Chatham House
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The UK’s last-minute takeover of British Steel exposes its reactive approach to economic security
EXPERT COMMENT
The British government needs a more comprehensive and forward-looking defence-industrial strategy to ensure its national security.
The UK’s Parliament recently passed emergency legislation to allow the government to take control of the steelworks at Scunthorpe. This intervention was partly focused on protecting jobs and the local economy, but the underlying rationale was in line with a growing trend among governments to see economic and national security as intertwined.
The decision to intervene was framed in terms of steel’s role in the UK’s defence industry, infrastructure resilience, and broader sovereign economic capability. Scunthorpe is the last UK site able to produce high-quality virgin steel, which is important for transport infrastructure, military equipment, and other types of defence production.
The UK government, both under Keir Starmer and his predecessors, has taken steps towards incorporating some national security considerations into economic strategy. But the Scunthorpe case highlights some of the limits of the government’s current approach.
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Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/04/uks-last-minute-takeover-british-steel-exposes-its-reactive-approach-economic-security
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