So the government is doing "everything it can" at Port Talbot. Any bets on the outcome, sports fans?

[non sociopath skin]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/apr/01/tata-steel-crisis-uk-ringleader-china-sajid-javid-port-talbot-live

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

1. If Javid is involved, not great, I suspect

Not that I would expect a great outcome from anyone in this government; but Javid is exceptionally RW on economic issues.

Deep sigh - it's not as though we had much industry left after Thatcher and now what we have is seriously endangered.

[Denzil_DC]

2. As an example of what CAN be done:

Last edited Fri Apr 1, 2016, 05:18 PM - Edit history (3)

Steel plants deal agreed between Scottish government and Liberty House

METALS firm Liberty House has signed a deal to buy two mothballed Lanarkshire steel plants.

The “back to back” agreement, which was confirmed on Thursday morning, involves the Scottish Government buying the Clydebridge and Dalzell plants from Tata Steel, and immediately selling them on to Liberty.

The sale will be done under the same terms with no cost to the taxpayer.

Liberty will take responsibility for reopening, operating and investing in the two sites as part of its wider strategy to build an integrated and sustainable steel business across the UK.

Business minister Fergus Ewing said: “When Tata Steel mothballed the Dalzell and Clydebridge plants, I said we would leave no stone unturned in the quest to find an alternative buyer.

https://www.sundaypost.com/news/scottish-news/steel-plants-deal-agreed-between-scottish-government-and-liberty-house/

More details here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eb3772d6-f0de-11e5-9f20-c3a047354386.html

How Liberty House fares and how it treats its workforce remains to be seen, of course ...

[Bad Dog]

3. It's as IDS put it.

This Tory government only helps those who vote for it, not steelworkers in Wales or Teesside.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Ministers hold talks with potential buyer for Tata Steel's UK operations

A multibillion pound move to save Britain’s steel industry from collapse by underwriting some of its pension liabilities, cutting its energy bills and modernising its largest plant is being prepared by the Government.

Ministers have held initial talks with a potential buyer of parts of Tata Steel’s loss-making UK operation, including the giant Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, with more discussions planned this week.


Sanjeev Gupta, the tycoon whose firm Liberty House has already saved several UK steelworks, said: “We would need a proper partnership with the Government. I don’t know what that would entail at this stage. We’ve started the discussions,” Mr Gupta said.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ministers-hold-talks-with-potential-buyer-for-tata-steel-s-uk-operations-port-talbot-a6966801.html

[LeftishBrit]

5. Tata steel: Sajid Javid under pressure after admitting Port Talbot crisis was unexpected

Sajid Javid has faced calls to stand down as the business secretary if a buyer is not found for the Port Talbot steelworks after admitting he was caught unaware by Tata’s planned withdrawal from the UK.

The cabinet minister said on Sunday he had not realised Tata’s board in Mumbai would make such a decisive announcement. The timing of the decision, which came while Javid was on a trade trip in Australia, exposed the government to accusations it had failed to acknowledge the scale of the crisis.

Once the number of jobs at risk became clear, Javid was forced to cut short the visit and abandon plans to stay on for a holiday with his teenage daughter.


Defending his handling of the crisis, Javid held out the prospect of government support for potential buyers of the Tata’s UK steel assets, suggesting help with pension liabilities and power costs could be on offer.

(More at link)

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/03/tata-steel-crisis-labour-sajid-javid-stand-down