The Scottish lobby: Ravenscraig and Hunterston

The past year has been a particularly anxious time for the Scottish steel industry. The interrelated problems of world-wide recession, increased competition in international markets and widespread excess capacity in steel-making posed serious threats to what remains of the steel industry in Scotland. During December 1982 the so-called "Scottish Lobby", a coalition of diverse groups including Conservative Scottish Office Ministers, Labour MPs, trade unionists and clergymen, felt they had won from central government a commitment to retain, at least for the short-term, the Ravenscraig-Gartcosh steel complex as a major steel producing centre in the UK. But speculation about the future of the Scottish steel industry
continues. This paper examines the economic arguments surrounding the retention of major steel production in Scotland.