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In a rare emergency session on Saturday, UK lawmakers cut short their Easter break to pass legislation rescuing the country’s last fully integrated steel plant from imminent closure.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the extraordinary session \u2014 only the sixth of its kind since World War II \u2014 to pass a bill aimed at halting plans by British Steel\u2019s Chinese owner, Jingye Group, to shutter the two blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe plant in northern England.
The legislation grants sweeping powers to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, enabling him to direct British Steel\u2019s board, secure pay for the plant\u2019s 3,000 workers, and order raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running. Without immediate action, the blast furnaces \u2014 critical for producing virgin steel \u2014 risked a permanent shutdown due to canceled orders and lack of essential inputs like iron pellets and coking coal.
Jingye has argued the plant is losing \u00a3700,000 ($910,000) daily, citing global market pressures and rising environmental compliance costs. The company said recent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump \u2014 including a 25% levy on foreign steel \u2014 have worsened the situation.
Following Parliament’s approval of the rescue plan, Starmer traveled to Scunthorpe to meet with steelworkers, whose jobs \u2014 and the town’s 150-year-old steelmaking legacy \u2014 now appear safe, at least for the short term.
\u201cYou and your colleagues for years have been the backbone of British Steel,\u201d Starmer told workers. \u201cIt\u2019s your jobs, your lives, your communities, your families.\u201d
Relief swept the town, even spilling into Scunthorpe United\u2019s soccer match, where steelworkers were welcomed on the field with cheers. The local club\u2019s nickname, \u201cThe Iron,\u201d stands as a tribute to the town’s industrial roots.
The blast furnaces are not just vital to Scunthorpe \u2014 they represent the UK\u2019s last capacity to produce steel from raw materials. Without them, the nation would become the only G7 country unable to make its own virgin steel, leaving industries like defense, infrastructure, and rail reliant on foreign sources.
\u201cWe could not, will not and never will stand idly by while heat seeps from the UK\u2019s remaining blast furnaces without any planning, any due process or any respect for the consequences,\u201d Reynolds said in Parliament. He accused Jingye of making \u201cexcessive\u201d demands during negotiations and warned that without intervention, the company was on track to \u201cirrevocably and unilaterally\u201d shut down primary steelmaking.
Though the new law does not nationalize British Steel, Reynolds acknowledged that a future transfer of ownership to the state remains on the table. It also raises uncertainty over Jingye\u2019s role going forward. Should the company fail to comply with the law, it and its executives could face legal action.
British Steel, acquired by Jingye in 2020, has yet to comment on how it will respond to the government\u2019s move.<\/div>\n