“The end of blast furnace steelmaking in Port Talbot will be devastating for the UK steel industry and for the future of thousands of jobs across South Wales.
It will leave the UK as the only major economy in the world without the ability to make its own heavy end steel and raises serious questions about the deal done by Rishi Sunak and his use of taxpayers’ money to put so many local workers out of employment.
Its implications for the Tata plant in Trostre in my constituency are potentially damaging too. Trostre sources high quality steel produced in Port Talbot to fulfil its packaging order book. It will now have to either become reliant on imported steel to survive or completely redesign its products to take account of these proposed changes. Either way, this decision creates great uncertainty in all quarters.
Both Tata Steel and the Tory UK Government need to think again and work with the trade unions and the Welsh Government to deliver a sustainable, long-term future for Port Talbot and Trostre that protects steelmaking capacity and local people’s jobs at the same time.”