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Nigel Farage calls for ‘re-industrialisation’ of Wales

09 Jun 2025 6 minute read
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Image: Ben Whitley/PA Wire

Nigel Farage has said his party wants to restart Port Talbot’s blast furnaces and “re-industrialise Wales”.

On a visit to South Wales, 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”.

Plaid Cymru MS Heledd Fychan said Mr Farage had offered “empty headlines and nonsensical policies”.

Chancer

The GMB Union has branded the plans “more lies from an opportunistic chancer”, while Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said Farage’s call “shows how poorly he understands Welsh communities”.

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

Tata Steel, the owner of the plant, said the closure of the furnaces was necessary, with the steelworks losing £1m a day.

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 re-open 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.

“Our ambition is to re-industrialise 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.

“I’m not saying let’s open all of the pits,” he said.

“What I am saying is coal, specific types of coal for certain uses that we still need in this country – and we certainly will need for the blast furnaces here – we should be producing ourselves rather than importing.”

“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.

Responding to Nigel Farage’s promise to reopen the mines, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: “Mining was our past, but it can’t be our future.

“I know my relatives in South Wales worked hard to ensure that their children and grandchildren wouldn’t have to do the dangerous work of going down the pits and for future generations to have better opportunities in life.

“The fact that Nigel Farage doesn’t see this shows how poorly he understands Welsh communities. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be fighting to give former industrial communities what they really want, which is modern, well-paid jobs in new industries, investment in their public services and support for small businesses, not false hope based on harking back to the past.”

Lies

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.

He said: “They see us as a challenge, and therefore, they’ll be rude about us.

“What you will find is that increasingly, GMB members are going to vote for us, and the more GMB members vote for us, the more upset GMB officials and leaders will become.

“Frankly, the trade unions have done nothing to protect British workers through open borders over the last 20-25 years.”

During his speech, Mr Farage said he doubted that the electric arc furnace, which is due to come online in 2028, “will ever, ever be switched on”.

Challenged on what evidence he had, he argued that with British energy prices being so high, it would be producing “very, very expensive secondary steel”.

He added: “I hope I’m wrong, an electric arc furnace is not the real deal, but it’s better than nothing.”

Mr Farage said the party’s campaign for the Senedd election next May “starts today”, but would not say when Reform would announce a leader in Wales.

Promises

Regional officer Ruth Brady, speaking at the GMB’s annual conference in Brighton, said: “The people of Port Talbot will see this for what it is – more lies from this opportunistic chancer.

“Nigel Farage was happy to let British Steel go to the wall. He’ll trot out any line when the cameras are rolling. He doesn’t care about steel communities or steel workers.”

Ms Brady said the plans to shut the blast furnaces were made by the last Tory government and the union wanted Labour to “make good on their promises to our members in Port Talbot”.

In response to the announcements, Plaid Cymru MS, Heledd Fychan, said: “Today, Reform have shown us what they offer Wales, empty headlines and nonsensical policies.

“Farage has parachuted himself into a community recently devastated by UK Government inaction, and is taking advantage of the loss by claiming to reopen the blast furnaces, something the industry have already told us is impossible.

“You can imagine my surprise at his calls to reopen the coal mines in Wales, especially considering the actions taken by his political hero, Margaret Thatcher.

“Reform clearly have no interest in actually improving the lives of the people of Wales, they can only come up with unrealistic and unsubstantiated headlines that will be of no material benefit to the people of Port Talbot or Wales.

“After 26 years of Labour in Wales, people are rightfully looking for a fresh start with a Government with credible plans to improve our public services a Plaid Cymru Government.”

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS, said: “Labour promised to save every job at Port Talbot before the election — then stood by as the furnaces shut. Now Reform is making even wilder promises without even speaking to Tata.

 “Unlike Labour before the election and Reform now, the Conservative Party will not make wild promises we cannot keep. We promised to save thousands of jobs by working with Tata and investing £500m, and that’s precisely what we did.

 “The Welsh Conservatives remain the only credible opposition to a failing Labour Government and Reform’s fantasy economics.

 “When Tata said they were going to close the blast furnaces and withdraw from making steel in Wales we came forward with a plan that has saved thousands of jobs and will ensure that steel making continues in South Wales. Reform are interested in headlines, we believe in hard work.”

Greenpeace also hit out at the plans, saying bringing back British coal “has about as much chance of success as resurrecting dinosaurs”.


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TheOtherJones
TheOtherJones
11 days ago

Waiting for Adrian to come along in the comments to tell us that wrecking our environment, worsening the NHS crisis and sending people to work down mines is a good thing actually.

Adrian
Adrian
11 days ago
Reply to  TheOtherJones

Been a little tied up out there in the real world: how can I help?

Baxter
Baxter
11 days ago

In Reform’s upcoming “New Plan For Britain”, Wales shall be subdivided into District 12 (coal mining), District 10 (livestock) and District 7 (lumber).

Jeff
Jeff
11 days ago

Farage, who has never got his nails dirty in his life, pull the other one, it has bells on.

His plan then is to get benefits you must mine coal for his chums that will own the mines (US and Russian investors) and we still get stiffed in the long run.

Funny how UK helped deal with the fascists last time around, are forgetting the lessons and will suffer this time around.

Farage is a danger to democracy and peoples rights. He helped with brexit and ran away.

Hogyn y Gogledd
Hogyn y Gogledd
11 days ago

I wonder if he might try selling “industrialise Clacton” to his constituents.

Adrian
Adrian
11 days ago

Sorry I’m late everyone: I was polishing my jack boots 🙂
Are we all grateful to Nigel for caring about Wales?
We’ve got sweet FA from Starmer’s clown cabal.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
11 days ago
Reply to  Adrian

Adrian, where was so-called caring Nigel when Thatcher decimated those same coal mining communities he wants to reindustrialise? I’ll tell you. Nowhere. He actually agreed with her policy being an member of the Conservative party who tried to get elected 8 times and failed.

You are very naive if you think he cares about Wales seeing the disaster what is Brexit that’s adversely affected us more that all the other home nations.

The only thing I agree with you that Starmer doesn’t care about Wales, and may I be so bold to say, and so do you.

Karl
Karl
11 days ago

And who do we sell this industrial products too, given carbon rules and other mechanism he helped put in place with his brexit. This man is such an exceptionist, so far up his own

Rob
Rob
11 days ago

How about giving Wales a clear, long-term strategy that connects skills training to secure, locally rooted jobs, one that supports thriving communities and help reverse the brain drain? One that requires sustained investment in regional industries, serious economic planning, and real innovation, not continued dependence on factories, legacy industrial roles, or call centres.

Traditional industrial jobs are increasingly unsustainable in the face of automation, rising costs, and global competition particularly from the Global South. Trying to recreate the past won’t deliver lasting prosperity, it will only distract us from the urgent need to build a resilient, future-ready economy.

Gwyn Hopkins
Gwyn Hopkins
11 days ago

During the period 1758 – 1971 coal mining in Wales caused the death of no fewer than 5251 individuals. Re-opening coal mines would inevitably lead to many more deaths and for this reason alone I totally disagree with this madcap suggestion.

Wozz
Wozz
10 days ago

Why is Nation Cymru giving publicity oxygen to this hoaxster Farage.

Rob
Rob
10 days ago

We need a self-sufficient economy, not an industrial one!!

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