Fury is mounting over the use of Chinese steel in constructing the £4 billion, taxpayer-funded Net Zero Teesside power plant. Over the weekend, project backer BP awarded a £5 million contract to China’s Modern Heavy Industries for 7,000 tonnes of steel. China and steel haven’t exactly had a spotless record in the past year…
Trade body UK Steel has slammed the decision, with Director General Gareth Stace saying “BP’s decision to buy 7,000 tonnes of Chinese steel, worth around £5m for the Net Zero Teesside project, rather than sourcing it from British Steel just miles away, beggars belief.” Meanwhile Tees Valley Tory Mayor Ben Houchen: “It’s crazy that a multibillion-pound project underwritten by the UK Government, and therefore the UK taxpayer, will be using Chinese steel.” British Steel’s Scunthorpe operation lies just 112 miles away from the site…
Industry minister Chris McDonald claimed he is deeply disappointed by BP’s decision, and said he will be speaking to them today. See how that goes in the Golden Keir-A…
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”