Traditional steel making is one of the dirtiest industries on earth. Transforming it into an industry of the future requires innovation not nostalgia, writes Sebastian Langendorf

“There will be a future for British steel,” Rachel Reeves told the Labour Party Conference, presenting steel not only as an economic issue but as a test of Labour’s values and patriotism.

It was a bold promise, but it leaves a harder question: what kind of future will Britain choose? That choice cannot be deferred. The country stands at a crossroads, with the last remaining steelmakers considering a merger and a new Steel Strategy on the table. The Prime Minister has staked his leadership on national renewal and economic growth, yet the future of steel, the backbone of industry and infrastructure, the material behind factories, cars, bridges and turbines, still hangs at the edges of serious policy debate. Reeves has put steel back in the spotlight, but unless her words are matched with a plan for genuine transformation, Britain risks falling back into the familiar cycle of subsidy, stagnation and decline.

The problems facing British steel are hardly a secret. Energy........

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