Comments yesterday n steel in Lords
When I have in the past had some responsibility for trying to recover the financial position of the odd distressed company—although nothing nearly as distressed as British Steel at Scunthorpe—I have always found it was an essential discipline to first of all institute very frequent reporting, because you need to signal to the executives undertaking the day-to-day work that the financial state of the company is at risk and that they need to give great priority to this. You need to help them get clarity over why cash is draining out of the business. This business, British Steel, which is under the operational control of the Government, is draining cash, we believe, at £500 million a year. That is a phenomenal rate of loss, which is going to have an obvious impact on the public accounts, at a time when we know that government money is scarce and there are many other priorities. We need to know rather more about why it is £500 million.
Is there any residual investment programme left? That would be the first thing to go when you are trying to save cash. Is it still committing money to raw material stocks? It clearly should not be allowing more material stocks. Does it have a very large stock of finished product which it is not able to sell? If that is the case, what is the plan for trying to move that stock on? What is the reality of the price level it is going to get for that stock? Obviously, stock is a mixture of volume and value, and you have to try to maximise the cash you can get for the stock you have got before you would normally go on to produce more. This plant has the particular problem that it has to keep producing, even if it is not able to sell enough of the product at a sensible price. You would expect regular reporting, certainly to the chief executive appointed by Ministers, but I would have thought that the Minister with day-to-day responsibility for this would know what is going on, and on the trading accounts, because a lot of the cash going out may be trading losses. You would want to see an urgent plan for selling more and economising on costs wherever you can, whether that is bought-in materials, the productivity of labour or other overhead costs that the business is incurring.
During the debates so far, I have not felt the Government’s urgency around this financial problem. Every pound that goes out of the door on losses that you are responsible for as a steel-maker is a pound that cannot be spent on the new and better industry that you really need in order to take the country forward. I am not blaming the Minister, who has been exemplary in his conduct and helpfulness—I am sure he wants, as we all do, a good outcome to this—but in those conversations within ministerial offices, it would be good if a Minister in the other place, for example, could make more Statements which showed that there was a plan and a determination to rescue this industry that we all wish to rescue.
In this group of amendments, there is talk of quarterly reporting. That is a big enterprise in terms of people and scale of loss. Quarterly reporting is quite common and normal now in the public quoted sector. It is a good discipline, even for the most profitable businesses in the world, because people like to make sure the trends are still good and the managers are in charge of it. I would have thought that quarterly reporting was the bare minimum, and if it was somebody’s day-to-day responsibility then they would obviously need rather more frequent reporting than that.
The public deserve quarterly reporting from this industry, which they now have a substantial operational stake in. I urge the Minister to think about more regular public clarity. I hope that such detailed, short-term regular reporting is going on. It would be good to get some good news out of the Government that they are applying the right kind of financial disciplines to control the outflow of cash. If they do not control the outflow of cash, it will end in tears and redundancies.
There will be an issue with the public interest case needed to justify nationalisation , if and when we get to the full nationalisation of British Steel at Scunthorpe. Many of us are unclear as to whether the Government’s aim is to find a medium-term or longer-term solution to the problem of how to keep the two existing blast furnaces running and keep a basic steel-making capability in the United Kingdom, or whether their policy aim is still—as with the previous Government and as is the case in south Wales—to move to closing the blast furnace and opening an electric arc furnace in a new plant, which may be on that land or somewhere else.
If it is the latter, it will be much more difficult to establish the public interest case for the complete nationalisation and transfer of the blast furnaces, because that will end in tragedy for the people working there, so it will no longer be the case that the main purpose is to keep the jobs. It will not resolve the issue of the electric arc furnace, because that will need separate grant aid and might even be better on a different site. We need to know more about the phasing. In the case of south Wales, the blast furnaces were closed before the electric arc furnace was available. If they did the same again at Scunthorpe, there could even be a period when the United Kingdom will not be making any steel at all on those two works, given the transition plan.
