I am an electrician at the Platemill in Scunthorpe, one of the steel mills affected by Tata’s plan to cut 1,200 jobs. Steel is in my blood, my great grandfather worked there and both my Grandma and Grandpa have worked there too. There is not a person in Scunthorpe that doesn’t know someone that is affected by cuts.

Thousands of steel jobs are under threat right now. If the Government doesn’t act the industry in the UK is going to disappear. That’s why I’m supporting the Daily Mirror’s petition to Save our Steel and I urge you to sign too.

I come from a typical working class family and although I succeeded academically at school, university was never going to be an affordable option for my family, so an apprenticeship on the steelworks seemed like the perfect solution.

Scunthorpe is a steel town, everyone told me when I got my job that the steelworks was a job for life and a job that has provided a good life for many people in the town.

We know that there isn’t a magic wand to be waved that will fix all the challenges that the industry faces but we also know that there are practical things that the government can do today to make us more competitive in the market. The Prime Minister could cut business rates, lower energy costs and stop the Chinese dumping their cheap steel in our country and there is one thing you could certainly do, use British steel for British infrastructure!

The people I work with are worried about how they will pay their mortgage, how will they afford Christmas with their jobs at risk and where will they be able to find another job.

We need the Government to act. Please join the petition and urge action to save our steel.

Thank you,

Charlotte