(9 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberAs we debate this crisis today, we rightly make the thousands of workers in the steel industry and their families, who have faced devastating news about their jobs, and the many more who are working with the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the industry at this time, the central and primary focus of our concerns. When an individual loses their job, the pressures it creates can be a tragedy for their family and themselves. When whole communities are affected by large-scale job losses, the impact can be devastating—I completely recognise that.
I am pleased that the Secretary of State is now looking forward, because I, along with my colleagues on the other side of the House, have been talking about the needs of the steel industry in our community since being elected to Parliament in 2010. We need to look forward together and work together to build a better future. It just so happens that it is his Government who can make decisions now, not anybody else.
I completely take the hon. Gentleman’s points and I pay tribute to the work he does on behalf of his constituents.
—and what more the Government can do to boost productivity and help steel manufacturers to cut production costs.
The UK’s steel industry is part of the foundation of many of the nation’s great, world-beating supply chains—