UK Steel Industry

Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Kevin Foster

Monday 29th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster]

It was interesting to hear those comments, which sounded very similar to the comments from the Government that the hon. Lady has been attacking.

[Tom Blenkinsop]

The hon. Gentleman has been making some interesting points. However, I believe that the contract for the bridge was originally given to a Spanish firm, which had to pull out. Cleveland Bridge came back in, and made sure that the contract used Tata steel from Motherwell and Dalzell. Those two plants are on the verge of closure, but they also make the sonar-specific plate that will be used for the renewal of the four Trident submarines. The contract is integral to both sites.

[Kevin Foster]

What the hon. Gentleman has said proves yet again that there is not just a massive security argument in favour of building the four Successor submarines, but a considerable economic justification. In south Devon, I can look at the site in Plymouth where the submarines are being refitted. [Interruption.] It is always lovely to have an accompaniment from the Opposition Benches. I hear it regularly, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

The hon. Gentleman’s intervention has made clear why it is so vital to build those submarines. I look forward to his joining me in the Lobby when we vote on the issue, although we know that the people whose jobs rely on the Trident contract can expect absolutely no support from the Scottish National party.

We can do a great deal more when it comes to procurement. The Hinkley Point project, for instance, will create a huge number of jobs in the south-west. We need to create an infrastructure that will meet the demand. I hope that a significant amount of British steel will also be used in the construction of the Stonehenge road tunnel.

It has been interesting to take part in the debate, and to listen to some of the comments that have been made. I find it particularly interesting to hear demands for unilateral action from those who, like me, argue for us to remain in the European Union. Membership of the EU has many advantages, but unilateral action on tariffs is not one of them. However, 28 of us, working together, can make more of a difference.

I shall not be supporting the Opposition motion, which will probably not come as a huge surprise, given some of the arguments that we have heard. I think it is right that the Government are playing a proactive role in the European Union to prompt action and to modernise their own procurement rules to ensure that we can defend our own industries, but also to ensure that, for our own projects, we buy as much British steel as we possibly can, respecting the fact that our country would not believe in state aid even if we were committed to it under European rules.