A NEWPORT MP has raised concerns about job losses at Port Talbot’s steel plant – with attention now turning to Tata in Llanwern.

Tata has been shedding over £1 million per day at the Port Talbot site, according to Welsh Secretary David TC Davies, who says the manufacturer could have withdrawn from the UK entirely without the government’s intervention.

The manufacturing company said the government grant, which protects 5,000 out of 8,000 jobs, secured a "sustainable future" for the Port Talbot site.

Mr Davies said it was "terribly sad" that thousands of jobs have been lost.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, September 18, Newport East MP Jessica Morden told the Minister for Industry and Economic Security that the government had been guilty of “years of inaction” on steel.

“We’ve seen years of inaction on steel from this government while other countries around the world proactively invest,” Ms Morden said.

“But the investment announced on Friday means potential job losses which will be deeply felt in Port Talbot and across south Wales.

South Wales Argus: Jessica Morden MP“Why was there no consultation with the unions and with the Welsh Government, who surely should have a voice in ensuring a fair transition to decarbonisation? And going forward, what will the Minister do to provide clarity for workers about, for instance, the impact on downstream plants such as Llanwern and addressing the point about the grades of steel needed?”

Minister for Industry Nusrat Ghani MP said the developments with Tata Steel had not “come out of the blue”.

“It is hard not to go on repeating that this has not come out of the blue, and that discussions have been taking place forever,” Ms Ghani said, saying the decision protected jobs and ensured a future for steel at Port Talbot.

“It is good news, although we know that there is some difficulty, which is why, as I have said, we are establishing a transition board.”

The minister also said that unions had met her colleague Holly Mumby-Croft MP, who she dubbed “our fantastic iron lady, or rather steel lady”, in Westminster.