Starmer says he is ‘horrified' steelworks are mothballed due to SNP's ‘bad deal'
The Prime Minister said the SNP-run Scottish Government had failed to find work to keep the sites thriving after negotiating a 'bad deal' which saw them being bought by a new owner.
The plants at Dalzell and Clydebridge were bought by the Liberty House group in 2016, backed by a £7 million loan from the Scottish Government.
The group, which is part of Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, also owns the Lochaber aluminium smelter.
The Labour leader's comments come after the US trade deal which was reached on Thursday – which cut tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium.
Mr Swinney's party said Sir Keir was attempting to 'wash over' his own industrial failures.
Writing in the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister said: 'I'm proud we've secured a deal that slashes tariffs on the steel and aluminium industries to zero.
'This Labour government will always support our proud steel industry. So I'm horrified that the Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks in Lanarkshire are lying mothballed, with workers on furlough.
'All because the SNP negotiated a bad deal and have had no industrial strategy to bring work to those mills.
'We're standing up for Scottish steel – now Swinney needs to step in and get those plants up and running again.'
It is understood that some staff at Dalzell in Motherwell have been furloughed and there is no work going through the plant.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the trade deal with India, which cuts costs on the crucial Scottish export of whisky.
SNP MP Pete Wishart laid the blame on the UK Government, saying it had failed to back the Scottish industry in contrast to the action taken to protect plants south of the border.
He said: 'The audacity of Keir Starmer to attempt to wash over the UK government's betrayal of Scottish industry is insulting.
'They put emergency support in for Scunthorpe steelworks and deliberately legislated to exclude Scotland and therefore, Dalzell works from any such help, now or in the future.
'Westminster did nothing to help the SNP save Dalzell. It did nothing to help us save Lochaber. And now it has done nothing to save Grangemouth.'
He added: 'Like the Tories, Labour are making it abundantly clear that Scotland will always be an afterthought for Westminster. The SNP is the only party that will always be on Scotland's side.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
20 minutes ago
- The National
Douglas Ross snubs Holyrood summit for seminar near Bahamas
The ex-Scottish Tory leader will be logging into the education committee meeting on June 11th virtually from Turks and Caicos – which is near the Bahamas – despite being convener, The Daily Record first reported. The seminar is apparently in relation to his work on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. SNP ministers, including Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, are set to appear on June 11. READ MORE: 'You're not welcome': Nigel Farage visit to Scotland met by anti-racism protesters It comes after Ross was ejected from the Holyrood chamber last week by the Presiding Officer after heckling the First Minister. An SNP source said: "Throughout his time at Holyrood, Douglas Ross has treated his role as an MSP as a part-time gig to fit around his other jobs - including his various jaunts across Europe as an assistant referee. "This has been a bit of an embarrassing week for Mr Ross after he was removed from the Chamber for his poor behaviour on Thursday. After his tirade of unjustified claims about other members' parliamentary attendance it is now somewhat ironic that Mr Ross will be logging in from near the Caribbean." A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: 'Douglas will be attending this meeting and holding the SNP's education secretary and her colleagues to account.' The move to expel Ross angered his Tory colleagues, who said Alison Johnstone was regularly treating them unfairly. The Scottish Conservatives said they would be 'seeking discussions to reiterate that the Presiding Officer should not show blatant bias'. But Swinney backed Johnstone, who was elected as a Green MSP, saying she 'always acts impartially' and upholds the rules of the Scottish Parliament.
STV News
25 minutes ago
- STV News
Scottish Labour councillor defecting to Reform, says Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage has announced that a Scottish Labour councillor is due to defect to Reform UK in Hamilton on Monday afternoon. The news came just moments after Farage welcomed Scottish Tory councillor Duncan Massey to his party in Aberdeen. 'There have been several Conservative councillors that have come to us, and there'll be a Labour councillor coming to us this afternoon when we get to Hamilton,' Farage said on Monday morning. 'Duncan Massey has been not just a city councillor here in Aberdeen over the course of the last few years, but is somebody who has spent 20 years working in the oil and gas industry, and it's my happy duty to welcome Duncan as a Reform councillor here in the city of Aberdeen today.' The Reform UK party leader was in Aberdeen on Monday morning for a press conference. It's part of his Scottish tour ahead of the Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse by-election near Glasgow on Thursday. At the conference, Farage slammed Labour and SNP Governments at Westminster and Holyrood for their net-zero targets and proposals. More to follow. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Western Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Calls for changes at supermarkets to combat 'shrinkflation'
The Liberal Democrats want government legislation amended to legally require large supermarkets to inform shoppers when the quantity of goods within a pre-packaged product has decreased thereby increasing the price per unit of measurement. Details of the changes would need to be attached or placed alongside the product for a 60-day period, according to the amendment tabled to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. Digestive biscuits, butter, crisps and chocolate bars were among the items found to have decreased in size while their unit cost increased, according to 2024 research by Compare the Market. MPs could be asked to vote on the Lib Dem proposal on Wednesday when the Bill returns to the Commons for its report stage. The Bill as a whole gives powers to ministers to regulate the marketing and use of goods in the UK after Brexit. It was previously amended in the House of Lords to provide protections to the imperial pint measure to ease fears over its future. The changes accepted by the Government would bar ministers from preventing or restricting the use of the pint in relation to draught beer, cider or milk in returnable containers. It also provides a definition of a pint as 0.56826125 cubic decimetres. Lib Dem trade spokesman Clive Jones said: 'The scourge of shrinkflation needs to be exposed. 'Shoppers have been hammered during a cost-of-living crisis all while massive companies and big supermarket chains are forcing them to pay more for less to protect their bottom lines. 'They need to be called out on it and for shoppers to know when they are at risk of being ripped off. 'The Government should accept this Liberal Democrat amendment so that we can help protect shoppers and their already stretched household budgets from another round of shrinkflation.' A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: 'We're committed to protecting consumers from unfair commercial practices and making sure they have all the information they need to make informed decisions on purchases. 'That's why we're bringing in strict new laws next year to make sure businesses use clearer labelling for prices on supermarket shelves, and retailers show all unit prices in either kilograms or litres to improve clarity for shoppers.'
