What did the new business secretary have to say?published at 10:07
Lora Jones
Business reporter, BBC News
A quick recap on what we heard from Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds – speaking to Laura Kuenssberg for the first time since getting into office.
On Tata Steel, we heard that the future of the plant in Port Talbot is a “major priority” for the Labour government.
Reynolds said a better deal is achievable to keep the site open and cash would be available as part of wider funding for the steel industry’s green transition.
As part of the negotiations with the company, Reynolds added that he was going to make sure job guarantees were part of the talks, although would not commit to a specific number.
On workers’ rights, Reynolds said that he wanted to start the process on bolstering these “right away”.
Questions marks were raised, however, about the party’s plans on fire-and-rehire, where businesses let staff go and then bring them back with fewer protections.
When pushed on whether Labour would be able to achieve big changes on this without opposition, he said it’s about the “process” firms go through, although he wants to make progress on workers’ rights within his first 100 days in office.
