Is there a future for Nigel in British Steel?

Redcar steelworks closed because of it inability to compete with imported steel.

President Xi Jinping’s visit to London sparked controversy, coinciding as it did with the announcement of a series of job cuts in the British Steel Industry. The Daily Mirrors printed pictures of the Redcar steelworks bathed in a red glow. The picture accompanied a campaign by the Daily Mirror to “Save Our Steel”. The newspaper believes that cheap Chinese steel is responsible for the loss of more than 2,000 jobs. The paper suggested that the import of steel at below cost price had created a crisis in the UK steel industry. The paper urged David Cameron to challenge President Xi over the issue, ‘he must put real measures in place to protect and revive our own plants,” said the Mirror, “before it’s too late.”

The Guardian believed that Mr Cameron is putting economic ties with Beijing ahead of the UK’s long-term interests. The newspaper reported that Labour and trade unions were calling on him to confront Mr Xi about claims that China is responsible for anti-competitive behaviour. The Guardian views the visit by the Chinese President as a shift in UK foreign polic, “It is a shift that has not been preceded by the full, public discussion it deserves, and one that could constrain us and commit us for decades to come,” it comments. “Put simply, it is proposed to hitch Britain’s economy to the Chinese wagon, with all that may mean in the future in terms of Chinese ownership of key British industries, a growing Chinese presence in our financial sector, and growing Chinese influence over our economic decisions and over our approach to critical human rights issues in China.”