Calls for SNP Government to reopen mothballed Scottish steelworks branded 'insulting'

The SNP has branded UK Labour’s call for the Scottish Government to reopen two mothballed steel mills “insulting”.

Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Secretary Ian Murray have publicly shamed the SNP Government for allowing Scotland’s last remaining steel mills to lie empty.

Sir Keir said First Minister John Swinney must create a mechanism to attract contracts to the Dalzell mill in Motherwell and the Clydebridge steelworks in Cambuslang to “get those plants up and running again”.

Dalzell Steelworks in Motherwell. | Danny Lawson/Press Association

Mr Murray also exclusively wrote in Scotland on Sunday where he said Mr Swinney had to explain how he plans to get the two mills back up and running so they can take full advantage of the trade deal brokered last week with the US.

The deal signed between the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump completely wipes out import tariffs on all British steel and aluminium coming into the US.

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Mr Murray said: “The First Minister seems to have taken a vow of silence on the actions of his Government that have effectively seen Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks mothballed. It’s time he explains what is going on.”

A deal was struck in 2016 by the Scottish Government that resulted in both plants transferring from Tata Steel to Liberty Steel, backed with a £7 million loan. Tata had mothballed the two plants the same year with the loss of 270 jobs.

Read more: John Swinney must explain how he'll get Scottish steel plants back in operation

The Sunday Times reports the workforce at the Dalzell works have been furloughed on 80 per cent pay while the plant sits out of operation.

Sir Keir said he was “horrified” by the situation, but added it was “all because the SNP negotiated a bad deal and have no industrial strategy to bring work to those mills”.

However, the SNP has criticised UK Labour’s comments, saying Scotland “will always be an afterthought”.

Pete Wishart, the party’s deputy Westminster leader, said: “The audacity of Keir Starmer to attempt to wash over the UK government’s betrayal of Scottish industry is insulting.

Pete Wishart MP, chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee. Image: House of Commons/Press Association. | House of Commons/Press Association

“They put emergency support in for Scunthorpe steelworks and deliberately legislated to exclude Scotland and therefore Dalzell works from any such help, now or in the future. Westminster did nothing to help the SNP and save Dalzell. It did nothing to help us save Lochaber. And now it has done nothing to save Grangemouth.

“Like the Tories, Labour are making it abundantly clear that Scotland will always be an afterthought for Westminster. The SNP is the only party that will always be on Scotland’s side.”

Mr Wishart’s comments come after the Scottish Lib Dems wrote to UK Labour last year pleading with them to intervene and protect jobs at Dalzell, which they said was “teetering on the edge” of closure.

Dalzell steelworks in Motherwell. | Danny Lawson/Press Association

In a letter, Willie Rennie MSP said: “I have been warning about Liberty Steel for years, but the Scottish Government have ignored those warnings. That is despite their role in the sale of the plant to Liberty Steel.

“In April 2016, the Scottish Government facilitated a controversial ‘back-to-back’ deal in which they purchased the Dalzell steel mills from previous owners Longs Steel, a subsidiary of Tata, and immediately transferred them to Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel.

“Liberty Steel have not published accounts for the Dalzell plant for four years and have failed to pay back a £7m Scottish Government loan that it received in 2016. I believe it is time for the UK government to step in before it is too late.”