More details have been unveiled on how Labour says it would revive Cumbria’s steel industry.

Today, shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, set out plans for a £500 million investment to build a steel recycling plant in Workington, creating at least 1,100 jobs.

Sue Hayman, Labour’s shadow environment secretary and Parliamentary candidate for Workington, said this would be a huge boost to the area.

“A new steel works for Workington will be a huge boost to the local economy, while making a major contribution to tackling the climate and environment emergency,” she said.

“We have a proud tradition of steel manufacture here which we must continue. West Cumbria was at the centre of the Victorian industrial revolution, and Labour will ensure that our community is at the heart of our 21st century Green Industrial Revolution, which will transform our country.”

Steel is 100 per cent recyclable and the UK now scraps 10 million tonnes a year but instead of recycling domestically, 90 per cent is exported abroad. Labour’s plans mean that Workington produces high quality steel from this scrap metal instead of exporting it.

Ms Long-Bailey said: “The North West is proud of its industrial history, and demands a future that is worthy of its great past.

“Unlike the Conservatives, Labour will not sit idly by while the steel industry comes under siege. Just like Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the Tories have presided over plant closures and job losses during their time in office, devastating whole communities.

“A thriving domestic steel industry is vital to powering our Green Industrial Revolution and investment in infrastructure such as wind turbines.“Whether you’re a former or current steelworker, or a young person in the North West looking for a good career, the Green Industrial Revolution will benefit you. Labour is on your side.”

In addition to the new plant, Labour will introduce a series of new measures to safeguard a further 16,000 existing steel jobs in the North West, including business rates exemptions, new R&D funding for steel producers, and use of public procurement to boost the demand for British steel.

Labour’s manifesto also pledges investment in new nuclear power as well as renewable energy, a £250 billion Green Transformation Fund and 300,000 new apprenticeships in ‘green’ industries.

“The last Conservative government refused to support the new Moorside nuclear power station in West Cumbria, losing thousands of future jobs and dealing a devastating blow to our economy,” said Sue.

“Labour will support investment in new nuclear energy, helping to secure the future of the industry in West Cumbria and establishing us as an international centre of nuclear excellence.

“After years of Tory austerity, cuts and lack of investment, Labour’s election manifesto brings new hope for West Cumbria and the prospect of major economic investment and thousands of new jobs in the years to come.“As Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, I’m proud to have been involved in writing Labour’s manifesto, which shows we have real, radical plans to boost the UK economy, create new jobs, invest in our communities and tackle climate change – all as part of the same approach to transforming Britain for the 21st century.”

Earlier this week, fellow prospective candidate for the area, Conservative Mark Jenkinson rubbished the plans, saying: “Labour claim they would invest in the nuclear industry, yet their leader has had a hard-line anti-nuclear stance for years.

“Their manifesto makes a commitment to nuclear new-build in Wales without committing a single pound in their funding plans, and makes no mention of Cumbria - the home of nuclear.

“Their plans to nationalise the energy industry would decimate plans for West Cumbria to host some of the first Advanced Modular Reactors in the UK.

“The steel recycling process requires coal, and Sue Hayman has consistently refused to back West Cumbria Mining in their endeavours to extract coal in Copeland.

“Steel recycling without coal and investment without spending just highlight some of the many failures in their manifesto, which Mrs Hayman is ‘proud to have been involved in writing’.”