0:00:03 > 0:00:05British-made steel.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07It's everywhere.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11The coins in your pocket.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14The tins of baked beans in your kitchen.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17Your washing machines.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20The car in your garage.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Railway lines.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Do we care that it's all British-made?
0:00:30 > 0:00:32And if we do,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34do we care enough to use our taxes
0:00:34 > 0:00:37to save the industry from going under?
0:01:12 > 0:01:16To some, Port Talbot is famous for its acting sons -
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Anthony Hopkins, Michael Sheen, Richard Burton -
0:01:19 > 0:01:21they all come from around here.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29But now, this Welsh town is itself taking centre stage,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33a reluctant actor in what feels like the final scene
0:01:33 > 0:01:35of Britain's industrial age.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40That's Port Talbot Steelworks down there.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43They've been making steel there for more than a century.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46The whole town is built around it.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50But as everybody must surely know by now,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54the future of the steelworks is looking uncertain.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01March 29th 2016 is not a date anyone here will forget.
0:02:03 > 0:02:04'The top news story -
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'the steel giant Tata announces plans
0:02:07 > 0:02:08'to sell its British businesses.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'The company employs 15,000 workers.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14'Ministers are under pressure to intervene.'
0:02:14 > 0:02:18'Most of the jobs would go from the Port Talbot plant in South Wales.'
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Surprisingly few people in Port Talbot
0:02:22 > 0:02:24blame Tata Steel for selling up.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30The company, based in India,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33said it was losing around £1 million a day
0:02:33 > 0:02:35propping up its many British works -
0:02:35 > 0:02:40Shotton, Trostre, Llanwern, Orb, Caerphilly, Corby,
0:02:40 > 0:02:46Hartlepool, Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Wednesfield, Warwick.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48- Ah!- Here we go. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55'But Port Talbot stands to lose by far the most.'
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Thousands of jobs.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04And the Government has been blowing hot and cold.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Would they save the works?
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Would they let it go under?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Maybe a foreign company would ride into town?
0:03:13 > 0:03:14It's been a frightening month.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And it's not just the steelworks -
0:03:20 > 0:03:22it's every business, even this little cafe
0:03:22 > 0:03:25that does enormous breakfasts for hungry steelworkers.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28Very worried at the moment.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Nobody's knowing what's going on.
0:03:30 > 0:03:31Just waiting.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32It's like, er...
0:03:32 > 0:03:35being on the end of the cliff, isn't it?
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Your customers, most of them, are steelworkers?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- 60%.- Is it 60%, really?- Yeah.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- Yeah.- Mmm.- Easily 60%.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45So you'd be...
0:03:45 > 0:03:46bust if...?
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Oh, yeah. Definitely.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54If you've got a steelworks in your town,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and you look at it every day,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and you pass it every day, it's part of your life, isn't it?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It is, yes.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04There is a great family value to it.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09To take that away, it'd be ripping the heart out of this place.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15But it is not just "can it survive?"
0:04:16 > 0:04:18And in Port Talbot they won't like this question,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20but should it?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27In other words, close down the blast furnaces?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- Absolutely. - Close down the blast furnaces?
0:04:29 > 0:04:31But that's the heart of this place.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Unthinkable to most locals, but this is not just a local issue,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37which is why we brought some outside experts in
0:04:37 > 0:04:41to argue the colder, economic case about the future of British steel.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43What about our national security?
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Steel is an important...
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- Steel is... - CROSSTALK
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- If you've... - CROSSTALK
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Who wants steel to be expensive, other than the producers?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55How many of you have actually been inside a steelworks?
0:04:55 > 0:04:59All this against the backdrop of a global steel crisis
0:04:59 > 0:05:03which has seen the industry's fortunes fall over the years.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06It's also a fundamental foundation industry in the UK,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10which we all, every single one of us, touch daily.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And do we want to give that away?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14I'll tell you what would make it work - the pride in what they do.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And they've been determined all the way through it.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19APPLAUSE
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Forget about the great global steel crisis for a moment.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Here, it's local.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36It's personal.
