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It’s a momentous day in UK industrial history, in two respects. But what have the closures of the last blast furnace at Port Talbot and the final British coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar got to do with one other?

In one respect the common factor is coal. The blast furnace at Port Talbot is one of the last remaining descendants of the key technology invented in Britain during the early Industrial Revolution.

Abraham Darby pioneered the process of using coal (a baked form of coal called coking coal, to be precise) to refined iron ore – turning it into what is known as pig iron.

That, along with the basic oxygen process devised by Henry Bessemer, was among the foundational inventions which happened in Britain, and helped to kick-start the fossil fuel age that followed.

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Blast Furnace No 4 at Port Talbot is not the last remaining such facility in the country – there are also two blast furnaces still operating at British Steel in Scunthorpe – but all of these furnaces will soon be gone, replaced with electric arc furnaces, which produce steel in a far less carbon-intensive way.

All of which sounds like good news – but there’s a catch we’ll come back to in a moment. In the meantime, let’s take a second to ponder another landmark moment: the end of coal power.

Port Talbot
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Port Talbot in Wales. Pic: PA

Britain was also the first country in the world to have an operational coal-fired power station – the 1882 plant in Holborn. And today it has closed its last remaining coal-fired power station.

In one sense this is only a formalisation of something that has been creeping up on the UK for some time: the gradual switch from coal-fired power to a combination of gas power and renewables.

Undated handout photo issued by Uniper of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. The UK's last remaining coal-fired power station will shut down on Monday, drawing to a close Britain's 142-year reliance on the fossil fuel to produce electricity. Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station has been generating electricity since 1968 via its four coal-fired boilers, eight vast cooling towers and 199-metre tall chimney, which occupies a prominent spot in the East Midlands skyline. Issue date: Monday September 30, 202
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Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. Pic: PA

Gas-fired power stations are better than coal plants in at least three respects: they are more efficient at turning fuel into power, they are quicker to switch on and off and they emit about half the amount of carbon.

But this switch is not without its consequences. Coal, like it or not, is still a cheaper form of power than gas – at least before you take into account carbon costs. And unlike gas, coal supplies are not as dependent on Russia.

Also, Britain’s switch from cheap-ish coal towards more expensive gas and renewables (themselves dependent on a rainbow of government subsidies) is part of the explanation for why the country currently has some of the most expensive power costs in the developed world.

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Indeed, industrial power prices, which are most directly affected since they absorb most of the subsidies for renewables, are higher than in any other developed country.

And since electric arc furnaces are powered by electricity (as the name suggests), our ability to make steel at a reasonable price will be determined in future by those industrial power costs.

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In other words, green steel in the UK is likely to be considerably more expensive, in part because of how quickly the UK is pushing towards green power.

It’s worth saying, that the push towards renewables is not the only reason for high UK power prices. There is also the fact that the grid in this country is short of investment – not to mention the dysfunctionalities of the way wholesale power markets are structured.

But eye-wateringly high power prices are part of the explanation for why industry is shifting away from Britain to cheaper locations. It is part of the explanation for why this country is de-industrialising faster than nearly every other developed nation.

That, in turn, is helping to reduce the amount of carbon emitted in this country. But it’s also helping to diminish the number of people employed in manufacturing and the amount of economic output generated by the sector.

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Santander warns car finance redress scheme a threat to UK jobs, growth and economy

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Santander warns car finance redress scheme a threat to UK jobs, growth and economy

High street bank Santander has launched a scathing criticism of the car finance compensation scheme and delayed the release of its financial results “in light of uncertainties” it has caused.

The Spanish-owned lender called for government intervention – warning it sees the scheme as posing a wider threat to the economy, jobs and consumers.

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The scheme was set up by financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to compensate people mis-sold car loans.

Under FCA proposals, up to 14.2 million people could each receive an average of £700, as lenders broke the law by failing to disclose they paid commission to brokers. It meant customers lost out on better deals and sometimes paid more.

The proposal differs, Santander said, “in important respects” from the Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for the redress plan.

Mr Regnier said: “We believe that the level of concern in the industry and market is such that material changes to the proposed FCA redress scheme should be an active consideration for the UK government.

“Without such change, the unintended consequences for the car finance market, the supply of credit and the resulting negative impact on the automotive industry and its supply chain could significantly impact jobs, growth and the broader UK economy.

“This could also cause significant detriment to the consumer.

“What is at stake is the supply of credit that customers need and that supports a very important sector for the economy.”

Deferred results

Santander was due to publish its latest financial figures on Wednesday morning, but has held back until it says it gets “greater clarity” on the scheme and its impact on the bank and the wider market.

No new date to report results was given. Release of the same third-quarter results last year was also deferred due to uncertainty over the impact of car loan mis-selling.

The hit to Santander, however, is not expected to impact its operations or financial position, even in a worst-case scenario for the bank where it has to allocate more funds for compensation, it said.

