and can therefore tell us the lessons that must be learned, I was born in 1983.