0:05:36 > 0:05:4015,000 jobs are at stake in this area.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Steel goes deep here.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46Steel.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49For over 100 years...
0:05:49 > 0:05:52It's been the heart of our lives.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54It's given us jobs.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Skilled jobs.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57It's given us homes.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59It's put food on the table.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01It's who we are.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05This video is how the people of the town put their case
0:06:05 > 0:06:09to the owners in India when they held the board meeting last month
0:06:09 > 0:06:12which would decide the steelworks' future.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16I'm asking...
0:06:16 > 0:06:17And I'm asking...
0:06:17 > 0:06:18And I'm asking...
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- BOTH:- And we're asking...
0:06:20 > 0:06:21- ALL:- We're all asking...
0:06:21 > 0:06:23To secure our jobs...
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Our communities...
0:06:25 > 0:06:26And our futures.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And the works' managers made their own appeal.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35They put forward a survival plan to the Tata board -
0:06:35 > 0:06:39a plan to make steel more efficiently, codenamed The Bridge.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Save our industry.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Save our steel.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Save our steel.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46- BOTH:- Achub ein dur!
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Save our steel.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48Save our steel!
0:06:50 > 0:06:53That plan was unanimously rejected.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Tata said it was too pricey, too risky,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58and they wanted a quick sale.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02As that news broke, the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05was in Australia, blissfully unaware it was coming.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08That didn't make him many friends in Wales.
0:07:09 > 0:07:1348 hours later he was in Port Talbot, trying to make amends.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16And behind the scenes, plans were already being laid
0:07:16 > 0:07:19to resurrect the management proposal.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22We will do everything we can.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25There's a lot of tools in the box - we will do everything we can
0:07:25 > 0:07:28to help continue steel-making in Port Talbot.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37These are tough times for the steel industry.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Demand has crashed worldwide over the past few years,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42and with it, the price of steel.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48China gets the blame for producing too much,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and then off-loading it on the rest of the world
0:07:50 > 0:07:53for less than it costs them to make it.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54It's called dumping.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00The steel sector in the UK isn't inherently inefficient.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02It's because we are...
0:08:02 > 0:08:04snowed under,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08drowning under a tsunami of Chinese imports.
0:08:08 > 0:08:14We're seeing China dumping steel at a huge rate onto the global markets.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Tata, which has had £2 billion wiped off the value
0:08:22 > 0:08:25of its British steel business over the last five years,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27don't just blame that for their woes.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32They say it costs too much in this country to make the stuff,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34for a whole variety of reasons.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40We have business rates here
0:08:40 > 0:08:44which are perhaps ten times as high as they are in Germany or France,
0:08:44 > 0:08:45for the equivalent work.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48All the other countries have got low energy costs and everything.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50And I'm sure on the same playing field,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54we could compete against anybody in the world.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56We've been telling successive governments
0:08:56 > 0:09:00that the costs they are plying on to us, adding to our costs,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02are harming us.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06And it's taken ten, 15 years for government to realise
0:09:06 > 0:09:08that when we were saying this was going to harm us,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12we weren't crying wolf, and it really is now coming home to roost.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16It's the Business Secretary's job
0:09:16 > 0:09:19to promote economic growth in this country.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22So what is the Government doing about helping out
0:09:22 > 0:09:24with things like business rates and energy costs?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27These are all the kind of areas
0:09:27 > 0:09:29where we've taken action over a number of months.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33In fact, energy action was taking place three years ago.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36And it's now starting to show an impact and have an effect.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40The energy offering is already much, much more competitive than before.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Business rates - that's another one.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44What you're highlighting are all different areas
0:09:44 > 0:09:48where, one way or another, we have already taken action.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52If they don't stand by the steel sector now,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55then I think this could be the beginning of the end
0:09:55 > 0:09:57of steel-making in the UK.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Off we go.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Nice and slow now.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Wait for us, Ems!
