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UNITE has warned that a combination of “ideology and the wrong political choices” could decimate British steel, after the Tories voted down a Labour motion to protect the struggling industry on Monday.
Labour wanted to take control of the Commons agenda next week to propose emergency legislation after it emerged that EU measures to protect the sector from cheap imports will expire at the end of this month.
The Trade Remedies Authority — an arm’s-length government body — has recommended that Trade Secretary Liz Truss scrap the limit on imports, which were carried over after Brexit but lapse on June 30.
The EU has already confirmed it will extend its protections until June 2024.
The opposition motion called for ministers to temporarily extend protections, but MPs voted 355 to 271 against them, with Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark the only Tory to rebel and back Labour’s proposals.
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner stressed that British steel is a strategic asset that needs direct government support.
Trade minister Ranil Jayawardena claimed that the government is committing to “championing free trade to benefit jobs.”
