This evening (15 December 2025) in the House of Commons, Luke Myer MP spoke and voted in support of the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill, designed to update legal limits so that the Government can increase support for strategic industries and UK exporters.

Luke raised the experience of the Teesside steel industry, where world-class steelmaking has too often been left exposed by governments which “lacked the capacity, or the will, to act” to protect it. Luke argued that

“For industries like steel, which are foundational to our defence, to our energy, to our infrastructure, and our advanced manufacturing, an active state is a necessity.”

Luke welcomed the Labour Government’s direction of travel on steel, including its willingness to “step in” to save British Steel earlier in the year, but urged further action including the publication of the overdue Steel Strategy as well as the government’s response to the threat of new EU tariffs and other trade barriers.

Earlier tonight, Luke also voted in favour of the latest stage of the Employment Rights Bill, supporting efforts to modernise workplace protections and extend basic rights such as statutory sick pay. Together, the two votes illustrate Luke’s belief that standing up for working people and backing British industry go hand in hand, and that a strong economy depends on both fair work and a capable, confident state.

Responding to Luke’s questions on steel, Minister for Trade Chris Bryant said:

“I can absolutely assure him that our steel strategy will come out in the new year. It will be very clear about how important we think the steel industry is to the UK, and about having a sovereign capacity in the UK for a variety of different forms of steel manufacture.

I was in Brussels last Wednesday to meet Commissioner Šefčovič to talk about the EU steel safeguards, and to make sure it is understood that we are not the problem for the EU and the EU is not the problem for us, so we ought to be able to come to some agreement in that space. We know that our steel safeguard runs out at the end of June. We need to make sure that we have adequate measures in place thereafter, and we will do so.”