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Steelworkers like Neil Woodcock
0:10:13 > 0:10:16will have most to lose if the worst happens.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Like his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather before him,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23his life has been forged by the steel industry.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'Steel, to us as a family, has not only been'
0:10:28 > 0:10:30a source of great income,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33but a source of great pride and achievement.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41It's something that I could say my family could not have been
0:10:41 > 0:10:45where it is today, and what they are today, without it.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51But how many families in Britain today could expect to pass
0:10:51 > 0:10:54their way of life down to yet another generation?
0:10:58 > 0:11:00As it happens, Neil isn't that keen
0:11:00 > 0:11:04on his children going into steel like he did.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06But it's what happens now to him, and his family,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08that keep him up at night.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11As a father, you work to provide for your family.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And...
0:11:13 > 0:11:15If Port Talbot goes, I...
0:11:17 > 0:11:20I dread to think where the money's going to come from.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Well done, Emlyn!
0:11:24 > 0:11:26We're just really worried that it...
0:11:26 > 0:11:29That this is the end, that this is just not going to carry on.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35We're really going to be struggling as a family if he does lose his job.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40That's an example for everything...
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Kurtis Davies is 16. He wants to be an apprentice.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47He went for an interview at Port Talbot works a fortnight ago.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51It's scary now, thinking, you know, in two, three years,
0:11:51 > 0:11:52the whole place could be gone.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56I'll have to go outside of Port Talbot if it does get closed down.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59You know, it's going to be the case of leaving family, friends...
0:11:59 > 0:12:01I'm just going to have to go on my own back.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04So you'll look for an apprenticeship elsewhere, then, if it happens?
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It's the only other option.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Why should that young man have to move from this area? Why?
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Where's he going to go?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13I've got this picture in my mind of that young lad
0:12:13 > 0:12:15going to Nigeria to do his apprenticeship.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18You're going to have to get up very early in the morning for that!
0:12:18 > 0:12:20LAUGHTER
0:12:20 > 0:12:21But you'll have weekends off.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22So I think...
0:12:22 > 0:12:24I think what you're saying is
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- you can't imagine a Port Talbot without steel either.- Definitely.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- None of you can?- No.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40With the clock ticking on Tata's sale deadline,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Port Talbot steelworkers could have been forgiven
0:12:43 > 0:12:47for wondering whether their future had already been given to this man.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Sanjeev Gupta, the boss of Liberty House,
0:12:50 > 0:12:51was telling anybody who'd listen
0:12:51 > 0:12:54that he was interested in buying the plant.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58It's daunting for me to consider doing this.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00But can we do it? We can.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02I've never lost money in my life.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05My company has made profits every single year for 25 years.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07My job every day is to manage risk.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10I have to take risks - you can't do business without taking risks.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12But my job is to measure it,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14to take a measured risk, calculate it and to manage it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17BAGPIPE MUSIC
0:13:25 > 0:13:29A fortnight ago, he took control of two mothballed Tata Steel mills
0:13:29 > 0:13:31in Scotland, and talked up his role
0:13:31 > 0:13:33as the saviour of steel-making in Britain.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36APPLAUSE
0:13:36 > 0:13:40We hope what we start here today will be the beginning of a new era
0:13:40 > 0:13:44for Scottish steel, and maybe for British steel as a whole.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45Thank you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48APPLAUSE
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Even if that's true, it would be a new era,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59which wouldn't actually include making steel from scratch,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02which is what Port Talbot's blast furnaces do.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Liberty's business model is all about recycling steel from scrap,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21using electric powered arc furnaces.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26In terms of a new model,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29the main thing is to start melting scrap, start recycling scrap.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Rather than making steel, we recycle steel.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34You know, there is enough steel scrap available in the UK
0:14:34 > 0:14:36to feed all our requirements of steel.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42The really big customers, like the car-makers,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46prefer virgin steel, made from iron ore in blast furnaces,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49to recycled steel.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53And there's also a worry about the number of men that he would employ.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Mr Gupta says no problem - you just retrain them.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06We've done... Our initial studies showed the number of workers
0:15:06 > 0:15:09are more or less correct in terms of our plans and what we'd want to do.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13So would he promise to protect all those 4,000 Port Talbot jobs
0:15:13 > 0:15:15if he were to take over the works?
