Sir Keir’s Steel Revival: Strategic for industry or just a symbolic gesture?
Important question. Exactly how many Nigels are there in Scunthorpe?
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Sir Keir Starmer is making plans for their future in British Steel. That's British Steel, courtesy of China, and now critically endangered, as are all Nigels.
Nobody calls their baby Nigel any more. There is, of course, Nigel Farage. That might explain a lot. Since 2015, there have been only 28 Nigels born in the UK, and none at all in 2020.
If you're a bit lost, I'm referencing the post-punk XTC song about Nigel and his parents' wish for him to enjoy a future in British Steel. When it was released back in 1979 British Steel responded by rounding up a lot of Sheffield steelworkers called Nigel and getting them to say their jobs were actually great.
The steelworkers' union was also interested in the hit number as a potential workers' anthem, until songwriter Colin Moulding told a union official that Nigel was from the management side. The union immediately lost interest.
The song came out at a time when there really did seem to be a future in British Steel, and there were still a lot of Nigels about. Normans too. That's another baby name which has taken a dive in the 21st century.
Sir Keir has brought back that 1970s vibe by wading in to prop up a strategic industry, just like they used to do in the old days.
