This is a remarkable step by the government – and Donald Trump, China and Reform UK have all played their part
When the sun sets on Scunthorpe this Saturday, the town’s steelworks will likely have a new boss – Jonathan Reynolds.
The law that parliament will almost certainly approve this weekend hands the business secretary the powers to direct staff at British Steel, order raw materials and, crucially, keep the blast furnaces at the plant open.
This is not full nationalisation.
But it is an extraordinary step.
The Chinese firm Jingye will – on paper – remain the owner of British Steel.
But the UK state will insert itself into the corporate set-up to legally override the wishes of the multinational company.
A form of martial law invoked and applied to private enterprise.
That will come at a cost to the taxpayer.
Follow latest: Live politics updates
No number has been specified, but there are wages to pay and orders to make at a site estimated to already be losing £700,000 a day.
There is also clear frustration in government at how the Chinese owners have engaged in negotiations around modernising the Scunthorpe site.
“Jingye have not been forthright throughout this process”, said the business secretary in his department’s official announcement about the new laws.
Time is so tight because of the nature of the steel-making process.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Inside the UK’s last blast furnaces
Once switched off, blast furnaces are very hard to turn back on.
If this had happened in Scunthorpe – as seemed likely in a matter of days – then it would have been game over.
This move keeps the show on the road and opens up more time for talks over the long-term future of the plant.
While the official line in Whitehall is that “all options are on the table”, nationalisation seems increasingly likely.
That would need more legislation, if it was done – as seems likely – without the approval of the current owner.
Finding an alternative commercial partner has not been ruled out, but one is not waiting in the wings either.
As for what that long-term future looks like, with just five years of life left in the Scunthorpe blast furnaces, modernisation is inevitable.
Port Talbot’s plant saw its blast furnaces closed last year amid a switch to the more environmentally friendly electric arc furnaces and a loss of thousands of jobs.
A general view shows British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.
Pic Reuters
Political figures in Wales are now questioning why nationalisation wasn’t on the table for this site.
The response from government is that the deal was done by the previous Tory administration and the owners of the South Wales site agreed to the terms.
But there is also a sense that this decision over British Steel is being shaped by the domestic and international political context.
Labour came to power promising to revitalise left-behind communities and inject a sense of pride back into places still reeling from the loss of traditional industry.
With that in mind, it would be politically intolerable to see the UK’s last two blast furnaces closed and thousands of jobs lost in a relatively deprived part of the country.
Read more from Sky News:
Michael Gove handed peerage
Tickets on sale for Electoral Dysfunction live show
Badenoch denies supporting local coalitions
One of the two blast furnaces at British Steel’s Scunthorpe operation
Reform UK’s position of pushing for full and immediate nationalisation is also relevant, given the party is in electoral pursuit of Labour in many parts of the country where decline in manufacturing has been felt most acutely.
The geo-political situation is perhaps more pressing though.
Just look at the strength of the prime minister’s language in his Downing Street address – “our economic and national security are all on the line”.
The government’s reaction to the turmoil caused by President Donald Trump’s pronouncements on tariffs and security has been to emphasise the need to increase domestic resilience in both business and defence.
Becoming the only G7 nation unable to produce virgin steel at a time when globalisation appears to be in retreat hardly fits with that narrative.
It would also present serious practical questions about the ability of the UK to produce steel for defence and the broader switch to green energy production.
Then there is the intriguing subplot around US-China trade.
While this decision is separate from discussions with the White House on tariffs, one can imagine how a UK move to wrestle control of a site of national importance from its Chinese owner might go down with a US president currently engaged in a fierce trade war with Beijing.
This is a remarkable step from the government, but it is more a punctuation mark than a full answer.
The tension between manufacturing and decarbonisation remains, as do the challenges presented by a global economy appearing to fragment significantly.
But one thing is for sure.
As a political parable about changes to traditional industry and the challenges of globalisation, the saga of British Steel is hard to beat.
Palestine Action can still challenge the decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws after the government lost an appeal.
The group was “proscribed” in July, making it illegal to show any support or affiliation for it, following incidents that included breaking in to an RAF base.
The Home Office appealed after a court granted the group’s co-founder a judicial review and said the ban disproportionately interfered with freedom of speech and assembly.