It would be very helpful if the Minister, who will have to take this policy on, gave us a little more on the Government’s thinking about the duration of the investment in the blast furnaces, and whatever information he has about the state of those plants and the ability to maintain continuous production there, and on the Government’s intention in their net-zero strategy, which implies that steel would have to be made in a different way.
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, for reminding us of the importance of contingent liabilities and the need for the Government to complete due diligence before any acquisition. He rightly says that in a hypothetical case—not British Steel Scunthorpe—it might be necessary to move quickly, and then there will have to be some trade-offs. But if we are talking about British Steel Scunthorpe, there is obviously no need to move quickly. The Government moved very quickly many months ago, and there can still be proper analysis. I would hope, indeed, that as Ministers and their chosen executives are now responsible for British Steel, while they do not own the assets, they would have done a lot of this very important preparatory work on discovering the contingent liabilities.
Where in Amendment 11, the contingent liabilities are mentioned by category, there is an omission which could be extremely important: liabilities to employees for past problems with safety and health, and—God forbid that this does not happen—for any liabilities that might follow now that the business is under the operation or control of Ministers and their chosen executives, if some safety or other health problem arose. Where people are running these very large, industrial businesses, with the obvious threats of a very powerful fire in the furnace and the dangers of extremely hot liquid steel being moved around, it is crucial that Ministers and their chosen executives have taken all the right decisions on making sure people have the right protective clothing, there are the right protocols, and there is an absolute segregation for the employees from the risks. There also needs to be an understanding of whether there have been any longer-term health risks from the atmosphere around the blast furnace or the intense heat of some working conditions.
If Ministers have not already done so, they need to take this very seriously. Whenever I was responsible for a big plant, my main nightmare was that something would go wrong on safety, and that would be unforgivable. I am not expecting the Government to give ground on these amendments, but it would reassure the House and the wider public if the Minister could tell us more about where they have got to, at least in general terms, with exposing the contingent liabilities on pensions, safety and employee health, as well as with the other financial matters mentioned clearly in these amendments.
July 9, 2026
I thought that it was £500million a day ?
July 9, 2026
Thisismoney.co.uk 14/12/2025 ‘Taxpayers losing £1m a day on British Steel’.
Europeanbusinessmagazine.com 30/03/2026 ‘British Steel is bleeding £1.3m a day of public money – and nobody (*) knows how to stop it’.
* not even Sir John 😉
July 9, 2026
You could reduce energy prices to the levels enjoyed by our main steel making competitors hefner.
It would be a start.
July 9, 2026
Steel has been made for over 200 years. Why should a hypothetical disaster need separate contingency. Surely public liability insurance should cover this.
The aim of course is to shut down Primary Steel making as per net zero. EAFs may never be built
Today we learn for the 11th year, Drax has been the biggest emitter of CO2 but has received £999 million in subsidies last financial year.
Lunatics running the asylum or what.
July 9, 2026
Wind today 1.57gw out of an installed capacity of 38gw. Importing 22% and it’s not even winter. Just imagine if the government targets in heat pumps and EVs had been met.
July 9, 2026
RIP Bonnie Tyler
Knew how to belt out a tune.
July 9, 2026
On one hand, I commend our host on questioning this policy in the Lords. On the other hand, it almost like rearranging deck chairs on the sinking Titanic.
For ages we’ve had parliaments that loathe the majority of British citizens and national sovereignty. They are globalists, and represent the interests of the powerful . Our system of democracy has become infested, corrupted and comandered by this class. It’s not just in politics but in all institutions of influence and power.
This class believes in more control by themselves over us. It also believes (largely) in “climate change”. Our essential industries will not thrive and these people don’t care, so long as they can concentrate power and wealth.
Worse still, their foreign policy (in Europe) is geared at starting a full-on war with Russia, within 4 years. Even with today’s escalating proxy war, the risk of nuclear conflict grows daily; a head-on war would end in our complete destruction. It’s a real, highest impact, reasonable probability in the short term threat which we can avoid without cost. Compare that to “climate change”!
