Starmer to nationalise British Steel in bid to save premiership
Keir Starmer has promised to nationalise British Steel and prioritise closer ties with the European Union in a make or break speech to save his premiership after a bruising set of local election results.
Speaking after a weekend of frenzied speculation on his future in Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister rejected calls for him to stand aside, promising to “take responsibility for navigating us through a world that is more dangerous” than any period time in his lifetime.
“For the British people, tired of a status quo that has failed them, change cannot come quickly enough,” he told an event in London. “And truth be told, I’m not sure that they believe that we care. I’m not sure they believe that we see their lives. That’s tough to say when you come from a working class background like me.”
Starmer’s position at the top of government has been plunged into jeopardy, after his administration was beset by a barrage of headwinds and unforced errors. The furore around his appointment of Peter Mandelson to a plumb diplomatic role, a stuttering track record on the economy, and the growing threat posed by the Green party all culminated in his party suffering to one of the worst local election performances from an incumbent government in UK political history.
The dire results spawned a wave of maneuvering and conjecture about the Prime Minister’s position, with former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner warning the party’s current course “isn’t working and it needs to change”.
On Saturday, Labour backbencher Catherine West launched the first formal assault on Starmer’s authority, promising to to launch a “stalking horse” challenge on Monday should he fail to set a timetable for his resignation.
Starmer pushes for closer EU ties
In a bid to move on from the febrile days since the election results, Starmer promised to bring forward legislation that would nationalise British Steel as part of the King’s Speech on Wednesday.
“Public ownership in the public interest, urgent government on the side of working people, making Britain stronger with the hope of industrial renewal that is a Labour choice,” he said.
The UK’s largest steelmaker has been stuck in limbo for over a year, after the government seized control of of the loss-making steelworks from its Chinese owner Jingye. The company had threatened to shutter the blast furnaces, having failed to reach an agreement on subsidies with ministers after a months-long stand-off.
The government will hand itself new powers to bring the embattled steelmaker into public ownership for the first time since 1998, Starmer said, subject to the move meeting public interest tests.
The Prime Minister also promised to pursue securing closer ties with the European Union that would “put Britain at the heart of Europe”. As part of the push, the UK would build on its move to restore the Erasmus scheme for students and offer young Brits a mobility scheme that will grant them the ability to travel and work freely in the bloc.
Starmer has so far ruled out re-entering the single market or customs union as part of his push to re-integrate with Britain’s largest trading partner, but refused to rule out abandoning pre-election commitments in his manifesto at the next election.
Gareth Stace, director-general of UK Steel, welcomed the plan to nationalise British Steel, saying it brought “vital certainty for the workforce, the company’s customers and the wider supply chain”.
““Nationalisation is not an end goal,” he added. “This must now be the beginning of a clear and credible long-term plan for British Steel. We need to see a detailed investment strategy that supports a managed transition to low-carbon steelmaking, and broader action to tackle the sky-high energy prices in the UK, which are undermining the competitiveness of the steel industry.