As football fans filed out of Scunthorpe United’s ground, the evening sun was shining down on them.
Their team had just secured a win, and in the stands many British steel workers and their families celebrated – hoping that it would translate to further luck for their jobs.
“Save British Steel”, one man shouted at us as he wound down the window of his car, driving away from the match, gleeful.
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Everyone who lives in Scunthorpe is connected to the British Steel plant in some way.
“It works in partnership – we nearly went out of business as a football club, the steelworks came together, we all worked together- it’s one big community”, explained football fan Martin.
“Many generations of my family worked there… without steelworks we wouldn’t have a community”.
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So intertwined is the relationship that Scunthorpe United is known as “The Iron”, and at half time, steelworkers, their families and union officials were allowed to parade “Save Scunthorpe Steel” banners around the pitch, to supportive cheers from fans.
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A march through the town, ending at the football club, had been originally planned to put pressure on the government to intervene.
Now that they have, there is a mood of hope.
“We have lots of family members who work at British Steel, I feel uplifted to have some good news today”, one woman told me as she walked through the streets on the march.
“It’s a relief”, another man said. “Six generations of my family have worked at the steelworks- it’s the heart of the town.”
But they know the fight to save 3,500 jobs is far from over. Many think that only full nationalisation would secure the future of the plant.
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What if the plant closed?
Kerensa, who was cradling her 10-month-old baby, Ottillie, told me: “There wouldn’t be a town.”
“It would be devastating, the steelworks would be gone, all the father figures of the family, the community would be gone their jobs would be gone”.
