Port Talbot

[Alex]

What an almighty blunder this will be, 2,800 jobs lost at the alter of net zero.  So if I've understood this correctly we will no longer be a producer of steel but will need to import it ?  Most of imported steel is not to the standard of British made steel. 

[JBR]

What an almighty blunder this will be, 2,800 jobs lost at the alter of net zero.  So if I've understood this correctly we will no longer be a producer of steel but will need to import it ?  Most of imported steel is not to the standard of British made steel. 

All part of the Lib-Con intention to make this country not fit for heroes.
All we really need (apparently) is to find something of importance to which we can provide money, housing and anything we have available in order to maintain and protect the rich privileged and their way of life.
Yes, I'm still trying to work out the logic too.

[klondike]

Me neither. I think it's because I'm not one of the super rich who make a bundle from green subsidies.

Anything politicians do involves enriching themselves. You need to find the money trail.

[JBR]

Me neither. I think it's because I'm not one of the super rich who make a bundle from green subsidies.

Anything politicians do involves enriching themselves. You need to find the money trail.

I wonder what would happen if everybody in the country all agreed not to vote in the next GE.
I suppose that in theory we would not have a government.
Probably a better option than having one, though on reflection it would mean that we'd still be governed by the civil service.

[klondike]

Do you think the politicians and their relatives don't vote? We'd have a House of Commons made up of those with the biggest families. Or more likely the biggest pockets.

[Diasi]

Me neither. I think it's because I'm not one of the super rich who make a bundle from green subsidies.

Anything politicians do involves enriching themselves. You need to find the money trail.

Summed up by the last seven words of your post.

January 20, 2024, 09:40:24 AM

What an almighty blunder this will be, 2,800 jobs lost at the alter of net zero.  So if I've understood this correctly we will no longer be a producer of steel but will need to import it ?  Most of imported steel is not to the standard of British made steel. 

Not quite correct, the new arc furnaces will produce steel but it has to be from recycling scrap steel, some of which will need to be imported, & not directly from iron ore.

[klondike]

UK to Become Only G20 Country Incapable of Raw Steel Production as Top Plant Goes 'Green', Thousands of Jobs to Be Cut

The UK is set to become the only country in the G20 without the ability to make steel from raw materials as its largest plant goes "green" and is expected to cut nearly 3,000 jobs in the process.

Indian-owned Tata Steel announced on Friday that it will be scrapping its blast furnaces at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales and will replace them with an electric-powered arc furnace in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The move, which the poorly-named Conservative government gave £500 million in taxpayer money to help achieve, will mean that Britain will no longer be able to domestically produce steel from raw materials, given that the electric furnaces will only be able to convert recycled materials into steel.

This form of recycled steel is much weaker than that made from raw materials, and therefore cannot be used to make military vehicles and other defence projects. It will mean that Britain will become the only nation in the G20 incapable of producing its own steel from raw materials domestically, The Guardian reported.

The green conversion of the steelworks will also take upwards of four years to complete and will see as many as 2,800 jobs cut, severely impacting the small town of 32,000 that has already suffered under decades of deindustrialization.

Commenting on the scheme, vice-chair of the Port Talbot multi unions Gary Keogh said: "This plant isn't part of the community, it is the community. We're now fighting for a way of life. We're an endangered species... The mood is devastation, uncertainty and probably overnight – certainly in my case – it's going to be anger."

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/01/20/uk-to-become-only-g20-nation-incapable-of-domestic-virgin-steel-production-as-top-plant-goes-green/

[Michael Rolls]

An absolute disgrace

[JBR]

It is indeed disgraceful, but it seems to be what the government wants to do.
Perhaps they feel they have nothing to lose by doing silly things like this, as they have given up hoping to form the next government.
Or perhaps they're trying to lose whatever seats they have left, so as to avoid any responsibility for the ultimate destruction of the country when Labour gets in.
As so many people insist that Reform will never get into government, Labour probably will.

Then the next thing we'll see is all the Labour voters whingeing about the damage they are doing.
We get what we deserve!

[klondike]

I think there can be little doubt that Labour will form the next government. I doubt that Reform will get many if any seats. That could change a bit if Farage throws his hat in the ring but certainly not enough for them to form the next government. I fear if they did that the money men would tank the economy anyway as they did with Truss.

The only uncertainty in my view is how big a landslide Labour will end up getting.

The only certainty is that whatever happens between now and the election is that I will not lose my resolve to vote Reform. That way when the shit really hits the fan I can say "You can't blame me. I didn't vote them in"

[Ashy]

There are people out there who still want to blame Thatcher for this, but now it's Welsh Labour destroying our society.

[JBR]

I think there can be little doubt that Labour will form the next government. I doubt that Reform will get many if any seats. That could change a bit if Farage throws his hat in the ring but certainly not enough for them to form the next government. I fear if they did that the money men would tank the economy anyway as they did with Truss.

The only uncertainty in my view is how big a landslide Labour will end up getting.

The only certainty is that whatever happens between now and the election is that I will not lose my resolve to vote Reform. That way when the shit really hits the fan I can say "You can't blame me. I didn't vote them in"

You are no doubt completely correct in that Reform is highly unlikely to form a government.
The sad thing is that they are the only people who could possibly restore anything of value that this country once had.

Yes, it is odds-on that our next government will be Labour, and perhaps people will then realise why voting for them in not such a good idea.
Unfortunately, the 'two party politics' we have (and have had for nearly a century) will continue despite both 'main parties' taking turns doing the same damage yet each determined to do it in a different way!

Perhaps one day, more people will begin to realise that if there is a genuine option, it might be a good idea to give it a try!