Shadow Minister uses visit to Shotton Steelworks to confirm party commitment to UK Steel Industry

Labour’s Shadow Business and Industry Minister used a visit to Shotton Steelworks to confirm his party’s commitment to the UK Steel Industry.

Bill Esterson, the MP for Sefton said he was “hugely impressed” when he visited Tata Steel’s Shotton Steelworks recently.

The Deeside site manufactures around 500,000 tonnes of metallic-coated and pre-finished steel products each year for building envelope, domestic and consumer applications.

It has just announced a sustainability commitment, which includes a target of reducing its carbon footprint by 20% this year alone.

Bill met Works Manager, Bill Duckworth and representatives from UNITE and Community Trades Unions, and was shown some of the site’s latest high-tech manufacturing facilities.

Bill Duckworth said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome visitors to our business, and to show off our people, our products and our processes.”

“It’s especially important that people such as Bill gain a better understanding of the value that is added throughout our supply chains and the role of our site in local communities.”

Bill Esterson said: “Thank you to Tata Steel for hosting my visit to Shotton and for showing me the innovative system they use for coating steel. I was very impressed by their ability to paint so efficiently and in such large quantities.”

‘Shotton is an important part of the UK’s steel industry and the commitment from management and trade unions to its ongoing success is an excellent example of partnership working.”

“The steel industry is of strategic national importance to this country, and governments should be partners in supporting our core industries.”

Tata Steel told me about the eye-watering increases in the cost of gas and electricity that they are having to pay. Labour would support energy intensive industries including steel with a £1billion energy fund.

“Labour in government will establish an Industrial Strategy Council to offer the long-term certainty that business needs.”

“We will support the decarbonisation of key industries such as steel through our climate investment fund, specifically through our green steel fund of £3billion. And we will commit to support our steel industry through greater use of government procurement.”

“Labour’s plan will ensure we have an exciting future for steel and for successful businesses like those at Shotton Works.”