Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill

Debate between Graham Stuart and Chris McDonald

Committee of the whole House
Monday 8th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris McDonald]

I will take an intervention from the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness. Given that he was referenced, it would be helpful to give him the right to reply.

[Graham Stuart]

To help the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), I do not think I said anything about subsidising. What I am looking for, and what I think all of us across this Committee would like to see, is the continuation of steel, especially in a dangerous world. I was questioning whether we have a coherent strategy and sufficient funding to take the steel industry—the specific site in Scunthorpe and others—on the journey that the Minister set out, which requires intervention to take it back to being a thriving industry. I worry that there is not such a pathway or sufficient resource, so we could be in the worst of all possible worlds, where we just bleed public money without it leading to the restitution of a healthy steel industry in this country. That is what I am looking for an answer to.

[Chris McDonald]

Let me address that point. It is helpful for us to think about the potential options. There is agreement across the Committee that we want a successful and thriving steel industry, and the Government have made some serious financial commitments. We have committed £500 million to support the transformation of the plant in Port Talbot, which has attracted another £500 million of private sector investment. We have committed £2.5 billion through our steel strategy and an additional £400 million to support the Forgemasters operation, which is successfully under public ownership.

We have to think about the potential options. Given that the Government have put that money on the table and are seeking private sector partners to work with for all our steel plants, the alternative would be the closure and the loss of those facilities. This comes down to a judgment as to whether we think the UK is capable of having a successful, profitable and investable private sector industry.

It is the Government’s view that it is possible for the UK to have that, not least when we compare ourselves with similar advanced economies in Europe—we are not necessarily comparing ourselves with low-cost economies around the world—but it is a matter of ensuring that we have the right business environment to enable that to happen, and it is clearly incumbent on Government to arrange policy in that way. I think our steel strategy, in particular, and our trade measures provide that response, which is what gives us confidence that we have the resources to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Graham Stuart and Chris McDonald

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend is right that the allocation round was incredibly successful. Of course, the Conservatives wanted to cancel it, given their opposition to clean industry jobs across the UK. In the north-east, where my hon. Friend is from, we are forecasting an increase of 20,000 jobs. I know that the Smulders yard in her constituency will seek to benefit from that because, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer said, it matters to this Government where things are made. We want those supply chain jobs here in the UK—jobs the Reform party would take away from constituents like hers and mine, with its anti-net zero ideology.

[Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

The Minister will be aware that major hydrogen projects in the Humber area, including those led by National Gas, are ready to go. They are vital to our region, which has £18 billion of value-add and 360,000 jobs, but without certainty from Government, investors cannot commit. When will the Government open the allocation rounds for the hydrogen transport and storage business models so that this investment can actually move forward?

[Chris McDonald]

I appreciate the right hon. Member’s concerns, having spoken to the hydrogen industry myself, and the representation he has made to me and to the Energy Minister on this issue. I can assure him that the hydrogen strategy will be out soon.