1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: And Gavin Gray are UK correspondence with me. Hey Gevin, hey, 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:04,800 Speaker 1: he man. 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 2: Lovely to have you back. 4 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Mate, It's lovely to talk to you. Thank you very much. Yeah, 5 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: how are we going with British Steel? 6 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 2: A very very touch and go At the moment, the 7 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 2: government called an emergency sitting of Parliament on Saturday, the 8 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 2: first time since the Falklands War that's happened back in 9 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 2: the early eighties, and both houses the House of Lords 10 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: and House of Parliament sat in order to pass through 11 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 2: emergency legislation to take over British Steel. Today, the rush 12 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 2: is really on to secure the supply of raw materials. 13 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 2: It now materializes that the company which had bought British Steel, 14 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 2: a Chinese company, had stopped buying any more raw materials 15 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 2: to make the steel, and indeed was selling off some 16 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 2: of the stocks of the ingredients, the iron ore and 17 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 2: coal and other raw materials were selling those off. So, 18 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: in other words, they were deliberately running the plant down 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 2: that the government said it couldn't allow. That's why it 20 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 2: took this emergency work. They believe that it's the only 21 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 2: place in the UK where you can make prime steel, 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 2: in other words, not from recycled metals, but from the 23 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: ores themselves, and they said this is far too important 24 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 2: to let go. So this relationship with the Jinghi the company, 25 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 2: well it certainly looks very fractious, but the government determined 26 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 2: to try and keep it going. But the moment those 27 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 2: raw materials run out, the danger is those blast furnaces 28 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,199 Speaker 2: will not reopen and listen. 29 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: Despite all of the big talk from this new government, 30 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: it's not managed to do anything about the number of 31 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: migrants crossing the channel, has it. 32 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 2: No. The slogan was We're going to smash the gangs, 33 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 2: referring to the people smaggling gangs. Well they have made 34 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 2: no improvement at all. In fact, the number of migrants 35 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 2: arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel has 36 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 2: reached a new record for the first four months of 37 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 2: the year. In other words, since this new government has 38 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 2: been in. Over the weekend the total went over eight 39 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 2: thousand and fifty well less than halfway through April. It's 40 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 2: already high than these seven five hundred and sixty people 41 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 2: who crossed the channel over the first four months of 42 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 2: last year, and that was a record high at the time. 43 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 2: So the big question pressure on the government to do something. 44 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: What can it do well. Clearly the plan to smash 45 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 2: the gangs is not enough on its own. I appreciate 46 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 2: these things take time, but I do think this government 47 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 2: and successive governments or predssessing governments have really misunderstood the 48 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: level of angle that people are having, particularly when they 49 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 2: hear migrants in France say we want to get to 50 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 2: the UK because in some cases, you know, we want 51 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 2: to be put up in a hotel. Well, that bill 52 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 2: is costing sixteen million New Zealand dollars a day and 53 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 2: this government seemingly has not got the numbers staying in 54 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 2: hotels down either. 55 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, amazing, Okay, how's it going in Birmingham? 56 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 2: With great difficulty? So Birmingham has had a rubbish strike, 57 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 2: a bin strike since the middle of March. The row 58 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 2: is over and it's a row with unions. And this 59 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 2: is interesting because of course the government, the labor government 60 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 2: here is supported by a lot of unions and vice versa. 61 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 2: So this is an awkward one for it. This is 62 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 2: Birmingham City Council, which is a labor run council, is 63 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 2: now having to appeal to neighboring authorities to help and 64 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 2: is having to pay them. And now they're even calling 65 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 2: in the army to help tackle the crisis. Now, don't 66 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 2: get me wrong, this isn't soldiers doing the manual work. 67 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 2: This is military planners called in to help tackle the 68 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 2: mounting piles of rubbish. Seventeen thousand tons of rubbish are 69 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 2: said to have accumulated across Birmingham over the first four 70 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 2: weeks at the strike. A recent negotiation did not work. 71 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 2: The unions walked away and couldn't get an agreement with 72 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 2: the council. The government's trying sort of not to get 73 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 2: involved because it doesn't look very good on it. Of course, 74 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 2: being a labor council and supporting the unions, but what 75 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 2: a mess. People are reporting terrible problems with burma and 76 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 2: rats and frankly with warm weather. It's been pretty disgusting 77 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 2: for the people at Birmingham. 78 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: Can imagine. Kevin, thank you very much. Check you in 79 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: a couple of days. Look after yourself. It's Kevin Gray, 80 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: are UK correspondent. 81 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 82 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,799 Speaker 2: news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 83 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.