Starmer Nationalizes British Steel After £400 Million Rescue of UK's Last Crude Steel Mill
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 11
Starmer Nationalizes British Steel After £400 Million Rescue of UK's Last Crude Steel Mill
12 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 11
British Steel will be taken into full public ownership, cementing government control of the Scunthorpe complex that houses Britain’s last crude steel production facilities.
£400 million has already been spent since the state seized day-to-day control in April 2025, after owner Jingye appeared ready to stop supplying raw materials and risked shutting the blast furnaces within hours.
Jingye had said the plant was losing £700,000 a day, underscoring the financial strain on a sector hit by high energy costs, cheaper Chinese steel and more recent U.S. tariffs.
Thousands of jobs depend on Scunthorpe, and Starmer cast the move as a strategic necessity as his government tries to revive domestic steelmaking and meet up to half of Britain’s steel demand at home.
Can government control finally build a green steel industry where private owners have repeatedly failed?
Is owning a steel company a true security asset or a costly political gesture in a modern economy?