The late, Bill Sirs, former General Secretary of the Steel Trades Conference, was not wrong, back in the day. He said “serious problems that would be created arising from the social consequences of the act of closing down the Bilston plant would place the community in a very distressed position as far as employment is concerned”.

The closure of the Elizabeth blast furnace in 1977, and steel works itself in 1979, with notable closures at Round Oak, Brierley Hill in 1982 are now being echoed by Liberty Steel announcing 400 job cuts in the UK in January this year.

The scars, social, business and economic damage of these closures impacted on a generation and cannot be forgotten and must be stopped.

Steel should be treated as a startegic industry necessary for our country’s defence. We only produce 1% of the output of steel by China.

Our manufacturing base represents 10% of the UK’s GDP. The lack of investment and support by successive governments is abysmal.

Vehicles, railways, defence, general manufacture, are placed further at risk by Russia’s aggression. Who believes China or India are the Uk’s safest International friends in 2023, and beyond.

There must be a loud ‘wake up call’ across the UK, to support UK steel as a strategic industry, not dependent on autocratic foreign states. Recent energy shortfalls also underline this message.

Remember once large industries are gone they will not be created again. We need a Steel industry or we face a stranglehold by external forces and a government that fails to defend us, and keep the UK safe.

Doug James, Walsall