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British Steel nationalisation plans announced by Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer announced that legislation would be introduced to allow full public ownership of British Steel, subject to a public interest test. This follows the government's earlier seizure of the Scunthorpe steelworks from Jingye in 2025 and ongoing talks with the Chinese owner.
Why It Matters
If enacted, the plan could place a strategic UK industry under state ownership, impacting jobs, national security and the procurement of UK steel for government projects.
Timeline
4 Events
British Steel nationalisation plans announced by Starmer
May 11, 2026
Sir Keir Starmer announced legislation would be brought forward this week to give the government powers to take full ownership of British Steel, subject to a public interest test. He said public ownership is in the public interest, noting talks with Jingye had occurred but a commercial sale was not possible.
NAO reports on cost of government supervision at Scunthorpe
March 2026
The National Audit Office said the current government supervision regime had cost about £377m to fund operations, workers and buying raw materials at Scunthorpe, and warned costs could exceed £1.5bn by 2028 if current policy choices continued.
UK government seizes Scunthorpe steelworks from Jingye
April 2025
The government seized control of British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks in April 2025 after talks with Jingye collapsed amid accusations the Chinese firm planned to switch the furnaces off, to halt potential closures and preserve virgin steel capability.
Insolvency Service ran British Steel after 2019 collapse
2019
The Insolvency Service ran British Steel for nine months after it collapsed in 2019, at a cost of £600m.