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Labour is putting forward a £35billion lifeline for Port Talbot and British steel.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell says Government cash is already committed for projects like the HS2 and London Crossrail 2 railways, and 500 other road, rail and airport developments.

He wants that work brought forward so British plants can start pumping out the steel for them.

The Shadow Chancellor said: “The Government has £35bn of shovel-ready projects. This is not new money – just money standing still. Let’s get it moving.”

He says state ownership should not be ruled out for the Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales and other threatened plants.

Indian owner Tata , which employs 14,000 of Britain’s 24,000 steelworkers, wants to sell or shut Port Talbot, which has 4,300 staff. The firm has said it may try to sell all of its loss-making UK business, reckoned to support 40,000 jobs.

Mr McDonnell says his plan would not break EU state aid rules because fast-tracking public-sector orders is not a subsidy.

The crisis is caused by China selling steel cheap overseas as demand plummets at home.

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Ministers have offered help by saying jobs and local economic benefit can be considered when awarding public deals, as well as price.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “By changing procurement rules we are backing the future of UK steel.”

My blueprint for a rescue and it's not just about EU, by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell

(Image: PA)

The steel crisis exposes the Tories as out of touch and incompetent.

Forty thousand workers and their families face the loss of their livelihoods.

As we saw under the Tories in the 1980s, closures like this can tear apart entire communities.

Even some Tory MPs share Labour’s call for emergency measures like nationalisation not to be ruled out.

Yet David Cameron refuses to recall Parliament for an emergency debate.

(Image: Getty)

Some have tried to claim measures to combat climate change are to blame.

However less than two per cent of steel production costs are due to climate measures.

In reality, British steel is in crisis because of the dumping of cheap steel by China and because we have a government that will not take the action necessary.

Other EU countries like Germany and Italy have acted to protect their steel industries.

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The barrier to action isn’t in Brussels. It’s in West-minster, where the Government has spent three years blocking EU action.

One EU official even claimed the Tories were blocking action on dumping as a “thank you” to China.

This has done us no good. China has slapped a 46 per cent tariff on British steel.

Labour has different priorities. This is our four-point Action Plan to save British steel:

Stabilise the industry and protect steelworkers by allowing time for a buyer to be found but being prepared to nationalise plants threatened with closure.

Fast-track key investment projects like high-speed rail in the North, and build them with British steel.

Create a level playing field. The Tories must stop blocking EU initiatives to protect steel but also look at business rates and energy prices.

Restructure the industry so it has a future, in partnership with workers, management and major customers working alongside government.

This isn’t just about the jobs and communities now being threatened.

It’s about how we start to make an economy that works for the good of all.

Doing nothing is not an answer.