Port Talbot closure: Tories and Labour share blame for lack of industrial strategy – Plaid Cymru

‘We must plan for the revival of our steel industry’, says Luke Fletcher MS ahead of second blast furnace shutdown

 Ahead of the shutdown of the second blast furnace at Port Talbot steelworks today (Monday 30 September), Plaid Cymru economy spokesperson, Luke Fletcher MS, has blamed successive governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay for “failing to develop an industrial strategy”.

2,500 jobs will go at the steelworks despite a £500m taxpayer-backed deal at the Port Talbot plant. Many more jobs in the supply chain will be lost.

During the General Election, Labour said it was “working on a better deal” for the plant, but approved the Conservative-negotiated plan for an electric arc furnace after coming into office in Westminster.

Mr Fletcher said that steelmaking was crucial for a Welsh industrial strategy, and warned that the “tragedy” of the closure of the blast furnaces must not “define the future of our economy”. He stressed that following the closure, “we must now plan for the revival of our steel industry”.

Plaid Cymru Economy spokesperson and South Wales West Member of the Senedd, Luke Fletcher said:

“During the General Election, Labour promised a better deal for the Port Talbot steelworks. Today, the second of its two blast furnaces shuts down. This is more than just a factory closing – it’s the end of Welsh steelmaking and the livelihoods of countless workers and families.

“The decline of our steel industry is a direct consequence of successive governments failing to develop an industrial strategy. They neglected to acknowledge that without a strong steel sector, the car industry, shipbuilding, and heavy manufacturing are all doomed to fail. While other nations recognised the vital importance of domestic steel production and actively subsidised it, the UK chose to privatise and sell our steel assets to foreign entities, making us reliant on imports.

“Plaid Cymru has long argued for the strategic importance of steelmaking to Wales’ economic interests, national security, and the pathway to net zero. It is deeply disappointing that both Westminster parties allowed this to happen. We cannot let this tragedy define the future of our economy; we must now plan for the revival of our steel industry and high skilled jobs it provides.”