“This latest announcement from TATA Steel is heart-breaking for all those families connected to one of the world’s greatest steel-making plants. I know Port Talbot well and often travel to the area to meet constituents so I know how important this plant is to the community. It is a tragedy though that those in a position to change policy to help this industry do not recognise the magnitude of this decision by the company. Port Talbot and its people stand to be massively hurt by this decision unless it is reversed whilst there is still time. Generations will find it more difficult to find work, buy homes and build careers. We only have to look at the devastation caused to communities by the closure of the mines to see what the consequences of this decision will look like.
High energy prices need to be tackled immediately and only a democratic UK government, freed from the shackles of restrictive EU regulations can introduce the policies necessary to bring prices down to sensible levels. It is about time the UK had a sustainable and sensible energy policy which puts the needs of people above the needs of the green lobby. Wales sits atop 300 years of coal, which with today’s technology can be extracted cheaply and cleanly. Tidal power has amazing potential too. We need to recognise what we can do to reduce energy prices and improve energy security but most importantly, we need to start acting and not stop procrastinating. The UK is extremely vulnerable to shifts in energy prices and disruption in supply because we don’t produce enough energy of our own. Only when we start producing energy again, in sufficient quantities to meet our needs, can we offer businesses the price stability they need to be able to compete on a global scale and families the security they need to budget for their futures.
We all know how hard it is to find work in today’s fast-moving economy, made worse by open-door immigration and a decline in primary and manufacturing industries. It’s well beyond time for government to act to protect the industries that sit at the core of our economy, generating the wealth upon which the services industry is built.
We also find it insulting that the loss of these jobs can be overlooked because others remain. That fact will be no consolation to those affected, including those in the supply chain.”
Leader of UKIP in Wales
Nathan Gill MEP
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