Keir Starmer - and his miserable government

Be interesting to see how they respond to Trump's tariffs

Parliament was recalled yesterday to debate British steel and a law was passed to stop the Chinese owner from shutting down the last plant making steel from scratch. One wonders now whether Starmer can claim this as a victory for his government when a lot of the deals that were done under the tory regime.

(13-04-2025 08:53 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  Parliament was recalled yesterday to debate British steel and a law was passed to stop the Chinese owner from shutting down the last plant making steel from scratch. One wonders now whether Starmer can claim this as a victory for his government when a lot of the deals that were done under the tory regime.

Another angle I found interesting was brought up by Stephen Flynn (the SNP leader at Westminster), if they can save a steel factory by taking it into public ownership, why can’t they do the same with Grangemouth refinery near Falkirk in Scotland?

I wonder if he thinks that Grangemouth might be more of a Scottish parliament thing than Westminster

(13-04-2025 11:05 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  I wonder if he thinks that Grangemouth might be more of a Scottish parliament thing than Westminster

Energy policy is reserved to Westminster. However, the Scottish Parliament and Government can have an affect on energy policy by using planning law, for example, the Scottish Parliament and Government have planning laws in place to stop fracking plants and nuclear power plants from being built in Scotland. Further, the Scottish Parliament and Government fund and administer Scottish Enterprise (https://www.scottish-enterprise.com) (Scotland’s economic development agency) that can provide small business startup grants and advice in the area of energy.

(13-04-2025 11:05 )lovebabes56 Wrote:  I wonder if he thinks that Grangemouth might be more of a Scottish parliament thing than Westminster

they are basically blaming each other SNP blame westminister and the other partys blame SNP goverment for doing nothing

its the same with Port Talbot lost two furnaces because wouldnt save them

I have heard (or seen) reports that China's trying to sabotage the whole thing. The government of the day that agreed to the deal in the first place should be hanging their heads in shame. I can imagine the fall out having far reaching implications if it escalates further.