0:15:15 > 0:15:16Yes, absolutely.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Stephen Kinnock is the local Labour MP,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30and he's pretty sceptical about the whole proposal.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34My understanding is that
0:15:34 > 0:15:39we would be reducing from about four million tonnes a year of production
0:15:39 > 0:15:43to one million, and it is difficult to see how you can do that
0:15:43 > 0:15:47without a pretty devastating number of job losses.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Mr Kinnock knew nearly three weeks ago
0:15:51 > 0:15:55that the management buyout was being put together, and he was backing it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I know the conversations are taking place.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04I think it's a very attractive idea with some great potential,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08but, of course, the team around it need time to flesh out the details,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12and also to get the investment that they need to back the plan.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27The steel industry has been up and down since World War II.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30Mostly down.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33'The Government intends to bring iron and steel
0:16:33 > 0:16:35'under public ownership.'
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Nationalised by Labour in 1951...
0:16:38 > 0:16:42We shall immediately repeal the act of nationalising steel.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47..reprivatised by the Conservatives in 1953,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50nationalised again by Labour in '67.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55And then in 1988, with the Conservatives again in power...
0:16:55 > 0:16:57BBC NEWS JINGLE
0:16:57 > 0:16:58'British steel is to be privatised
0:16:58 > 0:17:01'after turning in impressive profits.'
0:17:03 > 0:17:04But the good times didn't last,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08and the steel industry stumbled into the 21st century.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11And now nationalisation - is it back on the agenda?
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Four days ago, with the pressure really mounting,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28the Government did say it is willing to take a 25% stake
0:17:28 > 0:17:30in any credible rescue package.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34That's hundreds of millions of pounds.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Isn't that just part-nationalisation by the back door?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44No, says the Business Secretary.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47The Government will be investing on a commercial basis.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53If you look at some of our fastest-growing industries today -
0:17:53 > 0:17:58aerospace, the automobile industry - they rely on other industries,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00and steel is an important part of that.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02If you look at our infrastructure plans,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06£300 billion of infrastructure spending planned over five years.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08A lot of that will rely on British steel.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13I believe firmly that steel has a huge future in Britain.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But steel production makes up just 1%
0:18:18 > 0:18:20of Britain's manufacturing output.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27And just 0.1% of the country's economic output.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31That's only a little more than the fishing industry.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36If we contrast it to something like financial services, for example,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40that constitutes about 12.5% of the UK's economic output.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47In terms of its relevance to the much wider manufacturing sector,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49it's not as important as people realise.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56When the plant is at full production
0:18:56 > 0:19:01- it produces a radiator every five seconds.- Wow.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'Tony Mullins is the boss of a radiator company just down
0:19:05 > 0:19:07'the road from Port Talbot.'
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Port Talbot is 37 miles from us.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Transport costs and logistics are very efficient
0:19:13 > 0:19:15and the service is excellent.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25His company, QRL Radiators, has used Port Talbot steel
0:19:25 > 0:19:28for a decade, and he's very happy with the service
0:19:28 > 0:19:30and quality of the product.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34He wants that to continue.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Indeed, he feels strongly about it,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39but his company COULD live without it.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46If Port Talbot were to close tomorrow, let's be realistic,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48next month, a month after, what would happen to you,
0:19:48 > 0:19:49how would you manage?