It had already set aside £295m to deal with the mis-selling.

The FCA said, “We believe a compensation scheme is the best way to settle, for both lenders and consumers, liabilities that exist no matter what.

“Alternatives would cost more and take longer. It’s vital we draw a line under the issue so a trusted motor finance market can continue to serve millions of families every year.”

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Santander said it was committed to “ensuring fair outcomes” for its customers and will continue engaging constructively with the FCA, HM Treasury and other stakeholders.

Santander UK shares were up 0.5% following the news.

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Budget 2025: Reeves vows to ‘defy’ gloomy forecasts – but faces income tax warning

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Budget 2025: Reeves vows to 'defy' gloomy forecasts - but faces income tax warning

Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to “defy” forecasts that suggest she will face a multibillion-pound black hole in next month’s budget.

Writing in The Guardian, the chancellor argued the “foundations of Britain’s economy remain strong” – and rejected claims the country is in a permanent state of decline.

Reports have suggested the Office for Budget Responsibility is expected to downgrade its productivity growth forecast by about 0.3 percentage points.

Rachel Reeves. PA file pic
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Rachel Reeves. PA file pic

That means the Treasury will take in less tax than expected over the coming years – and this could leave a gap of up to £40bn in the country’s finances.

Ms Reeves wrote she would not “pre-empt” these forecasts, and her job “is not to relitigate the past or let past mistakes determine our future”.

“I am determined that we don’t simply accept the forecasts, but we defy them, as we already have this year. To do so means taking necessary choices today, including at the budget next month,” the chancellor added.

She also pointed to five interest rate cuts, three trade deals with major economies and wages outpacing inflation as evidence Labour has made progress since the election.

Speculation is growing that Ms Reeves may break a key manifesto pledge by raising income tax or national insurance during the budget on 26 November.

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Chancellor faces tough budget choices

Although her article didn’t address this, she admitted “our country and our economy continue to face challenges”.

Her opinion piece said: “The decisions I will take at the budget don’t come for free, and they are not easy – but they are the right, fair and necessary choices.”

Yesterday, Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates reported that Ms Reeves is unlikely to raise the basic rates of income tax or national insurance, to avoid breaking a promise to protect “working people” in the budget.

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Sky News has also obtained an internal definition of “working people” used by the Treasury, which relates to Britons who earn less than £45,000 a year.

This, in theory, means those on higher salaries could be the ones to face a squeeze in the budget – with the Treasury stating that it does not comment on tax measures.

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In other developments, some top economists have warned Ms Reeves that increasing income tax or reducing public spending is her only option for balancing the books.

Experts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies have cautioned the chancellor against opting to hike alternative taxes instead, telling The Independent this would “cause unnecessary amounts of economic damage”.

Although such an approach would help the chancellor avoid breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge, it is feared a series of smaller changes would make the tax system “ever more complicated and less efficient”.

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Uncertainty for UK workers as Amazon to cut 14,000 jobs globally

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Uncertainty for UK workers as Amazon to cut 14,000 jobs globally

Roughly 14,000 corporate jobs are to go at tech giant Amazon, the company announced.

The impact on the 75,000-strong UK workforce is not immediately clear from the announcement, which said impacted people and teams would hear from leadership on Tuesday.

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A loss of 30,000 jobs had been anticipated based on reporting from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon workers’ union in the UK, GMB, had said, based on those numbers, that “it is almost inevitable that many UK workers will lose their jobs”.

“The fact that companies can accrue such astronomical profits to the point where its [founder, Jeff Bezos] can holiday in space and hire out entire cities for his vulgar wedding prior to casting aside loyal workers without a thought just underlines everything that’s wrong with a system that many feel is beyond repair,” the union said.

Why?

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The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has been blamed for the cuts.

In a message sent to staff, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, alluded to the criticism that the company is cutting jobs while profiting £19.2bn in results published in July.

“Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well,” she wrote.

“What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”

Amazon is also continuing to unravel some of the hiring it made during the COVID-19 pandemic and has warned about reducing headcount and bureaucracy.

In May 2021, for example, the business said it was hiring more than 10,000 UK jobs.

The largest ever cut of 18,000 Amazon roles was announced in January 2023 when the consumer retail part of the business, including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, were scaled back.

It plans to replace more than half a million jobs with robots, automating 75% of its operations, according to the New York Times.

What next?

Those who lose their job will be prioritised for openings within Amazon to help “as many people as possible” find new roles, she said.

Hiring will continue, despite the latest cull, in “key strategic areas” while the online retail behemoth finds additional places we can “remove layers, increase ownership, and realise efficiency gains”.

Amazon said it is “shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs”.

In the UK, GMB said, “We will be supporting our members across Amazon as they face this uncertain future.”

It is to announce financial results for the third quarter of this year on Thursday evening, UK time.

Amazon UK has been contacted for comment.

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