Pamela Nash MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  This legislation is designed for extraordinary situations, so we are going to have to agree to disagree on that point. Motherwell remains the home of steel in Scotland. While the immediate and particular focus of the Bill is, understandably, on the manufacturer British Steel, I want to take the opportunity to highlight the plight of what is currently our only Scottish steelworks: the Dalzell plate mill. The Bill suggests three potential factors that can be considered in the assessment of whether it is in the public interest to nationalise a steel company or facility. Is the plant part of the supply chain for our defence industry, thus contributing to our national security? Is it necessary for the building and/or the maintenance of parts of our national infrastructure? Does it support the local or national economy? I would argue that the Dalzell plate mill is essential to all three of those elements of our country’s progress and security, and that we would be demonstrably better off if it was supported back to full operation. When Sanjeev Gupta took over the plant almost a decade ago, he presented a vision of a bright future for Dalzell in a “green steel” era, but that has not come to pass. Like others, the plant has suffered as a result of the onslaught of cheap imports and the global events that our wider economy has faced, but Liberty has largely been unable to provide the funds or leadership needed to make Dalzell a success during its time at the helm, with repeated failures to deliver the raw steel that is required for the plant to fulfil orders and with staff left without work. There have been regular promises of materials and work being on the way, but more often than not they have been stalled or unfulfilled. The current situation for the team of dedicated and highly skilled staff at Dalzell is difficult to imagine. The majority of them have spent most of the last two years at home on furlough, receiving less than their full pay. A skeleton workforce of about 20 is keeping the mill ticking over, ensuring that it is clean and maintained and that necessary paperwork is completed. They want to be ready to go as soon as an order comes in.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is an absolute pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). What a passionate speech—I hope I can do half as well as him. At the outset, I should state that I am a long-term and proud member of Community trade union. I thoroughly welcome the Bill, which takes additional steps forward from the legislation we passed last year. I am especially happy that the Bill is UK-wide and covers Scotland, too. I want to touch on my concerns regarding new clauses 4 and 12, which seek to limit the level of financial support that the Government can provide. Given that the provisions in the Bill are designed to be used only in emergency and necessary situations, such amendments seem unwise. Over decades, we have seen Conservative Governments let down the steel sector time and time again by failing to support and invest. I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Conservatives are seeking to bring into the Bill unnecessary and debilitating restrictions that are based on politics rather than the needs of the steel sector.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  If we brought the Government to Parliament every time we wanted them to intervene when there was an emergency, we would not be able to react effectively, so I do not accept that that is necessary.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very helpful intervention. For the reasons I have set out, we are getting to the point where we are losing experienced staff and equipment is in danger of going out of date. Time is running out very quickly for Dalzell. If it is left to close up shop, we will not be able simply to go back later and restart it. I have no intention of being the Member of Parliament who sees the closure of the last steelworks in Scotland, and I know the Minister has no intention of allowing that to happen on his watch. Steel is Motherwell’s heritage and is also a key part of its progress. It is our threads in the fabric of the future of our country. I want my constituents once again to look at planes, wind turbines and bridges and be excited to know that the steel encasing them came from Motherwell.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I share the vision of my hon. Friend, and that is exactly what I for Dalzell in Motherwell. At the moment we have staff who are worried each month about whether they are going to get paid, as they see troubling headlines and hear rumours about their parent company. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of the team, who have been left in an impossible limbo. Most of them want to be back in the workplace, in a job that they are proud of, and to be contributing to our country’s economy, security and infrastructure. The workforce in Dalzell has now dwindled to 100—about a third of the full capacity. Predictably, key skilled team members are eventually leaving. These are people who are irreplaceable, because they have a unique combination of skills, qualifications and years of experience. Despite the team’s best efforts, the mill has not been used properly for a period of time, so the equipment and technology used in Dalzell is at risk of being dated and damaged out of value.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is certainly the experience we have had in Motherwell in my constituency, where a questionable buyer for Dalzell has caused many problems. I will go into that later in my speech. I am disappointed, and surprised, that the Liberal Democrats are seeking an even more restrictive limit on potential support. For us, Motherwell became the unwilling emblem of the Tories letting the steel industry down in the 1980s, with the closure of Ravenscraig and the subsequent loss of thousands of jobs across the area. It has taken decades even to begin to repair the damage that was done at that time. In recent years, the Tory Government failed to prevent cheap imports and to bring in the investment and strategy that were needed to protect what was left of our steel industry. I therefore feel that Members on the Opposition Benches have an absolute brass neck in trying to put limitations on this Labour Government’s ability to breathe life back into it.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  Would the shadow Minister consider that putting a limit on this, when the financial support would only be provided in an emergency, when absolutely necessary, might be unwise and might lead us to having to recall Parliament yet again to take the necessary action?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I appreciate my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for the publication of the defence investment plan, but I do not think it is within the scope of this Bill and it is definitely above my pay grade as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Defence Ministers. Finally, I want to see Dalzell again supporting a vibrant workforce, providing safe, well-paid, high-quality jobs to local people and being able to develop apprentices for the next generation of steel processing in Scotland. I want to see income investment in Motherwell from the reinvigoration of this plant, allowing surrounding businesses to benefit from its success. I reject the attempts of Opposition Members to limit the Bill’s ability to support our industry when it needs it most. In his closing speech, will the Minister reassure the workers at Dalzell that this Government will support them, possibly with the safety net of this Bill or otherwise, whenever it is necessary? Will he also confirm to the people of Motherwell that Dalzell remains at the heart of this Government’s plans for the UK steel industry?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  When it comes to Dalzell, the SNP Government have not been helpful. They previously stepped in when the steelworks went into administration, and then they sold it to the current owner, who has been less than helpful.

