'Hoping that a way can be found to save the many jobs'

MP for Ellesmere Port

COULD the inevitable ongoing challenge to the highly controversial Rwandan deportation plan provide the kickstart for this year’s General Election?

That is one of the scenarios that is being actively contemplated by various politicians, myself included.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill finally got through the House of Commons by 40-plus votes last week after many Tories dropped the threat of a major challenge to Rishi Sunak’s authority.

It then moved to debate in the House of Lords where the legislation is facing a possible defeat as peers put forward multiple challenges to the Bill as part of efforts to delay its progress through Parliament. Bear in mind that last November our Supreme Court ruled that the Government’s Rwanda plan was unlawful, saying it breached the European Convention on Human Rights and citing concerns about Rwanda’s poor record on human rights.

Rishi Sunak is known to be increasingly obsessed with not being able to force Asylum Seekers to be put on a one-way flight to Rwanda and that is much to his annoyance that not a single person has yet been flown to Rwanda, despite £140 million already being spent on the project, and nearly £400 million being promised to Rwanda, with nothing in return. His press conference last week which marked the passing of the Bill through the Commons was focused mainly on warnings to the House of Lords about blocking the legislation. Constitutionally, whilst the Lords can amend legislation and send it back to the Commons asking them to consider it again, they do not “block” laws so any attempt to go to the country having complained that the House of Lords is blocking his party’s right to govern would likely be on shaky ground. But if that is the case, members of the official Opposition in Parliament say: “Bring it on.” We know the country is crying out for change and we are ready to go to the hustings at Mr Sunak’s earliest convenience.

Meanwhile, my thoughts are concentrated on the employment prospects of workers at Tata Steel, about 2,800 of whom are to be made redundant at the plant at Port Talbot in South Wales. Whilst I understand there is no immediate risk to employees at the Tata steelworks sister plant at Shotton, Deeside, clearly I will be monitoring the situation closely and hoping that a way can be found to save the many jobs in South Wales.

It has been announced that large-scale redundancies will be made in light of the decision to replace two remaining blast furnaces at Port Talbot with an electric arc furnace which can produce green steel from scrap. This means that the plant and indeed the country would no longer be able to produce so called “virgin” steel which has significant implications for our industrial base going forward. Other countries are taking steps to decarbonise their plants without losing this facility so there are serious questions about whether Tata have managed to get a £500 million grant from the Government to in effect rationalise their workforce. Decarbonisation should not be used as a cover for companies making huge job cuts- we think there is a plan where you can decarbonise and protect jobs; the so called just transition must be at the heart of our economic decisions over the next decade, at the moment the balance is wrong.