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British Steel is a national industrial challenge and a defining test of our ambition for Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire and UK manufacturing.For too long, the debate has been framed around crisis and survival. It must shift decisively towards renewal, investment and a long-term future with steelmaking at the heart of our economy.The Government acted to keep the blast furnaces operating in Scunthorpe and continues to provide financial support. More recently, Parliament took action and brought the works into public ownership.Those interventions matter. Without them, Britain could already have lost its last remaining blast furnaces and its ability to make virgin steel.But keeping the furnaces burning cannot be the limit of our ambition.Rob was clear – continuing to fund the status quo without addressing the underlying challenges will not do.Those challenges are complex. Energy costs, decarbonisation, international trade and the investment needed to modernise production will all shape the industry's future.But the opportunity is equally significant. The Government's own Steel Strategy forecasts UK steel demand growing from around 9m tonnes now to 14m by 2050. Britain will need more steel for homes, transport, energy, manufacturing and defence.My own career has largely been spent in people services, not economics. That experience has shown me repeatedly that secure, well-paid work is about far more than economics. It provides family stability, supports local businesses, strengthens communities and creates opportunity for the next generation.The question is not simply how much steel Britain will need. It is whether we have the ambition to turn that demand into prosperity we keep here: skilled jobs, stronger communities and opportunities that reach the next generation.I was struck by the support for British Steel when speaking to colleagues from councils across the country at this year's Local Government Association Conference. There was a clear understanding that this is about much more than one company or one place, and a genuine desire to know what local government could do.That is why we have turned those conversations into action and written to council chief executives across England.Collectively, councils spend billions every year building and maintaining infrastructure.Every council rightly seeks value for taxpayers' money. But value is not simply the number at the bottom of an invoice. Where public money goes next matters too.For me, that is what social value should mean in practice: understanding how the choices we make with taxpayers' money can support good jobs, stronger local economies and greater prosperity for the people and communities we serve.If councils nationally align behind British steel, we can help turn support into demand, demand into investment and investment into long-term industrial confidence.Money spent on British-made steel supports skilled employment, domestic businesses and supply chains. Those jobs support families, those businesses spend in communities and those wages flow through local economies. It also helps retain industrial capability and create further economic activity.Local government talks frequently about its collective voice. We should think about our collective buying power in the same way.No individual council procurement decision will determine the future of British Steel. Hundreds of councils making thousands of decisions about roads, housing, schools, bridges, regeneration and infrastructure can.That is why we are asking councils to support the Save Steel, Buy British pledge, sign the UK Steel Charter and consider how procurement and capital programmes can maximise opportunities for British-made steel.Government has acted to prevent the immediate loss of steelmaking. Now we need to move beyond paying to preserve what exists and create the conditions in which British steelmaking can thrive.And in Scunthorpe, it means thinking much bigger about what the site can become.We have the workforce, land, power, rail connections and industrial infrastructure. Protecting virgin steelmaking should be the foundation, not the ceiling, of our ambition. Alongside it there is an opportunity for electric arc steelmaking – which uses electricity to melt recycled steel – hydrogen-based production, advanced manufacturing, energy and defence industries.This is not about managing industrial decline more efficiently. It is about creating prosperity – for Scunthorpe, for the communities supported by British industry and for the country.Local government cannot solve every challenge facing British steel. But councils are not powerless. We have influence, spending power and a responsibility to use both in the national interest.If councils nationally align behind British steel, we can help turn support into demand, demand into investment and investment into long-term industrial confidence.That is why we are calling on councils to stand together, back the pledge, sign the Charter and use every practical opportunity to buy British.This is the moment for local government to act with one voice, one purpose and one clear message: if we want a future for British Steel, we must help build it.Alison Barker is chief executive of North Lincolnshire Council

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ECONOMIC GROWTH

Turning public spending into national prosperity

By Alison Barker | 02 September 2026

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