Hence my allusion to the Titanic. We need a complete change of course, captain and crew in order to sort out steel and everything else.
July 9, 2026
Well said, and it is absolutely farcical at this point to pretend that our political system is in any way working for us as a people and as a nation.
The curtain has been lifted.
All flag waving by them now, and all references to ‘British’ is pure theatre for the dim- witted masses, hoping they won’t be too alarmed.
July 9, 2026
Much truth in this but the Titanic was a sudden impact event. What we have is government that is vandalising the economy and voters/public’s interests as often as they can it seems. Drilling more and more holes in the hull and lifeboats and putting more and more sand in the engines.
July 9, 2026
The comments indicate that those responsible for running the business are incapable of basic management and lack common sense. From the present situation prevailing, both are probably true.
July 9, 2026
I wouldn’t be too hard on the management. It’s a wonder we have any steelworks at all in this country, when successive governments have pursued high cost of living policies. I’m sure steel would be a much healthier business if they didn’t have to pay so much tax, and wages were much lower with the same standard of living because the employees didn’t have to pay out so much in tax and housing costs.
My business isn’t heavy industry, but we could also be more competitive in global markets if our taxes and wage bill were lower.
July 9, 2026
Why on earth should the government capitulate to demands from the right that Jingye should be allowed to close Scunthorpe because they own it, but have failed to make it profitable because of incompetent management? Which would allow even further penetration of the UK steel market by Chinese steel rebar etc made in their state-subsidised steelworks?
The government already owns Forgemasters, which is apparently a strategic defence facility due to it’s involvement in the manufacture of artillery barrels. We need to keep Scunthorpe open to feed Forgemasters
Many sectors of the state owned UK industrial base were privatised (ie sold off to foreigners) in the 1980’s. The result was mass redundancies, the entry of the profit motive which inflated the cost to their customers, enormous levels of debt – again which had to be paid for by the customers and corporate failures like the sewage dumping industry, energy, etc. The resulting payment of ginormous dividends out of the country distorted the financial markets, weakened Sterling and impoverished us all.
With the benefit of hindsight, Thatcher & Major’s privatisation campaign was an unmitigated disaster. Those involved in the sell-off at the time naturally now claim otherwise. History will be the judge.
Reply What ideological drivel. I do not hear voices supporting Jingye closure. I hear Net zero voices wanting to close all blast furnaces and stop all use of coal. I see yet another UK industry being destroyed by our sky high energy prices and carbon taxes. Profits pay employee bonuses and buy new and improved plant. Nationalised losses lead to redundancies and plant closures.
July 9, 2026
To reply:- exactly! Yet they are happy to burn vast amounts of young coal wood (chopped down forests imported on diesel ships from America) at Drax – which is far worse in CO2 and other terms than burning coal. Mad Miliband still odd on favourite to become Chancellor.
July 9, 2026
SG. For the record, Forgemasters was nationalised because they make major components for the nuclear industry. Gun barrels are from your youth from the time of Dreadnoughts. The world has moved on.
July 9, 2026
SG : “Which [the closure of Scunthorpe] would allow even further penetration of the UK steel market by Chinese steel rebar etc made in their state-subsidised steelworks?”
This is the direct result and intention of the anti-West Net Zero Strategy. Not only for steel but for all our industry, particularly for energy and the energy intensive industries needed for the defence of the realm. In the case of energy, heating and transport we are importing Chinese infrastructure and electrical devices subsidised by cheap coal power, slave labour and ignoring all the environmental damage caused by mining and toxic tailing lakes. Using the false narrative from our enemies that cutting our territorial, and soon to be applied, consumption, emissions we will somehow “save the planet” whilst the undemocratic and authoritarian countries continue with their CO2 emissions regardless laughing at us. Both the history of temperature and CO2 and the science (Happer & Wijngaarden and Shula & Ott) shows that CO2 does not, and never has, controlled temperature. How did (anthropogenic) CO2 cause the last ice age and the warming 11,000 years ago to exit? How come the Antarctic Vostok ice core data shows CO2 following temperature for the last 450,000 years when both have been exceptionally low? How can it be that today’s receding glaciers are exposing 7000 year old tree stumps from trees grown when CO2 was lower than today and the temperature obviously higher?
