British Steel, a case study

Subject: British Steel, a case study.

The definition of commerce, buying and selling goods is the lifeblood of any nations economic well being. There's the internal market and the export market, there's the question of tariffs to protect internal producers from under priced goods produced in countries not restricted by employment law and there is the question of security of supply if the industries are making a product vital to our supply of primary materials like steel, used in so much of our component manufacture.

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British Steel is being allowed to go to the wall as we speak for the cost of a few hectors of farm land purchased on that grandiose project, the high speed rail link between London and the North of England. 
There appears to be a shortfall of £30 million, which in today's inflationary currency  is chicken feed. The jobs of thousands of British Steel workers and the huge interconnected supply chain made up of small firms who depend on British Steel for their living, who's livelihood depends on the plant in Scunthorpe staying open now depend on this financing loan being paid by the government since otherwise today the firm will declare bankruptcy.
Of course there is a subplot to all of this. 
Tata Steel (the Indian conglomerate) sold the Scunthorpe plant to 'Greybull Capital' for £1.00 in 2016. It was one of those deals beloved by the venture capitalist since it shed the pension responsibilities from Tata back to the British taxpayer whilst handing over the considerable asset base to a potential asset stripper, Greybull. 
Having already stripped out many millions of pounds from British Steel, Mr Goldstein the new owner, who paid only a pound for the company is currently charging British Steel £20 million in fees and interest, including £250.000 per month management fee as part of his rescue deal. This is on top of  receiving £120 million a few days ago and requesting another £75 million (reduced to £30 million) but never the less, Greybull are on the point of suing for bankruptcy.  It's the way of the world, these men in pointy shoes who seem to be the feature of the post Thatcher era, capital asset firms who troll the sick wards of industry offering health insurance until you read the fine print and see you have been conned.  
These slick snake oil sellers are everywhere, not least in government. Their exploitative, unscrupulous  dealings are the boardroom chatter in the palaces on Canary Wharf, their  procedures are the stock in trade of today's venture capitalist.
It's a question of "fair trade" within the 'global' environment. Prices are governed by the 'lowest' obtainable, no requirement as to how those prices are obtained, no evaluation of the ensuing misery, or the potential of a government bailout. No critical analysis of the political ramifications, only price and profit. It's a world where rules are trashed by corporate greed and the outcomes, in terms of national manufacturing, is driven to the wall, and never enters the corporate discussion.

As a society we are dammed to hell in a hand cart if we don't rein in these capitalists with rules as to what you can and can't do.

If the 'sovereign fund' capital conduit which the venture capitalist is privy, (usually an Arab wealth trust) is not forthcoming then one has to consider the socialist remedy, 'nationalisation'. The plant and skills are retained. The workforce are kept in work, paying taxes and mortgages, putting food on the table and probably the most important aspect of all, maintaining a healthy social psychology within the area. Minimising the damage to the social capital, a sense of well being within a community which is so important since it effects the self esteem of everyone.

From crime to social delinquency, a community can disintegrate in no time. The social advantages which often seem missing in the insulated atmosphere of Whitehall or the ignorance  of a corporate boardroom, are fundamental both locally and to society at large and must never be underestimated.