Cylch LDN Live Interview with Gareth Stace, Director General of UK Steel

​Steel is foundational capability for any country, and yet the UK is on the verge of losing its ability to produce primary steel domestically, which is essential for applications such as infrastructure and defence. If it were to do so, it would be the only country in the G20 apart from Saudi Arabia to have lost that capability. The rest of the sector is forced to contend with some of the highest industrial energy prices in the world, which is making it incredibly difficult to compete in a global market that is flooded with cheap, oftentimes lower-quality steel from emerging nations.

​Steel, like any sector, is an industry, and industries need a voice. Gareth Stace is that voice. He is the Director General of UK Steel - the trade association of the remaining steelmakers in the UK, responsible for advocating for the needs of the industry in an incredibly challenging period. As such, he is also Chair of the Energy Intensive User Group. Channelling the views of essential industrial sectors who are rapidly declining due to uncompetitive energy prices in the UK.

​From Tenby originally, he left school without any A-levels, with nobody realising he was dyslexic. Hear from Gareth about starting his working life refurbishing antique furniture, and how he went from there to helping UK governments negotiate trade deals with some of its most important partners.