July 9, 2026
Steel is the lifeline of manufacturing, when oil based plastic is not used.
If we do not make it here we have to import it from abroad, so less security in the supply chain.
Just like food really, the amount we produce at home is becoming less and less of the percentage we need.
The Country that started the industrial revolution is now becoming an industrial waste land.
Those who think we can continue to sell cups of coffee to each other for ever are deluded.
July 9, 2026
Well said, but many are not even selling coffee to each other just claiming benefits. New proposals to give those on benefits free child care, so soon not even looking after their own children. Too busy finding new ways to claim extra benefits or going black market or selling things on eBay perhaps?
Well said JR too exactly the right way to go.
Two Tier Kier is now “kindly” offering everyone a bank holiday if we win the World Cup. I employ about 30 people currently so this would cost me about £5,000 PA. So no day off for me as I will have to find this money somehow or reduce staffing perhaps. It is rather like the minimum wage increases Starmer pretending to be Father Christmas with employers money. This means that employers have less to invest (and less reason to invest) in expanding their businesses or in paying their staff so many will just go bust. Are Starmer and Labour really too thick to see this?
Not that they are very likely to win but still about a 20% chance.
July 9, 2026
An excellent point about the coffee shops.
July 9, 2026
Fiscal responsibility and real Budgeting has been missing from the UK Parliament for sometime. Those that are directly involved don’t care enough to be bothered, those we empower and pay as MPs to hold the Government to account are just along for the ride they were never expecting to step up and do anything like their job.
The thing lost is with successive loony left Parliaments is you can fulfil all aspirations desired if the focus remains with wealth creation, its the ‘economy stupid’. Giving money away, banning and cancelling the means to earn, is as the conspiracy goes the Socialist WEF project of the Great Reset – destroy so you can build in your own very ‘personal’ image. Is the ‘Great Reset’ really just a conspiracy or has become a proven fact?
July 9, 2026
I personally think the Great Reset is far more than just a conspiracy theory.
It has been taking place for some time via changes in social behaviour, education and many other things besides. It was just never given a name until Johnson revealed it.
It was decades ago that I read the theory that was being called ‘managed decline’. I read it, filed it away in my head and had a neutral opinion of it at the time.
It does however look like more than just a conspiracy theory now.
To me ‘Levelling Up’ was all about taking us down. Everything now has to be brought down to the lowest common denominator.
We must pay for resources for others to catch up with us, while all our institutions slip further into 3 rd world levels.
The people get modern day bread and circuses to keep them amused while all this goes on around them.
It seems to be working, sadly.
July 9, 2026
We have to be taken down to accommodate non or little speaking English.Like everything else in the new social mix,our contributions and tolerance are spat at.
July 9, 2026
If only ministers understood some of that.
They are afraid to confront the full impact of the destruction of our steel industry due to net-0 directives.
July 9, 2026
Coming cold into this, it reeks of not having shareholders who give a damn about the business.
It needs a team to go in there and sort out the whole outfit. Work out the real financial position particularly around inventory, put together a budget for 26-27, assess risks etc, etc.
Problem is the people running the country and therefore making final decisions about this don’t know which side of a PL account is up, so there’s not much hope of those lower down the pecking order having a clue or even caring.
July 9, 2026
Management should document daily.Its not difficult with a template sectioned for the various aspects of steel production and an entry.Softwear in place would graph the pogress.
