Blitz Bureau
Sir Keir Starmer has said he cannot give “false hope” to Port Talbot steel workers ahead of the planned closure of the town’s last blast furnace next month.
Thousands face job cuts
The Labour UK Government is in discussions to save jobs at Tata Steel, where thousands face redundancy, according to BBC.
The Prime Minister said his ministers will do “everything we can” but added: “I’m not going to pretend it’s [anything] other than tough.” Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies claimed Labour ministers had led Port Talbot “up the garden path”.
Plaid Cymru said Labour was on the “backfoot” in responding to Tata. The UK Labour leader was speaking to journalists at the 57.4-megawatt Brechfa Forest West windfarm in Carmarthenshire, as part of a two day trip to Wales. Sir Keir met Eluned Morgan in Cathays Park, in Cardiff, on August 20 for his first meeting with her since she became first minister.
The Labour leader claimed to have “turbocharged” the party’s action on steel since he has been in power. Asked if he was risking giving false hope to Port Talbot steel workers, he said: “No.
“We’re working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it’s so important we do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”
He later added: “I don’t want to give anybody false hope. I’m not going to give up on trying to preserve as many jobs as we can.
“This is a tough time, there’s no doubt about that but we will do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”
Charge against Labour
Labour had been accused by the Conservative government of giving false hope to Tata Steel workers, and it’s a charge Sir Keir Starmer continues to resist as Prime Minister. While it is true that the new Labour government has announced funding for supply chain businesses, this was formed at the cross-party transition board whose remit and budget was set by the previous Westminster administration. Tata Steel, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with its plans.
