Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill

Jessica Morden Excerpts

2nd reading
Saturday 12th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I endorse my hon. Friend’s comments entirely. I do not believe there is a history of the SNP calling for the nationalisation of Grangemouth. It was, as ever, on the bandwagon. I think we all recognise that the SNP does not campaign on its record in running Scotland; it campaigns on grievance. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the contrast is with a Labour Government in this place who are on the side of working people everywhere.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State mentioned Port Talbot. I appreciate the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in today, when the Government have rightly moved quickly to safeguard primary steelmaking, and the Secretary of State will be very mindful of the extraordinarily difficult circumstances that the steel industry in south Wales has faced. I recognise the £80 million fund available, but can he make sure that south Wales and Llanwern benefit from their share of the £2.5 billion clean steel fund? Can that also be at the forefront of his mind?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I am incredibly pleased to have the chance to answer the point my hon. Friend raises. The Port Talbot deal was originally negotiated by the previous Government. I did try to reopen it; I went to see Chandra in Davos and flew to Mumbai to talk to him about it. To be frank, I kept Port Talbot open on polling day, because it would have closed due to the industrial action that almost took place. The previous Government were nowhere to be seen, even before the result of the election was in. We were not able to reopen the deal, but we did negotiate a better deal. As a result, Port Talbot is in a stronger position than British Steel, because it has a long-term future in place. [Interruption.] This is because we improved on the deal that the Leader of the Opposition botched at the time. To be clear, the £2.5 billion green steel fund the Chancellor has put in place is in addition to the £500 million already going to Port Talbot. That is an incredibly important point.