SNP claim double standards as MPs told Grangemouth 'not comparable' to British Steel

Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, made the remarks during a rare Saturday sitting of the House of Commons to debate the proposed legislation, which was introduced to save the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe from imminent closure and give the government powers to run it.

Chinese company Jingye, which bought British Steel in 2020, has said its blast furnaces were "no longer financially sustainable", with 2,800 jobs at risk.

The bill cleared at its third reading in the Commons today and has now gone to the House of Lords this afternoon.

During the debate, Mr Flynn questioned why the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill only applied in England. He referred to Grangemouth Refinery, which has been earmarked for closure with a loss of 400 jobs with proposals to turn the plant into a green energy centre being explored.

Mr Flynn told the Commons: “Whilst the Government mobilises every effort to save British Steel, it allows Grangemouth to fall on the backburner.”

He asked: “Why is this not being extended to Scotland? Why is Grangemouth not being included? Why is the smelter up at Lochaber not being included? Why the DL steelworks not being included? The answer why they are not being included is because Westminster is only interested in Westminster.

“It is not interested in Scotland. And I will not be shouted down by the members opposite, because they need to hear the truth.”

READ MORE: Saving Grangemouth needs eye-watering amounts of cash and political will to become a reality

He added: "Many minds right now will be very much focused on the situation in Grangemouth, where we know that hundreds of jobs are going to be lost directly, thousands of jobs in the supply chain.

"Would the Labour Party back it in the same way as it is backing this Bill today?"

Welsh politicians also accused the UK Government of double standards over plans to protect steel in England.

Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrat MPs criticised the Government’s plans to save jobs in Scunthorpe, suggesting it had failed to do the same for Port Talbot.

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid’s Westminster leader, said: “Scunthorpe gets security, Port Talbot gets a pittance.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the Commons described the situation at the Scunthorpe Plant as an “exceptional situation”

"I understand that some have asked about precedent or referenced other troubled industrial situations.

"To be clear again, this is an exceptional situation, a unique situation.”

Business minister Sarah Jones addressed calls for a “sunset clause” in the Bill to ensure there is an expiry date on the powers given to ministers, told the Commons:

She said: “I want to reiterate what the Secretary of State (Jonathan Reynolds) explained in terms of the risk of a hard backstop reducing our leverage and that was why we have not put a sunset clause in.

“However, we’ve heard the House’s concern on this front so I can confirm we will repeal this legislation as quickly as we can, we will involve the select committee and I can also make this pledge to the House today that we will update the House regularly and (Mr Reynolds) has committed to do so every four working weeks.”

Ms Jones said the Government is “not moving to nationalise British Steel today”, adding: “We are already taking very significant powers today that we do not underestimate, and this buys us time to have the leverage and the time we need to look at what must be done next.”

Labour peer Lord Sikka said the Government was trying to avoid explicitly saying it would nationalise British Steel, but said it should be the long-term outcome.

He said: “My Lords the minister said that the Government seeks to take control of blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, without taking control of British Steel.

“It’s really trying to avoid the words nationalisation and public ownership, but that is really where we are heading. British Steel’s most recent accounts show falling turnover, increasingly losses and negative net worth. It is bankrupt and the compensation should be very little, if any.

“Steel is essential for civil and defence industries. In a world of trade wars, we need to be self sufficient. We need permanent public ownership of the steel industry.”

He added: “One of the reasons for the current crisis is that privatisation of essential industries has failed.

“The 1988 privatisation of steel by the Conservative government was completely divorced from any industrial strategy, need for jobs and self reliance.”