• 21 May 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  The Minister knows the sacrifices that have been made by my constituents at Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell. Will he confirm that this plate mill remains at the heart of the UK steel strategy, and that the Bill we have debated today provides a potential safety net for the future of Dalzell?

• 15 Apr 2026 · Child Poverty · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that the Scottish National party has failed Scotland’s children over the past two decades, leaving thousands in poverty, including one in four in my constituency, and that it is only Labour that will prioritise our children, as we have shown by lifting the two-child cap, which is now benefiting over 13,000 children in Lanarkshire?

• 15 Apr 2026 · Child Poverty · Hansard source

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  1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle child poverty in Scotland.

• 19 Mar 2026 · UK Steel Strategy · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as a very proud member of Community. I warmly welcome the announcement of this much-needed steel strategy, which promises to deliver across Britain. Dalzell plate mill is physically and emotionally at the heart of Motherwell, and it is the only steelworks operating in Scotland. Can the Secretary of State confirm for my constituents that our plate mill will remain central to the British steel strategy, and will be supported to thrive again?

• 11 Nov 2025 · BBC Leadership · Hansard source

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  Many have expressed their annoyance at the BBC in recent days for being too woke, too Tory or too liberal—or, in my case, for allowing the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) to appear on the “Question Time” panel more often than he has appeared in his own constituency. Is not the fact that the BBC has been attacked by every side evidence that it continues to make every effort to maintain balance in a world of increasingly polarised and divisive media?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place Programme: Regeneration · Hansard source

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  12. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support regeneration in Scotland through the pride in place programme.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place Programme: Regeneration · Hansard source

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  Since the election last year when Labour came to power, our constituents in Scotland have seen their friends in England and Wales see real improvements in their communities and public services, while they look on and wonder what the SNP Government are squandering Scotland’s share on. Does the Minister agree that key to the success of the pride in place funding and projects, including the £41.5 million coming to Lanarkshire, is that we are putting power directly in the hands of people to make decisions about investments in their own communities?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) touched on, the situation in Gaza is all the more infuriating when we hear that the UN has three months-worth of food waiting in warehouses on the border, while it is reported that 19 people died of starvation just in the last 24 hours. I am grateful for all that the Foreign Secretary has done so far on this issue, and I know that he agrees with me that the war must end now, but what are the next actions that we need to take to make that a reality?