UK Politics

[qldfrog]

UK getting scared of Putin, may re-introduce conscription.

Conscription is 'inevitable' for UK, says MP eyeing war with Russia

By the time MP Mike Martin described it as "inevitable" last month, conscription was well and truly back in Britain's national conversation, and some people are not against the idea.

www.abc.net.au

It would be funny the look of 20 25 y old British citizens conscripted: either a general conscription and a Muslim caliphate within a decade, or segregated conscription, and remaining natives selected and sent. to war..ethnic cleansing
Good save the

 

[qldfrog]

Sold to China by Boris Johnston. Will the penny drop? So many bad decisions.

Hum: is Boris a hero for carrying the ukraine war at all cost, or a vilain for letting market forces win?
Is it me or is the left confused,?

 

[sptrawler]

Sold to China by Boris Johnston. Will the penny drop? So many bad decisions.

It wasn't sold by Boris Johnson, it was privately owned and went broke then forced into liquidation, it is just another example of the failed privatisation and globalisation era of the 1980's, when British Steel was privatised by the Thatcher Govt.

As I mentioned in the Australian thread, some industrial production capacity incertain industries need to be in public hands, as they perform either an essential service, critical function, or an important social service.

The Whyalla steel works is in exactly the same situation, failed critical infrastructure that should be nationalised IMO. But meanwhile the Government is looking for another buyer.

British Steel bought by China's Jingye, saving more than 3,000 jobs

Steelmaking group confirms it intends to invest £1.2bn after rescuing plant from receiver

www.theguardian.com

Jingye Group, the steelmaker, has completed its buyout of British Steel, reviving a business that was placed into compulsory liquidation last May and saving more than 3,000 jobs.

British Steel was placed into compulsory liquidation last May after private equity firm Greybull Capital, which bought it for a token £1 from Tata Steel in 2016, failed to secure funding to continue its operations.

With Whyalla steelworks forced into administration, Australia has crucial decisions to make on the future of its steel industry

Whyalla still has some key advantages when it comes to making steel that could make the plant an attractive asset to new prospective owners.

theconversation.com

On Wednesday, the South Australian government forced Whyalla steelworks into administration. To do so, it quickly passed amendments to the Whyalla Steelworks Act. Current owner GFG Alliance will no longer operate the site.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a A$2.4 billion rescue package.

A portion of this money will be used to address immediate debt issues and keep the plant afloat. But $1.9 billion has been earmarked for major, long-term infrastructure upgrades under a new owner.

 

[Knobby22]

It wasn't sold by Boris Johnson, it was privately owned and went broke then forced into liquidation, it is just another example of the failed privatisation and globalisation era of the 1980's, when British Steel was privatised by the Thatcher Govt.

As I mentioned in the Australian thread, some industrial production capacity incertain industries need to be in public hands, as they perform either an essential service, critical function, or an important social service.

The Whyalla steel works is in exactly the same situation, failed critical infrastructure that should be nationalised IMO. But meanwhile the Government is looking for another buyer.

British Steel bought by China's Jingye, saving more than 3,000 jobs

Steelmaking group confirms it intends to invest £1.2bn after rescuing plant from receiver

www.theguardian.com

Jingye Group, the steelmaker, has completed its buyout of British Steel, reviving a business that was placed into compulsory liquidation last May and saving more than 3,000 jobs.

British Steel was placed into compulsory liquidation last May after private equity firm Greybull Capital, which bought it for a token £1 from Tata Steel in 2016, failed to secure funding to continue its operations.

With Whyalla steelworks forced into administration, Australia has crucial decisions to make on the future of its steel industry

Whyalla still has some key advantages when it comes to making steel that could make the plant an attractive asset to new prospective owners.

theconversation.com

On Wednesday, the South Australian government forced Whyalla steelworks into administration. To do so, it quickly passed amendments to the Whyalla Steelworks Act. Current owner GFG Alliance will no longer operate the site.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a A$2.4 billion rescue package.

A portion of this money will be used to address immediate debt issues and keep the plant afloat. But $1.9 billion has been earmarked for major, long-term infrastructure upgrades under a new owner.

