The steel industry

“They rescued the banks, didn't they ... so why can't they rescue the steel industry?” This question was asked on Sky TV by the wife of a steel worker in Britain who had just been made redundant. And she has a point of course. If Britain's steel industry disappears then it is not only a blow to national prestige it could be an issue of national security. Steel is obviously needed for the next generation of nuclear armed submarines; steel will be needed for the nuclear power stations which are being built and steel will be needed to build the army's next generation of military vehicles. In the same way as the defence and banking industries are ring-fenced then perhaps the steel industry should get the same attention. Now, I am not advocating a return to the days of nationalised industries but I do believe that there are grounds to keep key industries in British hands and in Britain. Take the shipbuilding industry. This relies heavily on the Ministry of Defence. If the Royal Navy doesn't buy British, then the few remaining yards would disappear. So perhaps the government should think again. Yes, market forces and cheap exports have destroyed the British steel industry and it is a sad state of affairs. But the government should help. This is not an attack on free trade and the end of the global market, this is Britain saying that it needs a steel industry in the interest of national security. No steel no new Trident submarines.