Argus column by Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith

IN JUNE the prime minister announced with great fanfare his plan to “build, build, build” his way out of this economic crisis through £640 billion of infrastructure projects.

With these plans on the table, what better time to support UK steel?

I recently urged the government to do just that by pledging my support to the multi-union ‘Britain, We Need Our Steel’ campaign and also writing to the prime minister.

At present less than half of the steel bought by the government is from the UK. This is an issue I have spoken about many, many times in the House of Commons.

MORE NEWS:

• Ebbw Vale vandal daubed anti-Black Lives Matters graffiti
• 'Caldicot mum has baby at side of road en route to Abergavenny hospital
• Cycle cafe plan at Llantarnam Lakes in Cwmbran is rejected

Whether it’s in building Navy ships, in major infrastructure developments like the HS2 railway or any number of domestic construction projects – we should be taking every opportunity to use British products and support our skilled workers and those in the supply chains.

The “build, build, build” plan should have UK steel at its core, literally and figuratively.

It’s not just that there are new construction projects on the horizon. Standing idly by and doing nothing to protect the steel industry at this time will ultimately cost the taxpayer far more in the long run.

Decommissioning the steel sites will cost a fortune. There will be thousands more people unemployed. The more jobs and businesses that are lost at this time, the harder recovery will be.

Financial support for the steel industry is needed quickly, but so is long term support.

Consideration of the industry must be a prominent feature of any future trade agreements, with fair and frictionless trade prioritised. We need to build a level playing field for steel so that our providers can compete.

We should also look to using UK steel as the greener choice. Significantly more CO2 is produced through shipping steel internationally than by using domestic supply.

Steel is used in the production of wind turbines and electrical steel – such as that which was produced at Newport’s Orb plant – is used in electric cars and charge points.

It was absurd for the government to fail to support Orb while also ostensibly committing to securing a cleaner, greener future.

The government has to get these decisions right, now more than ever. The right choices have to be made to get the UK back on its feet.

Millions of tonnes of steel will be needed to recover from the economic impact of Covid-19.

The choice right now is between continuing to rely on cheap imported steel or to help protect the UK steel industry and thousands of highly skilled, well-paid jobs.