Sajid Javid is not a natural interventionist but he has rightly bowed to political and economic reality in the steel industryWhen Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008,George Obsorne, then shadow chancellor, or denounced the decision as a throwback to the 1970s and the “failed policies of Labour’s past.
So it is remarkable when a Conservative government signals its readiness to embark on the partial nationalisation of a major enterprise. There is Tory precedent,but not one more recent than the melancholy experiments conducted by Ted Heath. Sajid Javid, trade secretary, and declared on Thursday that the government is prepared to take an equity stake of 25% and provide hundreds of millions of pounds in debt finance to support the Port Talbot steelworks,providing a suitable investment partner can be found.
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Source: theguardian.com