Debate on bill on Saturday, 12 April 2025, in the House of Commons, led by Jonathan Reynolds. The answering members were Harriett Baldwin, Sarah Jones and Andrew Griffith.

Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill

Second reading agreed to on question. Bill to stand committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 765 cc839-888
Session: 2024-26
Department: Department for Business and Trade
Legislative stage: Second reading
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill
Saturday, 12 April 2025
Parliamentary proceedings
House of Commons; Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill 2024-26
Saturday, 12 April 2025
Bills
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions: Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c839 (Link to this contribution)
I remind Members that, under the Order of the House of today, notice of amendments and new clause...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 cc839-840 (Link to this contribution)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
We meet in exceptional circumstance...; David Davis | 765 c840 (Link to this contribution)
From what the Secretary of State has described, it is beginning to sound as though Jingye is tryi...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c840 (Link to this contribution)
To be clear, where there is a transfer of ownership to the state, we would always pay the fair ma...; Graham Stuart | 765 c840 (Link to this contribution)
Is it now the view of the Government that primary steel production in the United Kingdom is an ov...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c840 (Link to this contribution)
As the right hon. Gentleman will know—we have had this exchange at the Dispatch Box before—I beli...; Jeremy Wright | 765 c841 (Link to this contribution)
The Secretary of State is taking extremely extensive powers for the Government, and they apply to...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c841 (Link to this contribution)
I am extremely grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for his thoughtful question. The ...; Richard Tice | 765 c841 (Link to this contribution)
Given that the Secretary of State has inferred that the owner, Jingye, is not and has not acted i...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c841 (Link to this contribution)
A transfer of ownership to the state remains on the table. It may well, at this stage, given the ...; Meg Hillier | 765 c841 (Link to this contribution)
I applaud my right hon. Friend for his decisive action in this matter. I have only had a chance t...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
I think my hon. Friend refers to clause 7, which deals with compensation. Again, let me be clear:...; Samantha Niblett | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
What is happening today is something that mining communities like Swadlincote, in my constituency...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
This is a significant moment. How a country handles economic transitions is not about nostalgia f...; Ed Davey | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
We will scrutinise this Bill today, but we want to do so in a constructive fashion. Given the hug...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
I am extremely grateful to the right hon. Member and his party for their presence today. He will ...; Iain Duncan Smith | 765 c842 (Link to this contribution)
I fully understand the nature of what the right hon. Gentleman is bringing forward. I also unders...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c843 (Link to this contribution)
I absolutely understand and welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s question. I do not want these powe...; 765 c843 (Link to this contribution); Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c843 (Link to this contribution)
I know there is huge interest, but I will make a little more progress and that might deal with so...; Stephen Flynn | 765 c843 (Link to this contribution)
The Secretary of State has said this is “unique” and “exceptional” and made reference to energy t...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 cc843-4 (Link to this contribution)
I am pleased for the chance to address this issue. The importance of Grangemouth is why this Labo...; Alan Gemmell | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the failure of the Tories and the SNP to develop an industri...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
I endorse my hon. Friend’s comments entirely. I do not believe there is a history of the SNP call...; Jessica Morden | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
The Secretary of State mentioned Port Talbot. I appreciate the unprecedented circumstances we fin...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
I am incredibly pleased to have the chance to answer the point my hon. Friend raises. The Port Ta...; Sarah Owen | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for giving way and for acting in the national interest—the complet...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c844 (Link to this contribution)
I believe that that is on the record. I hope to convince all colleagues today to support this act...; Liz Saville Roberts | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
When the blast furnaces in Port Talbot closed down last September, this Government could have tak...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
I do not want to embarrass the right hon. Lady, but the blast furnaces have already closed at Por...; 765 c845 (Link to this contribution); Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
I think I must progress, Mr Speaker. I can see your indication to do so.; Dawn Butler | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
Will my right hon. Friend give way?; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
I will take one more intervention.; Dawn Butler | 765 c845 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way and for the considered way in which he is looking aft...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 cc845-6 (Link to this contribution)