A woman is led away by police during Palestine Action protest on 6 September. Pic: PA
It said the government should also have consulted the group first.
Despite the ban, nearly 900 supporters were arrested at a single protest in London last month.
The judicial review of the ban was scheduled to begin on 25 November and Friday’s Court of Appeal decision means it can still go ahead.
Palestine Action called it a “landmark victory” and said co-founder Huda Ammori had also been granted permission to appeal on two further grounds.
Reacting after the court’s decision, Ms Ammori called the ban “absurdly authoritarian” and “one of the most extreme attacks on civil liberties in recent British history”.
She said 2,000 people had been arrested since it was outlawed and arresting “peaceful protesters” under the Terrorism Act was a misuse of resources.
The group’s vandalising of aircraft at Brize Norton in June – with two activists reportedly entering on electric scooters – prompted a security review of UK defence sites.
Read more from Sky News:
Neo-Nazis who plotted attacks on mosques and synagogues jailed
Backlash over footballer’s return after violence conviction
Supporters of the group vandalised aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in June
Its supporters have carried out numerous protests in the UK, with many involving vandalism and violence.
Last year, it smashed windows and sprayed red paint on Barclays branches and this summer vandalised a Bristol defence technology firm, allegedly assaulting staff and police.
Multiple rallies for the group have taken place in London since July’s ban, with hundreds detained for showing support.
A protest at the start of this month saw another 492 people arrested despite calls for the event to be scrapped after the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
The King will become the first British monarch to pray publicly with the Pope since the Reformation 500 years ago during a state visit to the Holy See next week.
The King and Queen will meet the new pontiff Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace, his official residence, next Thursday during their trip to Vatican City.
In a highly significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor, the King and Queen and the Pope will attend a special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel celebrating the ongoing work towards unity and cooperation among different Christian churches.
The decision for the King and Pope to pray together during the service will be the first time a monarch and the pontiff have joined together in this type of moment of reflection in the 500 years since the Reformation when, in 1534, King Henry VIII declared himself as head of the Church of England and broke from the papal authority of the Rome Catholic Church.
In another historic step, the King will be made “Royal Confrater” of the Abbey of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.
The abbot of the community and the archpriest of the basilica wished to confer the title and received the Pope’s approval to do so. To mark the occasion a special seat has been made decorated with the King’s coat of arms.
Read more:
King Charles pays tribute to Pope Francis
King and Queen meet Pope Francis at the Vatican
The King will use it during the service, after which it will remain in the apse of the basilica for future use by His Majesty and his heirs and successors.
English Kings had a particular link with The Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls until the Reformation. It is also known as the Papal Basilica where reconciliation, ecumenism and relationships across the Christian faith are celebrated.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
King to pray with Pope
A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The royal confrater title, whilst it confers no duties or obligations on the King, and makes no changes whatsoever to the formal, constitutional and ecclesiastical position of His Majesty as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, it is a tribute to his majesty and his own work over many decades to find common ground between faiths and to bring people together.”
The trip comes during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee year. Held traditionally every 25 years, “Pilgrims of Hope” is the theme of this jubilee.
The King and Queen met the late Pope Francis in April. Pic: Reuters
The visit will also reflect the joint commitment from both Pope Leo and the King to protect nature and their shared concern for the environment. The service at the Sistine Chapel will have the theme of “Care for Creation” and they will attend a meeting on sustainability.
A spokesperson from the Foreign Office said: “At a time of growing instability and conflict, the UK’s relationship with the Holy See is more important than ever. The Holy See is a key international actor.
“We work with the Holy See to promote human dignity, to promote peace and combat climate change… so His Majesty’s visit will strengthen the UK’s relationship with this crucial and influential global partner.”
Read more on Sky News:
Vatican must do more to help sexual abuse victims
Pope Leo’s revealing birthday interview
Only in 1961 did Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch since the Reformation to make an official visit to the Holy See.
In April of this year, a royal visit had to be cancelled due to the ill health of Pope Francis, but both the King and Queen did meet him privately while on a trip to Rome. It is understood Pope Leo and the King have been actively engaged in how this reorganised visit will look and the themes it will cover.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024