TOTAL RECALL
MPs urgently recalled to Parliament TOMORROW in highly rare move to save major UK industry & 3,000 jobs
The last time Parliament was recalled on a Saturday was in 1982 for the Falklands War
EMERGENCY measures to save UK steelmaking from collapse will be approved by Parliament tomorrow in a rare Saturday sitting.
Ministers will be given the power to order British Steel staff at the Scunthorpe plant to keep the blast furnaces on despite their Chinese owners wanting to switch them off.
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MPs and peers have been summoned back from holiday to rush through the crisis laws before production at the North East site goes down.
It is the first time Westminster has been recalled on a Saturday since the 1982 invasion of the Falklands.
The extraordinary session is being held after British Steel’s Chinese owners said they would shut the Scunthorpe blast furnaces because they were losing £700,000 a day.
Sir Keir Starmer tonight warned closure would put Britain’s “economic and national security” at risk.
Almost 3,000 jobs are on the line and steel is a critical industry used in infrastructure and defence.
Addressing the nation from Downing Street, the PM said: “I’ve been to Scunthorpe. I’ve met the steel workers. I know how important steel is, not just to the region, but to the whole country. It’s part of our national story. Part of the pride and heritage of this nation.”
Ministers have so far stopped short of nationalising British Steel but say “all options are on the table”.
But taxpayers are expected to pick up the tab for the significant running costs of the site while a new private owner is found.
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The Government says the cash injection will come out of existing departmental budgets.
Chinese firm Jingye - which bought British Steel in 2021 - has left ministers furious by rebuffing all offers to keep the furnaces open, including a £500million investment.
With the new powers set to be rammed through the Commons and Lords in one day, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will be able to instruct the company board and workers to ignore Jingye bosses and keep the Scunthorpe site going.
Once a blast furnace is switched off, it can never be turned back on again, meaning British steelmaking would be dead.
The legislation means that anyone sacked by Jingye for disobeying their orders can be reinstated and ensure all staff continue to get paid.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of “bungling” the negotiations by letting it get to this point.
She said: “They've made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
Recalling Parliament shows how serious steel crisis is
By JACK ELSOM, Chief Political Correspondent
EVERY time a minor emergency emerges during MPs’ holidays, the usual suspects are quick to demand Parliament is recalled.
That their siren calls are almost always ignored speaks to just how serious a crisis must be to warrant such action.
Tomorrow will be one of those occasions: a recall that is so rare it has only happened 34 times since the Second World War.
While Parliament is the lifeblood of our democracy, the truth is that most action in a crisis can be taken without the need to involve MPs.
Sir Keir Starmer, his ministers and his officials wield enough executive power to handle events without needing a Commons sign-off.
But there are times when MPs are needed to ram through urgent laws, such as will happen tomorrow when the government seeks control of steelmaking in Britain.
Other times are of such national or international significance that anything less than a recall would not suffice.
The Taliban’s capture of the Afghan government in 2021 was such a time, giving MPs a chance to make their points despite playing no actual role in the response.
Tomorrow’s recall will mean MPs returning from their constituencies all across the land.
For any who have already escaped the country for some Easter sun, a long trip back awaits…
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