Sarah Jones MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Oct 2024 · Steel Industry · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) on securing this important debate, which I am glad that we are having. Let me be clear at the outset: the new Government were elected on a mandate to invest in the UK steel industry and turn around its decline, and that is exactly what we will do. As Members on both sides of the Chamber have echoed, the UK has always been a proud steelmaking nation; it has a rich heritage stretching back to the industrial revolution. My grandad worked in the tinplate factory fed by the steelworks of Port Talbot, and I think most of us in this place have connections, one way or another, to steel manufacturing. Yet, as has been said, steel has been a neglected industry for many years, with crude steel production declining by more than 50% in the last decade alone. Of course, that decline was brought into sharp focus when it was announced under the last Government that the blast furnaces would be closed at Port Talbot. This Government do not believe that decline is inevitable. The decline we have seen in recent years has been due to a lack of care from previous Governments, who did the bare minimum only when it was too late. We saw the insolvency of SSI—Sahaviriya Steel Industries—steelworks in Redcar in 2015 and the insolvency of British Steel in Scunthorpe in 2019, and we saw how close Tata came to closing its UK steel operations. That pathway risked jobs and emissions being offshored for the long term and risked making us heavily dependent on steel imports for our vital infrastructure and our energy and manufacturing sectors. This Government are taking a very different approach. This week, we launched a Green Paper on our industrial strategy. For that to have the greatest impact, we must be clear-eyed about the sectors that offer the highest growth opportunities for the economy and businesses, but steel is a foundational industry for practically every other important industry, from energy to infrastructure. We know that it is a vital component of our economy and our ambitions for growth, which is why we also need a steel strategy to determine the best steps forward to rebuild this hugely important industry. We need to lay out long-term policies and plans to ensure that the UK steel industry is not left behind as the world decarbonises, so last month the Government announced that we will bring forward a new steel strategy next spring. I hear the House’s impatience for that strategy and I understand it: there has been a long period of decline, and we need to turn that around. Given the £2.5-billion investment that we have committed to the strategy, however, it is right that we talk to experts and to politicians around the country, particularly those who have steel in their areas.

• 22 Jul 2024 · Aerospace Industry: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for introducing this debate tonight. I had wondered who was going to intervene on him as he could not intervene on himself. I am grateful that several hon. Members did the job for him. I also want to thank him for his dedicated support for Northern Ireland’s remarkable aerospace industry, which is founded on strong engineering heritage and is rich in knowledge, skills, experience and technology. Indeed, as this is my first time at the Dispatch Box since I was given this ministerial appointment, I am delighted that it is to discuss and highlight the Government support for the Northern Ireland aerospace sector. I can absolutely assure the hon. Member and the whole House that this Government will work tirelessly to deliver economic growth in Northern Ireland and across all corners of the United Kingdom, so that we can drive inward investment, enable British industry and businesses of all sizes to grow and prosper, and give working people more secure employment.