Quoting from The Times owned by RupertMurdoch ,
"Boris Johnson, eager to avoid nationalising the company, unwisely allowed Britsh Steel to fall into Chinese hands."

 

[Knobby22]

Hum: is Boris a hero for carrying the ukraine war at all cost, or a vilain for letting market forces win?
Is it me or is the left confused,?

What has that to do with the price of fish? Why are you conflabulating the issue?

Boris sold Britsh Steel unwisely to the Chinese. It was a dumb thing to do.

 

[sptrawler]

Quoting from The Times owned by RupertMurdoch ,
"Boris Johnson, eager to avoid nationalising the company, unwisely allowed Britsh Steel to fall into Chinese hands."

Yes they had the same situation as our Government has with Whyalla, it was in private hands, went broke and the Govt had to decide whether to take it over (nationalise it) or on sell it, exactly the situation Albo faces with Whyalla.

Trump has actually improved things, because now the Governments have to actually consider nationalising things like steelworks, whereas before Trump it was standard proceedure for Governments to not even consider privatisation.

Good on Newscorp for bring it up, hopefully the SMH etc can put the same pressure on Albo, to nationalise Whyalla.

 

[Knobby22]

Yes they had the same situation as our Government has with Whyalla, it was in private hands, went broke and the Govt had to decide whether to take it over (nationalise it) or on sell it, exactly the situation Albo faces with Whyalla.

I was only explaining why your post was factually incorrect.
Your post:
Sold to China by Boris Johnston. Will the penny drop? So many bad decisions.
And from your most recent post:
Boris sold Britsh Steel unwisely to the Chinese. It was a dumb thing to do

Wyalla was sold to a British billionaire though not the Chinese ( by the Libs and he promised the world and didn't deliver).

I'm a bit right wing and don't like nationalising assets but maybe it would be good short term.

Get it into shape and float it as a company on the ASX. Stop relying on foreign capital. The problem is getting the right expertise to upgrade and automate the factory. Maybe set up a PPP. (Private Public Partnership).

Have to hope Albanese has understood the lessons of the past.

 

[IFocus]

Yes they had the same situation as our Government has with Whyalla, it was in private hands, went broke and the Govt had to decide whether to take it over (nationalise it) or on sell it, exactly the situation Albo faces with Whyalla.

Trump has actually improved things, because now the Governments have to actually consider nationalising things like steelworks, whereas before Trump it was standard proceedure for Governments to not even consider privatisation.

Good on Newscorp for bring it up, hopefully the SMH etc can put the same pressure on Albo, to nationalise Whyalla.

Seen commentary about the US pouring money into US steel production for national security reasons don't know the detail but accusations of it costing US jobs

 

[sptrawler]

Seen commentary about the US pouring money into US steel production for national security reasons don't know the detail but accusations of it costing US jobs

Some things are required, for a country to have some autonomy, it is hard to defend yourself if you don't have steel production capacity. A bit like the vaccine production facility, that has recently been built at Tullamarine airport, it is hard to save people if you can't
get the medicine.

Lots of things that are seen as essential can have down sides, but sometimes it is an unintended consequence, I guess.

 

[sptrawler]

Wyalla was sold to a British billionaire though not the Chinese ( by the Libs and he promised the world and didn't deliver).

He probably outbid the Chinese, or the Chinese didn't want it.

 

[qldfrog]

He probably outbid the Chinese, or the Chinese didn't want it.

Indian CEOs see owning a British company as a personal achievement, reversing colonisation,etc
So they add a premium to UK the Chinese do not
Look at Jaguar, Range Rover etc.
But MG went chinese...
These collapses are just the ultimate outcomes of decrepit economies, like in Australia.
Nationalising will change nothing if the whole ecosystem is wrong:
In the UK or Australia
You need educated workforce (education), risk reward incentive (low taxation) for the company, the workers, the suppliers and contractors,
Good infrastructure: roads, ports, grid, etc
Cheap reliable non stop energy: electricity but also fuel and diesel at the pump for suppliers workers
Rule of law and governance : administration burden, regulations, unions and actual personal safety of premises
Any of these missing and we can neither be competitive, nor even able to produce anything worthwhile quality/performance and relevance to allow innovation.
In the uk and in Australia, throwing money to these pit holes will change nothing.

When Qld opened the Bowen basin, a virtuous circle opened: private funding came, actually built the infrastructure, royalties flooded the coffers, smelters were built, millions got jobs
We are in the reverse here and worse in the uk

 

[sptrawler]

Well IMO, this is first good thing to come out of Trumps policies,the U.K may nationalise the last remaining steelworks, interesting that the U.K is considering sending war ships, to escort essential feedstock to ensure the furnaces aren't crippled, or the Chinese don't redirect the supplies.

So much for the softly softly approach.

The Pommie workers, stopped the Chinese bosses from entering critical areas of the plant, now China knows why Russia always wants to blow up the U.K.

UK steps in to save British Steel as nationalisation looms

Intervention follows a breakdown in talks between the UK government and British Steel’s Chinese owner, Jingye Group.

www.aljazeera.com

UK steps in to save British Steel as nationalisation looms​

Intervention follows a breakdown in talks between the UK government and British Steel’s Chinese owner, Jingye Group.
The intervention follows a breakdown in talks between the UK government and British Steel’s Chinese owner, Jingye Group, over plans to transition the firm to greener production methods.

After the vote, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to the site, warning that the blast furnaces – losing $915,600 (700,000 pounds) a day – were on the brink of closure.
Reynolds said a full state takeover was “increasingly likely” given the conduct of the firm’s current owners. “A failure to act today would prevent any more desirable outcome from even being considered,” he said.

Navy on alert to escort fuel to Scunthorpe after British Steel vote

The Royal Navy could be deployed to deliver an essential fuel shipment to Scunthorpe's blast furnaces after MPs voted to seize control of British Steel from Chinese owners.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The extraordinary Saturday sitting to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant from closing required the new law to clear both houses unopposed and receive royal approval before nightfall, in order to empower Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to assume command before the furnaces were extinguished.

It was the first Saturday sitting since the Afghanistan crisis in 2021.

It came amid dramatic scenes as, just hours before the legislation passed, executives from Chinese owners Jingye attempted to enter the plant but were blocked by British Steel workers until police arrived and forced them to leave.

While the new law stopped short of nationalisation, Mr Reynolds said full state ownership 'remains on the table' and may be the 'likely option' for British Steel.

He accused the company of failing to negotiate 'in good faith' after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces going.

He also accused the plant's owner of trying to shut down Britain's steel industry, saying Jingye, which bought British Steel in 2020, has 'irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steel making'.

The intervention came amid fears that the plant could close within days, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act gives the Government the power to instruct steel companies in England to keep the plant open, with criminal penalties for executives if they fail to comply.

While being seen as a step towards nationalisation, sources said that the preference was to secure new private investment to save the plant, which Jingye says loses £700,000 a day.

A Government source said it took a 'big political heave' to get officials to pass the legislation and change the mindset of Whitehall to pave the way for potential nationalisation.

But opposition MPs accused ministers of a 'botched nationalisation', with Conservative MP Alex Burghart saying the Government had made a 'total pig's breakfast' of saving British Steel.

Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice called on Mr Reynolds to 'show your cojones' and nationalise British Steel, claiming it could become a 'long-term, viable' asset for taxpayers, adding: 'We will support this Bill today. But there is an opportunity to go further, to be bold, be courageous.'

Chinese bosses 'tried to enter key areas' of Scunthorpe

Police were called to the scene and forced bosses of British Steel owners Jingye to leave after they were prevented from accessing core areas of the plant, according to The Times.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Chinese bosses reportedly tried to enter key areas of British Steel's Scunthorpe plant only hours before a crunch debate that could bring the furnace under government control.

Police were called to the scene and forced bosses of British Steel owners Jingye to leave after they were prevented from accessing core areas of the plant, according to The Times.