Posted on 05/12/2026 6:39:08 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the king’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner.
The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site.
British Steel operates the last two remaining blast furnaces in the UK, but its economic control remains with the Chinese company, which bought it out of insolvency in early 2020.
An announcement confirming the plans is expected in the king’s speech on Wednesday, according to the Sunday Times, but details of the speech are still being finalised.
British Steel was bought by the private equity group Greybull Capital in 2016, but it collapsed into insolvency three years later. It was bought by Jingye in March 2020.
The Chinese company had planned initially to build an electric arc furnace at Scunthorpe and another at a site in Teesside, though negotiations with the government ultimately fell through. Jingye then sought to shut down the blast furnaces in April 2025.
Closure of the British Steel plant would have ended Britain’s primary steel-making ability as blast furnaces allow the metal to be made from scratch, rather than relying on scrap.
However, by the end of January this year the cost of keeping British Steel running had risen to £377m, and could exceed £1.5bn by 2028 if it continues at its current rate, according to estimates from the National Audit Office.
The company has attracted interest from potential buyers, with the Miami-based retail investor Michael Flacks having declared himself “very” interested in buying it in February.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
If the Chinese couldn’t make a go of it I doubt the Government can...........
We’re only making plans for Nigel
He has his future in a British steel
We’re only making plans for Nigel
Nigel’s whole future is as good as sealed, yeah
Some random crew in Brooklyn is bigger than British Steel.
I don’t think Judas Priest is going to be happy about that.
Didn’t Britain try this before, before Margaret Thatcher?
Because it worked so well the first time around?
Oh yeah, that’ll fix it!
sarc/>
CC
Nationalism always works out well for the industry that’s being taken over by the government.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.