Newport East MP Jessica Morden questions government's vision in call for support of Orb Steelworks

Employees at the plant face losing their jobs after Tata Steel announced it would be closed.

And Ms Morden, who held a Parliamentary debate on Orb last week, criticised the government for a "lack of measures to support the manufacturing sector" and having "nothing of note to say on steel."

“Orb is the only plant in the UK producing electrical steel," she said. "With investment, it could make electrical steel for electric vehicles, allowing the UK to have an end-to-end supply chain.

"If we lose this plant, we will lose that chance and have to import the steel for electric motors.

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"There is a plan to save the plant. Community union and its consultants, Syndex, are calling for Tata to reinvest money from the sale of Cogent Power Inc in Canada into the Orb and for the UK Government to help by investing £30 million.

"That would be just a small proportion of the total the government have awarded Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by Tata, which has secured a £500 million loan guarantee to help the company sell electric vehicles.

“We need concerted investment in the electric vehicle supply chain. Orb can be a vital cog in the wheel. It can be part of the infrastructure strategy that the government alluded to in the Queen’s Speech. If we did that, we could save the only electrical steel plant in the UK, which could and should have a bright future as demand for electric vehicles is only set to grow."

(The march in Newport in support of Newport's closure-threatened Orb Electrical Steels plant.)

“Where is the vision from this government?" Ms Morden added. "If they are serious about making the UK the home of electric vehicles, they will work with Tata to step in and save this plant.

"What is there in this Queen’s Speech to help the wider steel industry? There is no action. Where is the sector deal? Where is the support on energy prices? Where is the concrete action on procurement? The Steel Council has not even met since June 2018, and we need it to now."