Lee Anderson issues blistering remark as UK’s largest steel plant shut down

Lee Anderson has issued a blistering remark as the UK’s largest steel plant and last coal power station shut down.

The Reform MP for Ashfield appeared on GB News to discuss the closing of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.

The steel plant in Port Talbot was shut as part of a restructuring that will see a new electric arc furnace built on the site, which will make steel from scrap rather than raw materials. This is both greener and cheaper.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station closing will make Britain the first G7 country to phase out coal completely, after 142 years of reliance on the fossil fuel.

Mr Anderson said: “It’s a sad day indeed. My dad worked at a coal mine which supplied coal to this power station, I also worked at a coal mine.

“It’s a massive act of self-harm on our country once again. We’ve seen the steelworks go, the oil refineries go, the coal-fired power stations go and guess what…we still need these things.

“It’s absolute madness. The Net Zero lunatics will be partying tonight but there are a lot of people in this country scratching their heads and thinking: ‘Why do we let this madness continue?’

“Just look at Drax Power Station – it was at one time burning coal from a local mine and now we import wood from North America. We’re chopping down trees and shipping them across the Atlantic, making it into wood pellets and burning it.

“We’re told this is renewable energy and guess what – it’s costing us £1million a day in subsidies to keep it open. It’s absolute madness. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.”

Mr Anderson shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter) saying: “Self Harming…Why are we doing this to our own country? Madness.”

The government announced in September that they would be making a £500million investment towards greener steelmaking, with Tata pledging £700million.

Under new arrangements by Labour, Tata will have to commit to delivering redundancy payments to the Port Talbot workers and create future training opportunities.