We remain in close engagement with all the unions, which have been monitoring the situation close...; Kemi Badenoch | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
If such a deal was negotiated, somehow in secret, I ask the Leader of the Opposition to say how m...; Kemi Badenoch | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would like advice on how to counter the points the Secretary o...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
It has just been clarified by your good self. I cannot make the Secretary of State give way when ...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
This is an excellent chance to clarify that. If the Leader of the Opposition agreed a deal with J...; Kemi Badenoch | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
Labour cannot negotiate. We were negotiating a modernisation deal that would have had limited job...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
This is genuinely revelatory. I say again: if Jingye’s request was for £1.2 billion to build at l...; Kemi Badenoch | 765 c846 (Link to this contribution)
When you are negotiating, you do not have—[Interruption.] Labour Members are cheering and laughin...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c847 (Link to this contribution)
Our friends in the press will follow that up and find out exactly how much money the Leader of th...; Andy McDonald | 765 c847 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend and I were in this House in 2015 when the Conservative party sat on its hand...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c847 (Link to this contribution)
I am really grateful that my hon. Friend has been able to put that point on the record for his co...; Caroline Johnson | 765 c847 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Gentleman said that steel production is strategically important, and I agree. He s...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c847 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady will know that the company brought into question whether that coal was the right gr...; Joshua Reynolds | 765 c848 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c848 (Link to this contribution)
I will give way one last time.; Joshua Reynolds | 765 c848 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. Once he has the powers in this Bill, I urge him to...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c848 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Member puts it extremely well, if I may say so. The people who have upheld steel as the ...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c848 (Link to this contribution)
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
11.41 am; Andrew Griffith | 765 cc848-9 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for taking the time to brief me last night ahead of today’s sittin...; Matt Western | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that, in the years between 2010 and 2023, steel production in ...; Andrew Griffith | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
I will talk about the difficulties facing steel around the world, but let us just be clear what i...; Graham Stuart | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
Will my hon. Friend give way? [Interruption.]; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
Order. I remind Members that those who keep intervening will go down the list, so that everybody ...; Graham Stuart | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
I assume that applies after the warning, Mr Speaker.
We have a Government who, I believe, a...; Andrew Griffith | 765 c849 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is sad to say that Scunthorpe is the victim of exact...; 765 c849 (Link to this contribution); Andrew Griffith | 765 cc849-850 (Link to this contribution)
I will make some progress.
Millions of other businesses are also struggling with their ener...; Wera Hobhouse | 765 c850 (Link to this contribution)
We are hearing about the previous Government’s efforts to save British Steel, and we have heard a...; Andrew Griffith | 765 c850 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition has made it extremely clear that the deal was b...; 765 c850 (Link to this contribution); Andrew Griffith | 765 c850 (Link to this contribution)
I will make some progress.
It did not need to be this way. My hon. Friend the Member for Br...; Dawn Butler | 765 c850 (Link to this contribution)
I am still a little confused about the deal negotiated by the last Government. As the Leader of t...; Andrew Griffith | 765 c850 (Link to this contribution)
I am not surprised that the hon. Lady is a little confused; as I said, the Government have failed...; 765 c850 (Link to this contribution); Andrew Griffith | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
Sit down. From midnight, the Chancellor will be standing behind the payroll, settling every bill ...; 765 c851 (Link to this contribution); Andrew Griffith | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
If they sit down, they might learn something.; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
You will sit down, actually. It is the hon. Gentleman’s choice whether he gives way, so Members s...; Andrew Griffith | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
I will take an intervention if someone wants to answer this question: has anyone in Government as...; Bill Esterson | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Andrew Griffith | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
That is a bit slow. [Interruption.] Go on then.; Bill Esterson | 765 c851 (Link to this contribution)
That is a relevant question, given that the hon. Gentleman was Boris Johnson’s business adviser w...; Andrew Griffith | 765 cc851-2 (Link to this contribution)
Disappointingly, there was no answer to my important question about the ONS and whether this asse...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c852 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee.
