Send in the ‘clowns’

The Tory response to the long emerging crisis in the UK steel industry has turned to slow motion farce. There’s been no action, when action is need now.

Business secretary Sajid Javid took one month  to set up an urgent ‘steel summit’. Then he didn’t bother to turn up to a key House of Commons debate on the steel crisis.

When he did appear he was accused by the Speaker of being ‘discourteous and incompetent.’

James Wharton MP is the minister for the ‘northern powerhouse’. He’s been condemned as a ‘clown’ and a ‘joke’ for his response to the steel crisis.

Then there’s foreign secretary Phillip Hammond. The man who says he has no silver bullet to support steel was rushed out to announce that the government can apparently do little about the global steel market. He must be the only person who does not know the Chinese are controlling the market by heavily subsidising their cheap steel.

As a euro-sceptic Hammond has taken to use the steel crisis to blame the European Union and its supposedly ‘strict rules’ that stops the government helping. An approach that is cynical, opportunistic and untrue.

Those governments in Europe – all of them except us – which have a will to support their steel industries are finding ways of doing so. And you have to ask, exactly how did the UK taxpayer end up giving a near £50m loan to help Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic to re-vamp a steel plant in Canada?

And what of Osborne? He was in China a few weeks ago almost begging them to bid for the HS2 high speed rail contract.

Not even a mention of the need to use UK made steel from the finest rail making centre in Europe – Scunthorpe. A German chancellor would not have missed that trick.

Angel of the North

Osborne says his favourite sculpture is the Angel of the North. Sadly he’s just sat on his hands as the Redcar plant which made the steel for it was shut down.

His ‘march of the makers’ trumpeting manufacturing has become a joke, as has his ‘northern powerhouse’. We’ll be left as the sandwich makers and the skinny latte, almond syrup and sprinkles on top makers. He’s now re-branded as ‘Bob the Builder’ but our construction industry won’t be building with UK made steel.

It’s no joke. The £790m contract for 37,000 tonnes of steel for the new Forth road bridge in Scotland will not be made in the UK. At a time when the Scottish steel industry is set to turn off the final furnace.

Osborne has previous. The Tories cancelled a loan to Sheffield Forgemasters which would have helped the company build a key role in nuclear engineering.

Last month David Cameron wrapped himself in patriotism at the Tory Party conference while announcing he intended to build Trident nuclear submarines. No one told the Prime Minister that the loss of key steel plants mean they won’t be made with British steel. Military grade steel used in armaments will also have to be foreign supplied. As will some of the ultra-high grade steel used in nuclear power plants.

Steel rails for high speed routes such as HS2 will also have to be foreign steel. Steel rails used in upgrading other rail routes to higher speeds will also have to be foreign supplied if these closures go ahead.

What do the Tories have? A do-nothing strategy with empty slogans delivered by clowns. Steven Sondheim once asked in one of his songs: “Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns.”

And the answer? “Don’t bother – they’re here.”