In the run-up to the critical week for Scunthorpe – and the discussions with government in that week – it was a relief to get Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonny Reynolds’ call confirming British Steel would be offered a lifeline.
It was the absolute right decision for the workers and Britain. Unite and other Unions have said for years public ownership must be on the table when it comes to our critical national infrastructure.
Given national security issues surrounding steel, it should have been a serious option for the Port Talbot steelworks too. But the world has changed, it will be said. Well, surely that makes it more important the deal on future jobs guarantees for Port Talbot must be honoured in full.
The fact that a debate about nationalisation of a critical part of our country’s infrastructure is seen as such an unusual event, so completely out of the ordinary, tells its own story.
Since Thatcher, the option of public ownership is only ever visited as an absolute last resort, and then only flagged as being a temporary move before another private buyer is found.
That means even after all these years, there is still no political challenge to the idea that the private sector is best placed to deliver practically everything critical to us as a nation.
It is ironic of course that in many cases, as with Jingye in Scunthorpe, the private firms which are operating key areas of production are themselves ultimately subject to the control of other states, like China. I often joke that our politicians seem comfortable about state ownership of our assets, as long as it isn’t the British state doing any of the owning. It makes no sense.
You wouldn’t let anyone outside your family own the keys to your car would you? Or give them the security code for your flat? It’s baffling, but that’s just what we do with our country’s infrastructure. We let others decide what to do with it and only step in when they are about to drop or sell the family silver.
Until we move away from this way of thinking, the Government’s ability to deliver an industrial strategy worth its name will be limited. We already have among the lowest investment rates of any advanced nation, and have sold our energy system to profiteers.
This has led directly to a lack of long-term industrial thinking and ramped up energy costs for business and ordinary people.
Without an active state, willing to regulate where necessary and actually own things where needed, we will be left to beg from the bowl of the super-rich, investment funds run by dictators or the oligarchs.
We must put the idea of public stakes in critical industries firmly back on the table. If we don’t, the nation will find itself in this situation more and more. We will suffer the consequences of decisions which are made thousands of miles away, with Britain’s national interest far from their thoughts.
There has been a lot of nonsense spouted about the bin workers in Birmingham. Politicians of all shades have decided to share their opinions, most of which are the usual hot air for column inches, and get us nowhere.
The one clear fact at the heart of this dispute is simple. A Labour council is trying to impose a huge £8,000 pay cut on a category of refuse loaders and has now confirmed that the drivers are likely to have their pay cut, also by up to £8,000.
This dispute is not about a wage rise or greed, it’s about workers being asked to take eye-watering pay cuts and to pay the price for bad decisions made by their employer.
The Birmingham authority has been in trouble for years. It may have been Tory austerity that helped cripple finances, but the present Labour government has continued the mad practice of charging huge interest on the council’s debt.
Let’s be clear, the government own the debt. They have a role here. They can either scrap the debt interest or restructure the repayments to save money. Either way, cutting workers’ pay cannot be the answer.
The bin workers are not responsible for any of the decisions and yet they are being expected to pay for them. That should be unacceptable anywhere, let alone at an authority where councillors continue to receive increases to their allowances.
To resolve this dispute, all the council and government need to do is agree not to cut the pay of refuse workers. That’s it. We are not asking for anything else. Workers and residents deserve better. How could anyone lose a quarter of their pay? These workers have done nothing wrong.
I am proud to defend them. They must have a voice.
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