Iron & Steel. Osborne's test

When one thinks of strategic industries one instinctively thinks of iron and steel, the core of the Country's dramatic rise to the forefront of the world's leading Nations during the Victorian era. Other industries have fallen by the wayside, shipbuilding and coal easily come to mind but can the UK afford to lose the ability to make steel; not only the furnaces but the skills of the men and women driven out of their lifelong work.
I believe, for reasons of National Security, that both shipbuilding and coal ought to be maintained but steel is a special case and we only have to look at the Nuclear Power industry to see why. After the second World War, the UK were world leaders in the development of nuclear power but Scargill's miners treacherously persuaded the Labour Government of the time to run down our research at Harwell, Culcheth etc. Experts emigrated and skills were lost resulting in the situation now where the Country has to rely on French and Chinese know-how to build power stations. This short termism could result in a similar situation with steel, particularly if conflict compromises access to supplies.
Financial support for the industry might fall foul of EU rules and regulations but this will be yet another reason to abandon Europe and its flawed ideology. The ability to make iron and steel must be preserved at all costs and for Osborne to oversee its demise on financial grounds would also be an act of treachery.