Watford MP welcomes government showing necessary nerves of steel
I hope you enjoy the Easter break and grab some downtime with friends and family.
I'm in Westminster when the House of Commons is sitting, and that sees the working day on Mondays go on until 10pm and sometimes after that. The latest I've spoken, so far, is around 10.45pm. However, the Easter recess means MPs spend more time in their constituencies, but with a difference this year.
I had intended a few days away myself, but that was curtailed by the recall of Parliament last Saturday. It was only the second Saturday in over 40 years that's happened and one of those was for a national emergency too – the invasion of the Falkland Islands.
I am sure you will have seen and heard on the news and in the papers, the plight of British Steel at Scunthorpe. That's a vital national issue, I'm not complaining, it goes with the territory and after all, plenty of workers across Britain do Saturday shifts.
I was in London supporting the Government's drive to preserve the last remaining maker of mass-produced virgin steel by taking the plant out of the Chinese owner's hands. It was extremely rash of Boris Johnson's government to flog it off for a quid.
It is a race against time in an uncertain world to protect an industry which helps to keep our country safe. The blast furnaces must be kept alive, as once the temperature drops, they become damaged and that's reliant upon sourcing the raw materials necessary and speedily.
It would have been a mistake to allow this country to be dependent on foreign steel, much of it produced in China, especially in the present climate.
I am glad the Government took the decisive initial action it has.
Matt Turmaine is Labour MP for Watford
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