British Government Takes Control of Country’s Last Major Steel Mill

New York Times: The British government moved swiftly on Saturday to take control of operations at the country’s last large crude steel producing facility, in what appeared to be a major step toward nationalizing the plant.

In an unusual and dramatic move, the government had summoned lawmakers back from vacation on Saturday to approve the government’s emergency legislation.

The government said it was acting to prevent the owners of the British Steel complex in Scunthorpe, a Chinese company called Jingye, from taking steps unilaterally to close the blast furnaces, potentially costing 2,700 jobs.

“Steel is fundamental to Britain’s industrial strength, to our security and to our identity as a primary global power,” Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, told Parliament on Saturday in introducing the legislation.

Despite the interest in preserving steel making now, it has long been in decline in Britain. Crude steel output has fallen by about 50 percent over the last decade, according to UK Steel, a trade group.

The industry in Britain struggles with high energy costs as well as competition, mainly from China, which now makes more than half of all global steel.

The 25 percent tariffs that President Trump recently imposed on steel imported into the United States have added a further hurdle.

In this difficult environment, the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer now risks being stuck with supporting a business whose owners say is losing 700,000 pounds a day or around $915,000.

The government insists that it is not nationalizing British Steel, but it is asserting control over the board and management and, it seems, taking responsibility for the running costs.

In a sign of the increasingly bitter tone of the dispute, the government said Friday that employees who are fired for “defying the orders of the Chinese owners” would be able to be reinstated.

The government says it wants to find a partner to invest in a greener steel-making process, but critics say these moves are tantamount to nationalization.

“This is a botched nationalization plan,” warned Andrew Griffith, the business spokesman for the opposition Conservative Party.

A variety of motivations appear to be behind Mr. Starmer’s approach.

He was wary of letting a large plant close at the cost of thousands of jobs of his trade union supporters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/business/british-government-steel-mill.html