0:19:49 > 0:19:52We would have to source our steel overseas.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55No other UK manufacturer could do it?
0:19:55 > 0:19:57No.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01And, as such, we would regret it greatly.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04And the effect of that on your business would be what?
0:20:04 > 0:20:09Clearly we will cope, because, as you are aware, John,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13there is no shortage of steel in this world at this time.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15We have people queuing up to sell us steel.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And that strikes at the heart of keeping Port Talbot open,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and indeed at the argument for keeping British steel.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28If Tony Mullins can easily get steel from elsewhere,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30can our steel industry really make the case
0:20:30 > 0:20:33that it is economically crucial?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36And does it really make sense for the Government to spend vast sums
0:20:36 > 0:20:37propping the industry up?
0:20:42 > 0:20:46What is so special about British steel? Is there anything special
0:20:46 > 0:20:49about British steel that says we absolutely must keep
0:20:49 > 0:20:51this industry alive?
0:20:52 > 0:20:54No, not in that sense.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58You should keep it alive because it makes economic sense to do so,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01because within this industry there's profitability.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05Mark, you're not impressed with the idea of Government money
0:21:05 > 0:21:08bailing out this steelworks.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I think the Government should be putting in policy frameworks,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16not direct market interventions on sort of playing the stock market
0:21:16 > 0:21:19on a gamble of whether or not steel prices are going to go up or down
0:21:19 > 0:21:22or a particular business plan might work.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25I'm sure, in the end, there will be payback for the Government
0:21:25 > 0:21:29but it is giving all steelworks in Britain the chance.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32We made money years ago and we can make money now.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36If there IS to be a turnaround, it needs to be private sector money,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38and it needs to be a business proposition,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41not a political proposition from the Government.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46And if that means the company going bust or the steelworks closing...?
0:21:46 > 0:21:50- Yep.- So be it? - So be it. Ultimately so.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53'But that is clearly not the Government's view.'
0:21:53 > 0:21:57It's a bit unusual for me to agree with any Conservative,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00but anyway, you take what's on offer.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04And what sort of figures do you have in mind?
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Are you talking about millions, tens of millions,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08hundreds of millions or billions?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12One of the figures I've heard quoted is £2 billion over ten years,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15which is not a great deal of money for anybody that wants to invest.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I'm saying not a great deal of money,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20for people that are big business.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I was going to say some taxpayers might regard that
0:22:23 > 0:22:24as a great deal of money.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Yeah. You're right, spot on, but for a lot of people
0:22:26 > 0:22:29it represents a very good opportunity.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33It's an opportunity, and it is not one to be missed.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34And it's not one to be rejected.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42True, but it's just part of the solution.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Somebody has to have a realistic plan for buying the steelworks,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48or the Government share has got nowhere to go.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51And that plan, which the steelworkers obviously hope
0:22:51 > 0:22:55is realistic, re-emerged as if by magic
0:22:55 > 0:22:58at the same time that the Government made its offer.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01That plan - the management buyout.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I've felt since the beginning, really, that a management buyout
0:23:08 > 0:23:12would be the best option, because you would have a team
0:23:12 > 0:23:14in place that really knows the business,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18and you would have a set of buyers behind them that is giving them
0:23:18 > 0:23:21the fire power to deliver on the turnaround plan.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Hang on a minute, that's the SAME turnaround plan,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35the so-called Bridge that was thrown out by the Tata board
0:23:35 > 0:23:40back in March as too pricey - and, yes, too risky.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Ah, but then the Bridge didn't have those Government millions behind it.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Or a consortium backed by one of Wales's richest men,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50the billionaire Sir Terry Matthews
0:23:50 > 0:23:54AND headed by the investment guru, Roger Maggs.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59I think the management buyout plan is totally viable.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04It will be raising money from the management,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08from hopefully the employees, and probably other people's money
0:24:08 > 0:24:14as well, other investors, sufficient to finance the Bridge,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18the plan developed, to get the company back to break even.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Roger Maggs also recently landed a job charged with driving
0:24:24 > 0:24:26future business diversity in Port Talbot
0:24:26 > 0:24:29to make it less dependent on steel.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35But diversifying, for now, can wait.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Dragging the past into the future is more important.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45The number-one priority is to keep the boat afloat.
