STORY
A Bill giving ministers the power to nationalise steel companies has been introduced to Parliament, with the Government saying it wants to safeguard the long-term future of the UK steel industry. The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill received its First Reading on 14 May.
The legislation would provide a route for companies such as British Steel to be brought into public ownership where ministers judge that a public interest test has been met. The Government has said that steel capability and capacity are firmly in the national interest, particularly because of the sector’s role in infrastructure, defence and wider industrial policy.
The Bill will be debated further at Second Reading, when MPs will be able to examine the scope of the proposed powers. Its progress will be watched closely by industry, unions and opposition parties because it raises wider questions about industrial intervention, public ownership and the future of strategic manufacturing in the UK.