Ed Miliband says the Government ‘cannot afford’ to let Liberty Steel jobs go

The government should consider nationalising Liberty Steel if necessary to save thousands of “crucial jobs”, Ed Miliband has said.

Nationalisation

Liberty Steel’s future is the subject of speculation after specialist bank Greensill Capital went into administration. Greensill Capital was the main lender to Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance which includes Liberty Steel – the owner of steel plants across the UK.

Gupta’s business empire employs around 5,000 people in the UK, a majority of whom work for Liberty Steel across its 11 sites throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, including Scunthorpe, Newport, and Rotherham.

Speaking to the BBC, the shadow business secretary said the government needed to explore every option to keep the company afloat, including nationalisation. He told the broadcaster:

These are crucial jobs for communities up and down this country. Let’s hope that Liberty Steel can find the refinancing that it’s looking for but the Government needs a Plan B to make sure whatever happens, these jobs are saved.

If there’s one lesson we learned from this pandemic it’s that our strategic infrastructure, our resilience really matters. And steel is a key part of our strategic infrastructure and resilience.

We cannot afford to let these jobs go. Government has got to make sure it doesn’t happen.

Miliband’s comments come days after business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he held “constructive” talks with union leaders to discuss Liberty Steel’s future. He tweeted on 12 March:

I continue to monitor developments very closely and work to build a strong, sustainable steel sector in the UK.