A decade ago, I stood up in Parliament and urged Conservative ministers to save the Redcar steelworks — our blast furnace, our world-class coke ovens. I warned then that abandoning these strategic assets would have generational consequences, and I wasn’t alone in saying so. My Labour colleagues in the neighbouring constituencies (Redcar and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) fought for our steelworks.

I called for a steel summit and urged ministers to consider all options. That included public ownership. I pointed to Italy’s successful intervention to save the Ilva plant in Taranto. But the British government, blinded by its own ideology, did nothing. Redcar’s 170-year steelmaking legacy ended abruptly: overnight, 9,000 jobs were lost and the Teeside regional economy was gutted. The emotional and economic scars are still visible today.

That failure in 2015 was a test of whether the government was willing to act in the public interest. They failed. Steelworkers on Teesside have been let down again and again, from the closure of Redcar to the destruction of the coke ovens in 2022, to fresh promises about an electric arc furnace that proved empty when scrutinised in Parliament.

In recent months, we saw the end of primary steelmaking at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant. Understandably, there has been frustration that job losses there were not averted, even though the incoming Labour government secured agreement to part-fund new electric arc furnaces.

Meanwhile, British Steel — under the Jingye Group — showed a worrying unwillingness to invest in its long-term future. It felt like Redcar all over again: a strategic asset at the mercy of absentee owners.

This time, there was a different outcome. The Labour government intervened to prevent collapse. That intervention was not just a victory for workers and unions. It was a victory for common sense, too.

What is the impact on steelworks in Teesside? In last weekend’s debate, I raised the future of steelworkers at Lackenby and Skinningrove.

After all they’ve endured, the immediate task is to secure the jobs of local steel workers who are still hanging on after constant Conservative neglect. If the private sector won’t invest, then it’s time for them to step aside. It’s time to put steel — and public interest — first. The next step must be clear: public ownership of British Steel.

The work is only beginning. British Steel has been tossed between private owners who have extracted profits without making necessary investments. We need stability, a long-term vision, and a commitment to public purpose.

We cannot build a modern, green, sovereign economy without steel. It underpins critical infrastructure in energy, defence, transport, and housing. The Community Union is right — we can’t afford to be the only G7 nation without primary steelmaking. If we continue outsourcing this vital industry to companies prioritising profit over the public good, we will continue to lose.

Public ownership isn’t a relic of the past. It’s a practical, modern tool for rebuilding the future. It means investment that isn’t constrained by shareholder dividends. It means decisions made in the interests of workers, communities, and the environment. Crucially, it means we can finally get serious about developing clean, green steel.

There are a number of models that could be adopted and that should be up for discussion. Unite the Union has said steel should be designated critical national infrastructure. The government should at least take a public stake in British Steel, and in energy, to bring down costs. It should prioritise domestic projects.

Many British construction projects import steel products that could be produced in this country. Currently, less than 2% of steel components used in British wind farms are manufactured domestically, with almost none using domestic steel — but they could do.

We also need to fix the broken economics of steel. British producers continue to face higher energy costs than competitors in France and Germany. We should dispel the myths that the drive for net zero is driving up the cost of steel. As has been made clear time and time again, it is our country’s reliance on natural gas power which is the main driver of price disparity in European steelmaking costs.

So a plan to sustain domestic steelmaking with a public procurement strategy that makes the sector sufficiently profitable is how we secure the sector — not with handouts to absentee owners, but with a coherent, joined-up strategy. I hope the forthcoming Steel Strategy sets that out.

This debate is bigger than just steel. Our country has spent decades flogging off vital industries from energy to water to rail, just to end up with soaring bills, underinvestment, and profits siphoned offshore. Norway and Denmark profit from our coastline’s renewable energy while German, French, and Spanish companies own our passenger rail franchises.

Public ownership doesn’t mean ministers running every detail. It means democratic oversight, expert management, and a commitment to the public good over private gain.

Steel was once Britain’s backbone, and it can be again — but only if we learn from past mistakes. We need to stop pretending that the market will magically protect what matters most, and we need to have the courage to take it back.

So let’s not wait for another Redcar. Let’s seize this moment. Let’s build a steel industry that works — for workers, for Britain, and for generations yet to come.