Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, said: “The news that Stocksbridge Speciality Steels is to be sold off will be a cause for great anxiety among its 700 workers, and for the suppliers and wider community it helps to support.
“Their future, and the future of the steel industry in South Yorkshire, depends on finding a buyer willing to invest for the long-term. Both this site and the wider sector have enormous potential, but the government must act to help secure it.
“That includes being prepared to help provide finance to bridge any transition period until a new buyer is found – but also doing much more to ensure British-made speciality steel like that produced at Stocksbridge is used for the myriad of defence and infrastructure projects that need it.
“I will do everything I can as the Mayor of this region to support these efforts, and I met with Kwasi Kwarteng last week to raise our concerns and make the case for intervention. I ask the government as well as potential buyers to work with regional and local government in South Yorkshire and our Local Enterprise Partnership to find a long-term solution.
“British steel has a bright future as a zero-carbon, high quality, internationally competitive product. It would be a travesty for South Yorkshire and for the whole country if that potential was lost through lack of action.”