0:24:45 > 0:24:51I hope that there will be, once the dust has settled, efforts made
0:24:51 > 0:24:57to make this not just a steel-making region but the best.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Not in Britain but in the world.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04But perhaps we shouldn't get TOO carried away.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08After all, the problems of yesterday are still there today.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12This is an operation that is shedding
0:25:12 > 0:25:14£1 million a day, ultimately.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And so there would have to be a massive turnaround to really make it
0:25:17 > 0:25:20into a profit-making rather than a loss-making business,
0:25:20 > 0:25:25so there is a strong potential that it may not be around in five years.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27In the case of the management buyout, you hear ideas
0:25:27 > 0:25:30about financial restructuring but there is very little detail
0:25:30 > 0:25:33about, operationally, what is going to improve.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37'It may lack detail, but the unions say that the management buyout
0:25:37 > 0:25:42'is what ultimately convinced the Government to get involved.'
0:25:42 > 0:25:44The plan is there, the plan can turn it around.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46And I'm sure the more people that come to see the plan
0:25:46 > 0:25:49will buy into it and agree with it. The Government have bought into it,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52which I didn't think we'd have a hope in hell of doing,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55but showing them around and getting them involved and getting them
0:25:55 > 0:25:57to buy in and see what it is seems to have worked.
0:25:57 > 0:25:58And that's a credit to the workforce here.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Are you supporting a management buyout?
0:26:02 > 0:26:05I want to see as many potential buyers as possible,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and certainly the management team would be an attractive one.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10It's not all gloom and doom.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Sit down, please.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Growing up in the shadow of the steelworks today means facing
0:26:18 > 0:26:21uncertainties that might have surprised people
0:26:21 > 0:26:25like Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28OK, we're going to do When I Grow Up from Matilda.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Who knows this one?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Michael Sheen father's, Meyrick,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36chairs the local amateur operatic society.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Its youth theatre rehearses every week.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44# I will be smart enough... #
0:26:44 > 0:26:47'Nine-year-old Neve McQuaide, herself the daughter
0:26:47 > 0:26:49'of a steelworker and, who knows,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51'perhaps Port Talbot's next Oscar-winner.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54'She certainly knows how to attract attention.'
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Let's see that bit.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59'She showed me the poster she'd made
0:26:59 > 0:27:01'campaigning against closing the works.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04'It went viral on the internet.'
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"I am scared that if the steelworks close, this town will be
0:27:07 > 0:27:08"worse than it is now,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11"and we need to make sure
0:27:11 > 0:27:14"that people have other jobs to go to."
0:27:14 > 0:27:17# When they hear oom-pah-pah! #
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Other jobs to go to?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Who wouldn't want that?
0:27:24 > 0:27:29But the next generation relying on the same old industry -
0:27:29 > 0:27:31that's a different proposition.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Right, final thought, final question.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Can any of you imagine a Port Talbot without steel?
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- ALL:- No.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42- Definitely no.- None of you can?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- No. - You asked what was special about it.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49And it's pride and passion. That is why I do it.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52I'm a fourth-generation steelworker myself.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54And if we let this go under,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58our forefathers now will never, ever forgive us.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Never.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01APPLAUSE
0:28:05 > 0:28:08There's just five weeks left for any other buyers out there
0:28:08 > 0:28:12to get their bids in for Tata's British steel business.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16They'll be looking for more than pride and passion
0:28:16 > 0:28:18from their workforce.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20They'll be looking at the balance sheet.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Whether there really is anything special about British steel
0:28:24 > 0:28:26depends on the bottom line.