Parliament will be recalled on Saturday to debate draft legislation giving the government “the power to direct steel companies in England” to protect British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, Downing Street has said.
Both the Commons and the Lords will return for the rare Saturday sitting to debate a law aimed at securing the future of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant in North Lincolnshire.
Jingye, the Chinese owner of British Steel, plans to close the blast furnaces and switch to a greener form of production.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister has been clear, his government will always act in the national interest. All actions we take are in the name of British industry, British jobs and for British workers.
“Tomorrow Parliament will be recalled to debate the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill. The bill provides the government with the power to direct steel companies in England, which we will use to protect the Scunthorpe site.
“It enables the UK government to preserve capability and ensure public safety. It also ensures all options remain viable for the future of the plant and the livelihoods it supports.
“We have been negotiating with British Steel’s owners in good faith ever since coming to office. We have always been clear there is a bright future for steel in the UK. All options remain on the table.”
The Commons Saturday sitting will begin at 11 a.m., when MPs will debate “legislative proposals to ensure the continued operation of British Steel blast furnaces is safeguarded,” according to the office of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
The House of Lords will sit from midday.
In an indication of how seriously the government is taking the issue, this is the first time Parliament has been recalled to sit on a Saturday since 1982, when MPs returned after the Falklands War began.
Other significant recalls during recent years included a midweek sitting during the summer recess in August 2021 to debate the evacuation from Afghanistan.
In a letter to MPs shared with the PA news agency, Hoyle said he was satisfied the “public interest” requires the recall.
Leaders of Westminster’s opposition parties appeared to broadly welcome news of the debate.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for “a serious plan for the sustainable future of domestic steel production.”
Davey said: “The future of steel production in this country is of real importance and nothing should be off the table in this matter of national security.
“Tomorrow must be seen as an opportunity to come forward with a serious plan for the sustainable future of domestic steel production. The public rightly deserves better than political opportunism and grandstanding.”
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, reiterated that he backed moves to nationalise the steel plant.
“China has no interest in keeping the steelworks open. Reform have been clear from the start that the only option we have to save this vital strategic asset—and thousands of jobs in the process—is to nationalise British Steel,” he said.
Farage also called on the government to retain and refurbish two blast furnaces, implement a long-term business plan, and acquire Liberty Steel Rotherham for its two electric arc furnaces.
Unions welcomed the move to recall Parliament.
Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB union national officer, said: “GMB has long called for nationalisation as the only way to save the UK steel industry.
“Tomorrow looks like the first step in that process.
“The business secretary must be given huge praise for acting decisively to safeguard this vital industry and the thousands of jobs that rely on it.”
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of steelworkers’ union Community, said: “It is in the national interest that a solution is found to secure a future for British Steel as a vital strategic business.
“We can’t allow Britain to become the only G7 country without primary steelmaking capacity.”
