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The Port Talbot steel works is closing its last remaining blast furnace, delivering a shattering blow to the economy and society of a South Wales town where employment and wages were once so strong it became known as Treasure Island. Britain will become the first industrialised nation not to be able to make ‘virgin’ steel, with huge implications for the ability to make everything from cars to food packaging. And it will be another win for China, as its 20-year push to dominate world steel markets intensifies.

In this documentary Professor Richard Davies, a world-renowned economist who lives down the coast in Swansea, examines the interwoven strands that led Port Talbot to its current crisis. He argues that this closure, heralding the demise of primary British steelmaking, poses an existential threat to the UK economy—and one that goes far beyond steel.

He speaks to steel workers and those in the wider community whose jobs and livelihoods are threatened as the impact ripples through- the supply chain of contractors, the football team, the high street, the cafes, pubs and shops. He discusses the decline in UK manufacturing and exponential rise of China with fellow economists and trade experts, asking whether the UK could and should have done more to protect its vital industries. And he holds the decision makers to account as workers face an uncertain future - the bosses at Tata Steel and senior politicians from across the spectrum.

Thanks to Port Talbot Cymric Choir https://porttalbotcymricchoir.co.uk/

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan