Ex-Tata workers 'frustrated' by Scunthorpe takeover

Former workers at Tata Steel have said they are "frustrated" over the UK government's decision to take control of Scunthorpe steelworks.

MPs rushed emergency legislation through UK Parliament on Saturday to allow officials to take control of the plant run by Chinese-owned British Steel and prevent its two blast furnaces from shutting down.

Welsh politicians have questioned why the government failed to do the same for Tata Steel in Port Talbot, while the Welsh Conservatives requested a Senedd recall during Easter recess to discuss the situation.

UK ministers said the two steelworks were in different situations, and that Port Talbot was in a better position because of the Labour government.

Scott Havard Morris, 26, from Clydach in Swansea, worked as an electrician at the steelworks for 10 years.

He said it was "a bit disappointing" to feel like more was being done to help workers in Scunthorpe.

"I hope it all works out up there and all of those people aren't in the same position as us, looking for jobs," he said.

"Why wasn't that done in Port Talbot, why is it being done there?"

He agreed "something has to be done" to ensure UK steel production did not stop completely.

"If it was the other way around, they'd have had to step in and save Port Talbot. It's just the way it fell."

"They've stepped in now because they haven't really got a choice," he added

Jeffrey Wellington, 53, from Port Talbot worked as an electrician at Tata for 35 years.

He said he was glad steps had been taken to save British Steel in Scunthorpe.

"Maybe if the Labour government had stepped in earlier it would have been different for Tata, but fingers crossed now things are going to be okay for them," he said.

"I can see what people are thinking – why help them and not help us?"

Despite the job losses, Mr Wellington said he was optimistic about Port Talbot's future.

"I think Port Talbot is going to be okay once they've got this electric arc furnace up and running.

"Things are very solemn at the moment but it will be back."

Tony Taylor, former mayor of Neath Port Talbot, worked at Tata Steel for 44 years.

"There's anger and disbelief that they're pulling out all the stops to save Scunthorpe," he said.

"Good luck to Scunthorpe, I hope they do get saved, but we've been treated differently down here."

But he added: "Let's think of the people that have lost their jobs, we shouldn't play politics with people's lives. This is about a livelihood here."

Stuart Phillips, shift manager at Port Talbot's steelworks, said Welsh secretary Jo Stevens had improved the offers on the table and "supported Tata in the longevity of producing steel in south Wales".

But he said he had questions around the previous UK government's approach to "securing steelmaking".

"Personally I think they should have been looking forward really, and planning rather than reacting, as that's where they are now," he said.

The bill on Saturday was approved by Parliament and UK ministers who argued the Port Talbot steelworks was in a better position because of the Labour government.

Traditional steel production at the site came to an end in September after the UK Government committed £500m to help Tata Steel move to greener forms of steelmaking.

But this resulted in the loss of some 2,800 jobs at the Port Talbot plant.

The Senedd's presiding officer has declined a request from the Welsh Conservatives for a recall during Easter recess to discuss the situation around the steelworks in Scunthorpe.

Group leader Darren Millar said the Welsh Labour government should be "pushing for a recall given the different approach being taken to the steel industry in England".

A Senedd spokesperson said the emergency legislation was "relevant only to England" and therefore the chamber would not be recalled.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast ahead of Saturday's debate, industry minister Sarah Jones said: "When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.

"We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.

"We have maintained 5,000 jobs on the site and there will be a future for that site with an electric arc furnace.

"There is no such deal on the table at the moment [for Scunthorpe], that's what is different."

By Felicity Evans, BBC Wales money editor

The UK government says the deal to support the transition to greener steel at Port Talbot had already been done by the time they won the general election in July 2024.

Despite their criticisms of that deal while in opposition, in the three months before the plant's last blast furnace was shut down in September 2024 the changes they negotiated were around improved conditions for affected workers, rather than any fundamental changes to Tata's plan for the future which was already underway.

When the blast furnaces were closing in Port Talbot, the UK continued to have the ability to make steel from scratch at the plant in Scunthorpe – although even then there were concerns about its future.

The fact that Scunthorpe is now the home of the only operational blast furnaces in the UK may well have focused minds at Westminster, especially since ministers seem to have lost trust in Chinese owners Jingye.

Add to that President Trump's recent imposition of 25% tariffs on steel imports to the US, and the uncertainty of where a trade war between the US and China might end up, and the questions about how best to secure the UK's place in the global steel industry have only intensified.

Additional reporting by Iolo Cheung and David Deans