Farage wants to restart the blast furnaces and resume coal production

NIGEL Farage has said his party wants to restart Port Talbot's blast furnaces and “reindustrialise Wales”.

- GEORGE THOMPSON, ALAN JONES AND NINA LLOYD

On a visit to Port Talbot on Monday, the leader of Reform UK said the resumption of traditional steelmaking and coal production is the party's long-term ambition if it comes to power.

The speech came one year ahead of the Senedd elections in May next year, where the party is looking to end Labour's 26 years of domination.

Addressing reporters, Mr Farage acknowledged that plans to open a traditional furnace could take years and cost “in the low billions”.

The GMB Union has branded the plans “more lies from an opportunistic chancer”.

Port Talbot's remaining blast furnaces were shut down in September last year, with a new electric arc furnace being built in their place.

“Our ambition is to reindustrialise Wales,” Mr Farage said.

“We are going to be using more steel over the next few years than we have probably ever used.

“As we increase military spending and as we attempt a house-building programme in Wales, and even more so in England, of massive proportions, just to catch up with the population explosion over the last 20 years, we are going to need a lot of steel.”

The Reform leader said “specific types of coal” are needed in the UK, particularly for a new blast furnace.

“We should be producing ourselves, rather than importing,” he said.

While he acknowledged “mining is dangerous”, he said the industry could provide well-paying jobs.

Mr Farage acknowledged the plan to open a new furnace would cost “in the low billions” and would be “no easy thing”.

“It's a massive, expensive job to reopen blast furnaces, we're going to need cheaper energy, we're going to need much cheaper coal, we are going to need private business partners prepared to come into a joint venture,” he said.

Responding to the GMB Union allegations that his party's plans were “lies”, Mr Farage said the union was tied to the Labour Party as one of its biggest funders.