11.54 am; Liam Byrne | 765 c852 (Link to this contribution)
Mr Speaker, I wonder whether you will forgive me for returning the debate to the Bill, which is a...; Christine Jardine | 765 c852 (Link to this contribution)
Does the right hon. Member agree that there is a wider issue at stake: our energy security and na...; Liam Byrne | 765 cc852-3 (Link to this contribution)
We are here in the House to answer a very basic question: if we cannot trust a company, can we en...; Rosie Wrighting | 765 c853 (Link to this contribution)
My right hon. Friend will know that the Select Committee has spoken to defence companies about ho...; Liam Byrne | 765 c853 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In this debate, we need to remember that 95% of our rail infr...; George Freeman | 765 c853 (Link to this contribution)
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with me, as a card-carrying advocate of industrial strategy, ...; Liam Byrne | 765 c853 (Link to this contribution)
Mr Speaker, you know that I could answer that question all day, but you would rule me out of orde...; Jeremy Corbyn | 765 c853 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with the right hon. Member that we need a steel industry in Britain and that we need to i...; Liam Byrne | 765 c854 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Gentleman may well be right, but this is the second key point that I want to land:...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c854 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
12.3 pm; Daisy Cooper | 765 c854 (Link to this contribution)
Recalling Parliament today was absolutely the right thing to do, but to be frank, it is extraordi...; Chris Vince | 765 c854 (Link to this contribution)
Does the hon. Lady agree that the Conservatives were also in government in 2015, when the steelwo...; Daisy Cooper | 765 cc854-5 (Link to this contribution)
As the hon. Member knows, the three things that I have just outlined—British Steel being sold for...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c855 (Link to this contribution)
As I tried to articulate in my opening speech on Second Reading, I understand the gravity of the ...; Daisy Cooper | 765 cc855-7 (Link to this contribution)
I am incredibly grateful to the Secretary of State for giving that assurance, which is important ...; Diane Abbott | 765 c857 (Link to this contribution)
Today, some of us have been surprised to hear the Opposition talk about a failure to prepare. The...; Edward Leigh | 765 c858 (Link to this contribution)
I have just come off the phone to Tom Smith, the trade union convenor at the blast furnaces, on b...; Polly Billington | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
Will the right hon. Gentleman clarify whether he was aware that the Chinese company that is now i...; Edward Leigh | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
Of course I am, because I just said that. I have just admitted that it was a mistake, but I ask e...; Iain Duncan Smith | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Edward Leigh | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
I give way to our former leader.; Iain Duncan Smith | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
I want to make sure that my right hon. Friend puts the record straight: some of us on the Opposit...; Edward Leigh | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
There we are: some of us apparently warned the Government. I do not know how many.
We now k...; 765 c859 (Link to this contribution); Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c859 (Link to this contribution)
Order. Can I make an appeal to everybody? A lot of people want to speak and there is going to be ...; Melanie Onn | 765 cc859-860 (Link to this contribution)
I am delighted to follow the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh). Given his Dam...; Luke Akehurst | 765 c860 (Link to this contribution)
Does my hon. Friend agree that one major way in which we could secure markets for British steel i...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c860 (Link to this contribution)
Order. Mr Roca, has somebody texted a photograph outside this place of what is going on here this...; Tim Roca | 765 c860 (Link to this contribution)
indicated dissent.; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c860 (Link to this contribution)
Okay, can people please not take or text photographs? I do not know if that is the case here, but...; Melanie Onn | 765 c860 (Link to this contribution)
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst); it is imperative that we...; Martin Vickers | 765 cc860-1 (Link to this contribution)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), my Me...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c861 (Link to this contribution)
I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for putting that point on the record. It is precise...; Martin Vickers | 765 cc861-2 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I would say merely that he has been party ...; 765 c862 (Link to this contribution); Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c862 (Link to this contribution)
