Almost forty years after the privatization wanted by Margaret Thatcher, British Steel returns to public ownershipThe British government has in fact announced the nationalization of the steel company – previously owned by the Chinese group Jingye – after having already taken control of it in the spring of 2025 to avoid the closure of two blast furnaces. A move which, according to a statement from Downing Street, was necessary to protect the national interest of the United Kingdom.
British Steel is part of the fabric of our nation and a pillar of Britain's industrial strength. Today's decision secures the future of steelmaking in the UK, protects skilled jobs and preserves vital national capacity,” outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
British Steel's difficulties
Last April, the British government had assumed Jingye has effectively taken operational control of the steel giant from its parent company, with the aim of preventing the closure of the Scunthorpe steelworks in northern England and protecting 2.700 jobs at the plant and thousands more in the supply chain. The plant is home to the last two active blast furnaces in the country, produces 95% of the steel used in the UK rail network and supplies the construction and automotive sectors. In recent years British Steel has faced numerous difficulties arising from high energy costs in Great Britain and from a excess steel supply on the global market.
After effectively taking control, the state then sought a new buyer. Having failed to find one, two months ago Starmer announced that his government would introduce a bill to allow the government to acquire full ownership.
"British Steel now belongs to the British people and our focus is on the future,” said Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle.
The reactions
The decision to complete the nationalisation of British Steel, which had been privatised in 1988 by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, made to infuriate the conservativesShadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith accused Labour of “reviving the nationalisation era of the 1970s”, arguing that “a blank check paid by taxpayers is not the answer.”
Meantime Jingye he put forward one request for compensation of up to one billion of pounds for investments made at the Scunthorpe plant before the government's intervention.
British Steel and the former Ilva: The European steel crisis
In Italy the history of British Steel cannot help but bring to mind that offormerly Ilva, now Acciaierie d'ItaliaBoth companies have been at the center of failed rescue and relaunch attempts for years. Both are losing millions of euros. In recent months, there have even been rumors that Michael Flacks, a Manchester-born investor and founder of the US fund Flacks, interested in creating a "European steel hub" capable of bringing together British Steel and the former Ilva. Rumors, indeed,
The facts tell us that the British company was purchased by the private equity fund in 2016 Greybull Capital. The cost of the operation was £1. Only three years later, however, the company went bankrupt, and then went on to Jingye, according to which the Scunthorpe site would lose more than 700 thousand pounds a day, which is why the Chinese had announced its closure. From April 2025 to today, the British government would have paid out 200 million of pounds to keep it open and active.
The former Ilva is no exception: a new meeting with the unions has been called for July 28th. Meanwhile, the last funds allocated by Brussels to revitalize the steelworks are running out, and no buyer is in sight. The company effectively relies on government loans which however, due to European constraints, can no longer be paid out. The losses amount to approximately one million euros a day.
Two parallel crises that well represent the difficulties of the European steel sector, which has long been struggling with high energy costs and a global supply glut triggered by China which in 2024 produced more than half of the world's steel.
