Sir Keir Starmer has voiced his “horror” at the effective mothballing of Lanarkshire’s Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks, calling on First Minister John Swinney and the SNP-led Scottish Government to intervene and revive the historic sites.
The Prime Minister accused the Scottish Government of failing to secure work for the plants after what he described as a “bad deal” in 2016, which saw the mills sold to Liberty House, backed by a £7 million government loan. Liberty House, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, also owns the Lochaber aluminium smelter.
Writing in the Sunday Times, Starmer said: “I’m proud we’ve secured a deal that slashes tariffs on the steel and aluminium industries to zero.
This Labour government will always support our proud steel industry, so I’m horrified that the Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks in Lanarkshire are lying mothballed, with workers on furlough.
“All because the SNP negotiated a bad deal and have had no industrial strategy to bring work to those mills. We’re standing up for Scottish steel – now Swinney needs to step in and get those plants up and running again.”
It is understood that some staff at Dalzell in Motherwell have been furloughed, with no work currently being processed at the plant.
Starmer’s comments come just days after the announcement of a new US trade deal, which eliminates tariffs on British steel and aluminium, a move the Prime Minister says should benefit Scottish industry.
The SNP has fiercely rejected Starmer’s criticism, branding Labour’s call for action “insulting” and accusing Westminster of neglecting Scottish industry.
SNP MP Pete Wishart argued that the UK Government provided emergency support for England’s Scunthorpe steelworks but “deliberately legislated to exclude Scotland and therefore Dalzell works from any such help, now or in the future”.
Wishart stated: “The audacity of Keir Starmer to attempt to wash over the UK government’s betrayal of Scottish industry is insulting.
“Like the Tories, Labour are making it abundantly clear that Scotland will always be an afterthought for Westminster. The SNP is the only party that will always be on Scotland’s side.”
The Dalzell and Clydebridge plants were originally mothballed by Tata Steel in 2015, with the Scottish Government stepping in to broker a deal for Liberty House to take over the sites in 2016.
Despite initial optimism and investment, the plants now face an uncertain future, with calls from all sides for urgent action to secure jobs and the long-term viability of Scottish steel.
With both the UK and Scottish governments trading blame, the future of Lanarkshire’s steel industry remains in the balance.
Workers and local communities await concrete steps to bring the mills back to life and ensure Scotland’s steel legacy endures
