Labour’s Industry Minister Sarah Jones says Heathrow singing pledging to use UK-made steel will support thousands of jobs up and down the country for years to come
This government will stand up for our steel industry. That’s why I was at British Steel in Scunthorpe yesterday to welcome a win for our steelworkers.
Heathrow Airport announced a multibillion-pound investment to upgrade and expand its terminal buildings, build more aircraft stands, improve public transport connections and lay the groundwork for its third runway plans.
Not only is this a huge boost for British jobs, Heathrow signed up to the UK Steel Charter, which commits them to using UK-made steel wherever possible on their construction projects.
To show the scale of the opportunity, latest estimates suggest Heathrow’s third runway could need a whopping 400,000 tonnes of steel to be built — that’s more than the weight of the entire Empire State Building.
This is a big win for our steel industry, and will support thousands of existing jobs up and down the country by filling companies’ order books for years to come, as well as drive new investment into the sector right across the UK.
Growth is the central mission of this government and steel will turbocharge our Plan for Change in every corner of our country. Steel is fundamental to the construction of wind turbines, the next generation of electric autonomous vehicles, and building the infrastructure for AI and the digital economy.
After years of neglect under the previous government, we won’t sit by and let decline be the hallmark of this great British industry.
This is what our upcoming £2.5 billion Steel Strategy will be all about — working together with industry to boost the demand for UK-made steel as far as possible, securing well-paid steel jobs across our industrial heartlands from Scunthorpe to South Wales.
This government will always work in our national interests and defend them when necessary, and we’ve already taken action to secure a positive future for the UK’s steel industry.
This is a mission that Mirror readers will know well after the paper’s 10-year long campaign to Save our Steel — and with our Steel Strategy and major wins for the sector like this one from Heathrow, we’ll ensure the industry has a bright future for years to come.
