Steel industry demands ludicrous, says councillor

The steel industry in Corby employs about 500 people

A Conservative-led council has dismissed a call for it to urge the government to do more to support the steel industry.

The motion was proposed by Labour councillors who represent Corby on North Northamptonshire Council.

The motion called on the government to double steel production and ensure public works projects use UK steel. It also called for £12bn of public investment in the industry.

Council leader Jason Smithers said these were "ludicrous" requests.

The iron and steelworks sector was a major employer in Corby before its closure in the area in 1980

The steel sector once employed thousands of workers in Corby, but the figure now is about 500.

Corby was devastated by the closure of most of its steelworks in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to an unemployment rate of 30%.

At a meeting of the full council, Labour councillors John McGhee and William Colquhoun said the council should support the UK steel industry, given the area's links to the sector.

John McGhee proposed the motion at North Northamptonshire Council

On Friday a national petition was handed to local politicians in Corby, which called for more support for the steel industry and had been signed by 30,000 people.

Mr McGhee told the meeting the issue was not "party political".

"We don't want [Corby] to become a ghost town overnight. We have to support this campaign today," he said.

Leader Jason Smithers said he could not support the motion

Mr Smithers said Tom Pursglove, the Conservative MP for Corby, "champions the steel industry at every opportunity".

He added that Mr Pursglove would "support some of these [requests], but he won't support this motion because, quite frankly, it's ludicrous".

The motion was lost with 14 voting in favour and 38 voting against.

A government spokesperson, in a recent statement on the issue, said the administration was "supporting the steel industry more than any before it", and highlighted a £500m grant to help fund an electric arc furnace at the steel plant in Port Talbot.