Order. Can we try to help each other by not speaking for too long? I hope we do not have reams of...; Bill Esterson | 765 cc862-3 (Link to this contribution)
Well, thank you, Mr Speaker—no pressure. [Interruption.] I will put some of my papers down.; Sarah Edwards | 765 c863 (Link to this contribution)
The Business and Trade Committee, of which I am a member, has heard evidence about the importance...; Bill Esterson | 765 c863 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend makes extremely well the point that our economic security and our national securit...; Richard Tice | 765 cc863-4 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend the Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) and I have been calling for British Steel to...; Carolyn Harris | 765 c864 (Link to this contribution)
Today I represent not only my constituents in Neath and Swansea East, but those of my hon. Friend...; David Davis | 765 c865 (Link to this contribution)
You will not need reminding, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I will remind the House of quite how unusual ...; Daisy Cooper | 765 c865 (Link to this contribution)
Will the right hon. Member give way on that point?; David Davis | 765 cc865-6 (Link to this contribution)
If the hon. Lady will forgive me, I will not, because lots of people want to speak. I will refer ...; Liam Byrne | 765 c866 (Link to this contribution)
The Business and Trade Committee has taken clear evidence that we need a carbon border adjustment...; David Davis | 765 c866 (Link to this contribution)
I am afraid the right hon. Member is right. The difficulty is that we are in a new world. The ter...; Chris McDonald | 765 c867 (Link to this contribution)
In 1976, a group of steelworkers emerged from the Templeborough steelworks following a night shif...; Michelle Scrogham | 765 c867 (Link to this contribution)
Will my hon. Friend give way?; Chris McDonald | 765 c867 (Link to this contribution)
I am sorry; given the shortage of time, I will not.
I also believe that we can be at least ...; Julia Lopez | 765 c867 (Link to this contribution)
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?; Chris McDonald | 765 c868 (Link to this contribution)
I am sorry, but I am not going to give way, simply because of the lack of time.
It is impor...; Richard Tice | 765 c868 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Chris McDonald | 765 c868 (Link to this contribution)
I would be quite happy to talk to the hon. Gentleman about steel desulphurisation in the Tea Room...; Stephen Flynn | 765 cc868-9 (Link to this contribution)
It is a privilege to follow such an impressive speech from the hon. Member for Stockton North (Ch...; Alan Gemmell | 765 c869 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Zubir Ahmed | 765 c869 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Stephen Flynn | 765 c869 (Link to this contribution)
I am afraid that I will not give way because we are all constrained by time, in the same way that...; Liz Saville Roberts | 765 c870 (Link to this contribution)
It does not apply to Wales.; Stephen Flynn | 765 c870 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Member from Plaid Cymru corrects me to clarify the fact that the Bill applies only...; Lee Pitcher | 765 c870 (Link to this contribution)
Let me bring us back to the Bill that we are here to debate. We have heard some of the data, stat...; David Chadwick | 765 cc871-2 (Link to this contribution)
Last year, the Government said they would introduce a new steel strategy that would create more w...; Lee Barron | 765 cc872-3 (Link to this contribution)
Frankly, some of the contribution that we have just heard from the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor...; Iain Duncan Smith | 765 cc873-4 (Link to this contribution)
I will try to be brief and stay focused on the Bill. Let me start by saying that we should all fo...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c874 (Link to this contribution)
This is such an important point, and I will be exceptionally brief, but the right hon. Gentleman ...; Iain Duncan Smith | 765 c875 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful for that, because it allows me to say something that I had not been planning to say...; Clive Betts | 765 c875 (Link to this contribution)
We will go to the Front Benchers at 1.40 pm, so if Members who are called could be as brief as po...; Mark Ferguson | 765 c875 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Secretary of State for his speech and his decisive action. This will be a meaningful ...; Clive Betts | 765 c875 (Link to this contribution)
Thank you for that. If Members can keep contributions to around three minutes, that will be helpf...; Liz Saville Roberts | 765 cc875-6 (Link to this contribution)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lefarydd.
