Sarah Olney

May I start by associating the Liberal Democrats with the Minister’s remarks in support of the employees, families and communities who are affected by this latest development? We welcome the Minister’s coming to the House today to provide some clarity. Steel is a sector of huge strategic importance for our country. It provides vital materials for our national infrastructure, from defence to renewable energy, and it creates thousands of jobs across the UK. The neglect of the steel industry in recent years is just another part of the previous Government’s disastrous legacy. With Putin’s barbaric war in Europe and Donald Trump’s damaging tariffs causing economic turmoil, securing the future of steel production in this country is more important than ever. That is why the Liberal Democrats firmly believe that nothing should be off the table in supporting this critical sector. For too long, our steel industry has been neglected. The Conservative Government oversaw a string of near collapses and last-minute deals. They scrapped the industrial strategy, which is so vital to our manufacturers, and put in place new trade barriers, which constrained our exporters. In the light of this latest insolvency, will the Minister set out what actions the Government are taking to set our steel industry on a truly sustainable footing? What reassurance can the Government provide that job losses can be avoided in the future? What progress has been made in bringing down industrial electricity prices through the measures announced in the industrial strategy? What are the Government doing to press President Trump to finally drop his damaging 25% tariffs on our steel exports? Finally, what steps are the Government taking to treat steel as the nationally strategic asset that it is, ensuring that more British-made steel is used to power our national infrastructure and other major projects here in the UK?