Boris must act now to avert an energy disaster

by | Oct 13, 2021

Boris must act now to avert an energy disaster

Vital manufacturers including producers of steel, glass, ceramics and paper, have threatened the government with closure unless soaring wholesale gas prices come to an end.

Industry experts held talks with minister Kwasi Kwarteng but concluded with no immediate intervention or strategy to combat the issue.

However, Kwarteng’s department said he was determined to secure a competitive future for Britain’s energy-intensive industries. He vouches to continue to work closely with companies over the coming days to further understand and help mitigate the impacts of any cost increases faced by businesses.

Are darker days ahead for British Manufacturing?

Gareth Stace, Director general of UK steel told ITV news “If the government doesn’t take any action, then basically what we’ll see for the steel sector is more and more pauses of production in certain times of the day and those pauses will become longer”

Some manufactures have warned they are potentially days away from closure as they may have to suspend production due to rising energy costs.

The UK Steel director-general said he was “baffled” because governments in the rest of Europe have stepped in to support industry, although they faced lower energy costs than in the UK.

A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the COVID-19 pandemic, has hobbled Britain’s supply chains for everything from fuel and pork to poultry and bottled water, putting any recovery from the pandemic under threat. With manufactures on the brink of collapse, Britain’s supply chain crisis is only going to become worse especially in the lead up to Christmas.

Boris Johnson ‘to back multi-million-pound loan bailout’ to help businesses amid energy crises.

The prime minister has reportedly backed plans to step in and help struggling businesses with soaring energy prices as production, jobs and welfare all hang in the balance.

It is understood the loans, which are set to be worth millions, are being backed by the prime minister despite reluctance from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Boris has vowed that the rollout of the loan will be implemented shortly.

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