Contribution
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. Thank you very much for keeping us all in order.
Let me first congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) on securing the debate. I am pleased that he clarified that it is not a debate on Tinder. To clarify, I did know that it was a debate about tin and not Tinder, but it is clear that he is a perfect match for this subject, because—I did not know this, actually—he is known as the Tin Man. Unlike in “The Wizard of Oz”, though, he does not need to search for a heart, because it is clear that he cares deeply about this subject and is a great advocate for tin and for his constituents. I very much enjoyed, and was partly educated by, his excellent speech. He will recognise elements of his speech in my own, because of the excellent points he made.
Unlike lithium, tin is rarely treated to big headlines and gigafactory photo opportunities. However, as we have been hearing, it quietly plays an indispensable role in our economy. Half the tin we consume goes to electrical solder, supporting our entire electronics industry, as the hon. Gentleman pointed out so eloquently. Demand is only increasing as solar panels, electric vehicles and AI data centres compete for the same limited global supply, and it is no surprise that prices have soared to nearly $50,000 per tonne as a result.
The hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth was right to highlight the new investment in the South Crofty mine as of May 2026, which will open it up for the first time in decades. That is excellent news for the country and, obviously, for his constituency. It would be remiss of me not to point out that the National Wealth Fund has existed for quite some time. It was created by my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak) as the UK Infrastructure Bank, and although it has been renamed under the new Labour Government, the organisation’s construct and purpose remain. I am very grateful for that, as I am sure the people of Cornwall are, because, as the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth will be aware, back in 2023 the UK Infrastructure Bank invested in Cornish lithium.
This subject is not alien to the Conservative party, and we care deeply about it. The hon. Gentleman did not mention this, but he and the Minister will be aware that the last Conservative Government created the first critical minerals strategy, which recognised tin as one of 18 essential minerals. It is vital that we have a critical minerals strategy, and we welcome the investment that has been made, but we must ensure that we do not just celebrate one investment rather than talking about the overall issues and strategy. I look at the current Government’s critical minerals strategy, and I am afraid I take issue with the fact that it does not mention China even once, despite China’s near monopoly on the processing of critical minerals, as was highlighted by the Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mr Reynolds). That is not just an omission in the Government’s strategy; it is a hole in the middle of the plan roughly the size of the South Crofty mineshaft.
It will be no surprise to the Minister that I have a few questions for him. First, smelting tin is extremely energy intensive, and we know that the UK’s industrial energy prices are around 50% higher than those of our friends in France and Germany. How are the Government squaring their clear critical minerals ambitions with those very clearly rising energy costs?
Secondly, I recognise that he is not a Foreign Office Minister—as tempting as it is, I will not ask him to solve international conflicts from the Dispatch Box today —but global tin supply has decreased due to unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the restrictions in Myanmar’s Wa state, as was pointed out by the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth. Will the Minister tell us what conversations he has had directly with his Foreign Office counterparts about the security of the supply routes for tin?
Lastly, how do the Government reconcile such enthusiasm for critical minerals, which the Minister will clearly demonstrate in a minute, with the national insurance rise and the Employment Rights Act 2025? Those measures will cost this very industry some £50 million exactly at the moment when foreign investors are voting with their feet and, unfortunately, taking money outside our country.
South Crofty will not produce its first tonne of tin until 2028 at the earliest. Between now and then, we must back British businesses in the critical minerals sector, and we must oppose the economic pressures that the Government are unrelentingly piling on the industry. I hope that the Minister can provide some of the answers to my questions, because right now, frankly, his strategy has all the substance of fool’s tin.