Dear Editor
It was great to see our hapless politicians during their prolonged Easter break rushing back to work to save our last blast furnaces. Perhaps our military were worried that the steel for our fleet of aircraft carriers would not be of the quality needed if bought abroad. Perhaps mad Milli was worried about the CO2 emissions from shipping it from China, or it could have been pressure from our booming automotive manufacturing sector? It matters not. For once the correct decision was made: not to be held to ransom for a vital commodity. Not that we should ever have allowed the possibility to occur.
Sadly they lack the ability to understand that this is a small link in a long chain. To use the plant also requires safe supplies of good coking coal, coking plants, iron ore and affordable energy. Are these also to be protected? Coal is needed to produce the coke. Yes, coal. Not just any coal but good quality coking coal, of which we have good reserves, but they are black, not green.
Blast furnaces are a continuous process. If closed down they need a massive rebuild to become operational. They need a continuous supply of electricity. They can’t be stopped when the wind is not blowing of the sun is blanketed by thick cloud.
No massive upgrade of the electricity grid will ensure supplies from elsewhere. In any event, one hundred years ago we understood that losses in electricity transmission of around 10 per cent made local generation a necessity. To bring the electricity from Europe by way of overhead and submerged cables is a great way to heat the planet. What we put in at one end does not all appear at the other.
So while congratulating our government for getting something right, we should be asking for the big picture to be examined. We need people with the knowledge, experience, understanding and ability to carry out an end-to-end review of how the country works, and will be kept working.
For at least 50 years we have stumbled from crisis to crisis, all caused inevitably by poor, or the lack of, decision-making. It is time to get rid of the fools that are elected by the misled.
We need to put adults back in charge.
Jim Tumilty
County Durham
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