British Steel will be brought into full public ownership, Sir Keir Starmer has announced, marking one of the most significant industrial interventions of his premiership.
Speaking on Monday morning, the Prime Minister said the decision followed failed negotiations with the company’s current owner and came amid concerns over the long-term future of the UK steel industry.
“What we did in Scunthorpe last year was one of the proudest things we’ve done in Government,” he said.
“Steel is the ultimate sovereign capability. Strong nations in a world like this need to make steel.”
He added: “In Scunthorpe, we have been negotiating with the current owner, and an agreement hasn’t been met. I can announce legislation has been brought forward, subject to a public interest test, to take full national ownership of British steel.”
The move will affect operations including sites in Scunthorpe and Teesside, where the company employs around 4,000 workers.
The announcement was welcomed by trade unions, with GMB national secretary Charlotte Brumpton-Childs saying the legislation would help secure the future of a strategically important industry.
“Unions have long known Jingye will not negotiate in good faith,” she said.
“This legislation will cover the whole steel industry – it isn’t written solely for British Steel, but it is what will ultimately protect the company from foreign owners.”
She added: “British Steel is a nationally strategic asset, and it is right that the Government does everything in its power to secure its long-term future.”
The company recently secured a major export order through a UK–Nigeria agreement, seen as a boost to its international sales pipeline.
Political reactions have been broadly supportive across parties in principle, though with differing emphasis on implementation.
Ben Houchen, the Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley, said nationalisation should not become “a slow drift into decline” and argued it must be used to rebuild industrial capacity.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also previously backed nationalisation, arguing it is necessary to protect jobs and strategic assets.
The Ellie Chowns, Green MP, likewise supported public ownership, describing steel as a critical national industry.
The decision comes amid wider debates over Britain’s industrial strategy, energy costs and the long-term competitiveness of heavy manufacturing, with steel repeatedly identified as a sector under pressure from global price volatility and high domestic energy costs.
Ministers have not yet confirmed the full structure of the takeover or the timeline for transfer into state ownership, but legislation is expected to set the framework for full national control following parliamentary approval.
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