My interest would of course be in health and safety.One would hope that the employees themselves would be 100%. be aware of how to protect themselves and it is not all in a flux.
Basic protection saves much compensation.
July 9, 2026
This socialist government is famed for regularly appointing people to conduct another ‘ubiquitous’ review before making any decision.
With the experience of Sir John and, no doubt, umpteen others still living here, surely common sense and habit would prompt this government to gather a team of knowledgeable and experienced industrialists and financial experts to review British steel manufacturing in this country? And actually work from their results and conclusions?
Or is that too “right-wing” an approach for them?
July 9, 2026
The government doesn’t care, being Labour it just puts everyone’s taxes up yet again.
July 9, 2026
All you have said just highlights the hopelessness of Public Ownership of a business that is in trouble: management will be reporting to the Civil Service which lacks the sense of urgency that is essential to any turn-round operation if it is to have a chance of success. You say that quarterly reporting has been suggested as if it was some bright new idea. Management will need at least monthly reporting, but a monthly report is unlikely to reach the top of a modern working-from-home Civil Servant, before the next one is due, so the responsible Minister, almost certainly with no commercial experience, and a total disdain for the profit motive, will need to be very determined indeed if he is to be sure of seeing anything in time to make any difference to an outcome.
July 9, 2026
All good basic questions and features of what needs to be done when a large business is collapsing due to uneconomic conditions.
One question that is not being raised but perhaps should be is, why was a potentially hostile nation allowed to take control of our last iron ore refining and steel producing plant in the first place?
The uncomfortable truth is, without basic manufacturing and steel production is one of the most important basic industries our ability to defend the nation is not possible.
Ships, submarines, tanks and armament in general all depend on access to steel production. Without that production we are defeated before hostilities even begin.
Why was China allowed to control our defence capacity by owning the last iron ore/steel manufacturing site in the country.
What minister signed off on that?
Ben Wallace was the Defence Sec in 2020 but the decision may have preceded his tenure.
July 9, 2026
Unbelievable that this government thinks it’s rescuing this money pit by declaring they own it, but then disown its liabilities and offload this into us taxpayers and future generations.
Criminal behaviour going unchallenged except for a few like SJR.
July 9, 2026
Surely a list of the basics required to run any large business. For myself in sorting out loss makers as part of a group, I wanted monthly management accounts. But this anti business government probably thinks you can look at the accounts once a year, then be surprised at the losses!
Steel is a strategic business which any independent country must have. But as with the blind faith in Net Zero, we have a government which must not be confused with the facts!
July 9, 2026
You have to admire Preston Byrne and his tweets. He is the lawyer for Americans in America that Ofcom in the UK is trying to restrict the right to free speech. He is openly telling Ofcom and the British government where to go.
As indeed all British politicians should support.
He is inviting Ofcom to land troops on American beaches and overthrow their government and constitution, and telling them until then where they can go.
It is hilarious. The Americans can see how authoritarian and out of control the British state has become.
Hopefully they will arrest our government and senior public sector for crimes against humanity.
July 9, 2026
For the past 3 decades, cheap steel from India & China has destroyed the UK steel industry ….its as simple as that, and our own government(s) have encouraged cheap imports with tariff free, special exemption (if we can’t produce it ourselves) and quotas that are easy to bypass ….and imported steel is substandard even when documented as top quaity, you can’t believe their grading
July 10, 2026
rather like pharma imports from India, which the NHS loves so much, which nobody would buy if they controlled their own health spend.
July 9, 2026
249 ‘illegal immigrants’ invaded the UK yesterday 8th July 2026 …threat unknown, criminal intent unknown, military association unknown, loyalty unknown
July 9, 2026
As at 5pm, UK energy –
18% import via interconnector, fossil fuels 30%, nuclear 13% …and on a hot sunny windy day just 39% from solar & wind
90% of oil & gas imports (the UK imports the majority of its natural gas from the Norwegian Continental Shelf and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers primarily from the US and Qatar)