The U.K. government took control of Britain’s last steelmaking factory on Saturday after lawmakers approved an emergency rescue plan. This move came after concerns over the future of the Scunthorpe plant, which is owned by the Chinese company Jingye Group. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a rare Saturday parliamentary session—only the sixth of its kind since World War II—to pass legislation aimed at preventing Jingye from shutting down the plant’s critical blast furnaces.
The new law, now granted royal assent by King Charles III, gives Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds the authority to oversee British Steel’s operations. This includes ensuring that the company’s 3,000 employees are paid, directing the workforce, and securing the raw materials necessary to keep the blast furnaces running.
Jingye has been losing approximately £700,000 ($910,000) per day due to tough market conditions and rising environmental costs. The additional pressure from U.S. tariffs on steel, implemented by former President Donald Trump, has also affected the company’s bottom line.
After the bill passed in the House of Commons, Starmer visited Scunthorpe to meet with the workers, who expressed relief that the town’s steelmaking history, which spans 150 years, had been preserved. “You have been the backbone of British Steel for years,” Starmer told the workers. “It’s your jobs, your communities, and your families.”
The workers were clearly pleased with the outcome, and their spirits were high, even at a Scunthorpe United soccer match, where the crowd cheered on steelworkers during the break. The team’s nickname, “The Iron,” reflects the town’s deep ties to steel production.
Starmer and Reynolds were under pressure to act after Jingye canceled orders for key materials like iron pellets, which are essential for running the blast furnaces. Without these raw materials, the furnaces could shut down within days. Given how costly and difficult it is to restart the furnaces once they’ve cooled, a shutdown would have had severe consequences for the U.K., which has been a steelmaking hub for over a century. The country would have become the only member of the G7 without the ability to produce steel from scratch, relying instead on recycled steel.
Such a development would have been disastrous for key industries like construction, defense, and rail, leaving the U.K. dependent on foreign suppliers for vital steel. This scenario was deemed unacceptable by lawmakers from all parties, leading to the swift legislative action.
Reynolds, in his speech, criticized Jingye for making unreasonable demands during negotiations and stated that, without the government’s intervention, the company would have permanently shut down primary steel production at British Steel. While the legislation doesn’t change the ownership of the plant, Reynolds suggested that it could be a future possibility if necessary.
It remains unclear what role Jingye will play in the day-to-day management of the plant. However, the company could face legal consequences if it fails to comply with the new laws.