Today’s legislation to safeguard the UK’s last basti...; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c876 (Link to this contribution)
Will the right hon. Lady give way on that point?; Liz Saville Roberts | 765 c876 (Link to this contribution)
The right hon. Gentleman’s Government did not intervene in Wales.; Jonathan Reynolds | 765 c876 (Link to this contribution)
rose—; Liz Saville Roberts | 765 c876 (Link to this contribution)
I will take no interventions. His Government did not intervene in Wales. Under his Government, Sc...; Tom Rutland | 765 cc876-7 (Link to this contribution)
Today, we are taking an extraordinary but necessary step not just to safeguard a single industry,...; Ellie Chowns | 765 cc877-8 (Link to this contribution)
Steel is strategically vital for the UK and the foundation of our industry. We could and should b...; David Smith | 765 c878 (Link to this contribution)
Forty years ago in this place, the Conservative Minister of Trade and Industry said:
“I bel...; Lola McEvoy | 765 c878 (Link to this contribution)
Does my hon. Friend agree that home-made steel is the fire in the belly of this country’s industr...; David Smith | 765 cc878-9 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend makes a good point, and I agree absolutely. I want my constituents to trust that t...; 765 c879 (Link to this contribution); Clive Betts | 765 c879 (Link to this contribution)
Order. I remind Members that each contribution should take no more than two to three minutes.
...; Clive Jones | 765 c879 (Link to this contribution)
A potential tragedy is unfolding for many people in the Scunthorpe area, not just those at the st...; Laurence Turner | 765 cc879-880 (Link to this contribution)
I am glad to be called in this debate. I declare an interest: the GMB—one of the steelworkers’ un...; Clive Betts | 765 c880 (Link to this contribution)
I thank all Members for their help in being brief for the last few contributions, but unfortunate...; Jeremy Wright | 765 cc880-1 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to you, Mr Deputy Speaker.
I can accept that there is broad agreement in this...; Clive Betts | 765 c881 (Link to this contribution)
I call Dame Harriett Baldwin for the official Opposition.
1.41 pm; Harriett Baldwin | 765 c882 (Link to this contribution)
I add my thanks to everyone who has enabled us to be here this afternoon, but the fact is that th...; Graham Stuart | 765 c882 (Link to this contribution)
The Government give themselves powers in the Bill to compensate steel undertakings, yet the Minis...; Harriett Baldwin | 765 cc882-3 (Link to this contribution)
I wholeheartedly endorse what my right hon. Friend said. All new Government Members should be awa...; Sarah Jones | 765 cc883-4 (Link to this contribution)
I thank hon. Members on both sides of the House not just for participating in this debate, but fo...; Dave Doogan | 765 c884 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister speaks about the whole of the United Kingdom. I am very pleased that the Government ...; Sarah Jones | 765 cc884-5 (Link to this contribution)
In the first 10 weeks after coming to power, this Government negotiated a better deal on Port Tal...; 765 c885 (Link to this contribution); Nick Smith | 765 c885 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the Government’s actions today. I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry for al...; Sarah Jones | 765 c885 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is right that procurement has a key role to play in our industrial strategy in ste...; Graham Stuart | 765 c885 (Link to this contribution)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is reported that Jingye management has been turned away by wo...; Lindsay Hoyle | 765 c885 (Link to this contribution)
As the right hon. Member knows, that is great information but not a point of order.; Sarah Jones | 765 c885 (Link to this contribution)
I will not comment from the Dispatch Box on reports that have been made during the debate. We are...; Brian Leishman | 765 c886 (Link to this contribution)
On that point, will the Minister give way?; Sarah Jones | 765 c886 (Link to this contribution)
I hope my hon. Friend will forgive me, but there is no time for me to give way. I reassure the ho...
Subjects: Compensation Assets Costs British Steel China Employment Iron and steel Powers Manufacturing industries Nationalisation Wales Scotland Port Talbot Scunthorpe Jingye Group Grangemouth
Legislation: Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill 2024-26
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill

Secondary information

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