Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025

Baroness Smith of Llanfaes Excerpts

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (PC)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Prior; my late father also worked in Port Talbot in the 1980s, when it was under British Steel.

I congratulate the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Lloyd, on her maiden speech. She noted her family roots in Wales, so I look forward to hearing more about her links to Wales. It is always good to have more voices here wanting to stand up for Wales, so I say, “Croeso i ti”. I also look forward to the maiden speech of the other Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood, at the end of the debate. I look forward to both of their future contributions as Ministers.

Parliament was recalled earlier this year to fast-track the passage of this legislation. The Government acted with commendable urgency to safeguard jobs at British Steel in Scunthorpe. That is what good government should do: act swiftly and decisively to protect people’s jobs. We have also heard of new jobs, in the form of apprentices, that have been created.

I am glad for the people of Scunthorpe—they deserved that protection—but I cannot ignore the painful contrast with what has happened in Port Talbot, where 2,800 jobs have disappeared, similar to the number saved in Scunthorpe but without an equivalent intervention from the Government. This is nothing short of a betrayal. The loss extends far beyond those direct jobs. For every worker on site, three contractors were employed. There were the cafés, the suppliers and the small businesses that formed part of the steel-working community. That was pointed out perfectly by the noble Lord, Lord Murphy, who observed that these industries literally create those communities in Wales, and once removed we lose those communities.

The people of Port Talbot have the right to ask: why were our jobs not worth fighting for? Why was our community left behind while another was rescued? Port Talbot was not a minor player. It was the largest steelworks in the United Kingdom, producing millions of tonnes of steel each year. Yet the first blast furnace was shut down on 5 July 2024, and the second on 30 September. From car doors and bonnets to Heinz cans and the coins in our pockets, we have all relied on the steel made in Port Talbot. When you speak to those who have worked there and the wider community, there is immense pride in that—pride in their contribution to both the everyday and the extraordinary, from the cans on our shelves to the stadiums that stand proudly across the UK. As was highlighted by many noble Lords, many opportunities exist in the future to build wind turbines and support defence.

Under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, the legislation we are discussing today, the Government hold the power to intervene even after assets have ceased operation. The Act extends to England and Wales. The capacity to act existed; only the will to act was missing. The decision to exclude Welsh steel from the benefits of this legislation was a choice made by this Government—and a deeply political one. I have no doubt that, when the Minister responds at the end of the debate, we shall once again hear that it was too late to save the jobs at Port Talbot, but that is simply not true. When the new Government took office, one blast furnace was still operating; the other had only just been shut down. There was still time to intervene. The need was urgent and the refusal to act is indefensible. The new deal involving £500 million, which was mentioned in the opening remarks, predates this Government, but we are still no clearer on the material difference that it will make.

In April, my Plaid Cymru colleagues in the other place tabled an amendment to extend the Bill’s provisions to Wales; that amendment was rejected. In doing so, the Government made a conscious political decision to extend protection to one part of the United Kingdom but not to another. That rejection speaks volumes: it shows that the powers being used to safeguard jobs in England could and should have been used to protect the steel industry in Wales. All that unfolds among a wider storm that was illustrated in the Minister’s opening remarks and by the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, who is no longer in his place.

I also want to ask the Minister directly about the steel strategy; many noble Lords have mentioned that we have been waiting six months and it has yet to be published. On that strategy, will the Government consider a place-based approach to the £2.5 billion steel fund, ensuring that key Welsh sites—Port Talbot, Shotton, Llanwern and Trostre—receive a fair and proportionate share of investment? This is not simply a matter of industrial policy; it is a question of justice and of balance, and really of fairness.

We must also reflect, with regret, on the decisions taken not only here in Westminster but in Cardiff Bay. The Welsh Labour Government once dismissed Plaid Cymru’s call for nationalisation of Port Talbot as a “pipe dream”, yet we now witness in effect the nationalisation of British steel in Scunthorpe. What was dismissed as fantasy in Wales has become a reality in England, and I am glad the Government made that decision here. So I must ask: why was that same courage not shown when Welsh steelworkers needed it most?

The future of British steel cannot be determined by postcode. The people of Port Talbot, and of Sheffield, and across the UK are no less valuable than the people of Scunthorpe. If the Government can intervene to save jobs in Lincolnshire, they should and must do so across the United Kingdom, and of course in Wales.

This legislation may be a stopgap but the choices it exposes will have lasting consequences for people and communities. With the steel strategy, the Government now have an opportunity to turn a new page: to set out clearly how the steel fund will be used, to confirm how much will be invested in Wales and to deliver parity—in funding and in policy. We are not asking for favouritism for Wales; we are asking for fairness and for a level playing field, and that the steelworkers of Wales receive the same support and respect as their counterparts in England.

As the people of Caerphilly go to the polls today, they, like so many across Wales, are watching what this Government do. They see how decisions made here in Westminster and in Cardiff Bay are shaping their futures. Next May, when Wales elects a new Government to the Senedd, the people will deliver their verdict—on who stood with them when their steelworks fell silent. The people of Wales are not powerless; they will be heard, and they will remember. Diolch yn fawr.