Local News
MP's React To Steelworks Closure Announcement
Both of our areas MP's have reacted to the news that Redcar Steelworks and Coke Ovens will undergo a hard closure.
Redcar MP Anna Turley said: “I am totally shocked and devastated by today’s news from the Official Receiver. I cannot believe the Government has allowed 170 years of steelmaking to fade away with no fight, no determination and no understanding of what this means to our area, to people’s livelihoods and to the British economy.
The Government has had so many options on the table to keep the plant alive for the future, but it has turned its back and shown total contempt for the workforce and the local community. The heart of our local economy has been torn out without a care from the Government. I will be calling for an enquiry to look at how this could have happened. We now need to explore how they are going to do this hard closure, what the cost is going to be, and to look at how this act of industrial vandalism could have been allowed to happen. The Government has shown its true colours, they care nothing for our history and heritage or our future.”
Tom Blenkinsop, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Steel said: “This is devastating news for the 2,200 workers who have lost their jobs, my thoughts go out to those who have lost their jobs and their families. This is a dark day for Teesside and East Cleveland, the repercussions will be felt through the supply chain and the local economy.
The Government have sat on their hands while thousands of people have lost their jobs, there was a viable offer on the table to maintain the coke ovens but the Government failed to listen, they just went through the motions. They have abandoned Teesside.
To add further insult to injury, the increased number of redundancies will decrease the already meagre steel aid package, as redundancy payments are included in the £80 million figure. The government must reconsider the £80 million package as thousands more people could lose their jobs with contractors and suppliers.”
