Fracking no solution to steel industry crisis

From: Paul Andrews, The Beeches, Great Habton, York.

TOM Richmond was right (The Yorkshire Post, July 23) to point out the vast quantity of steel which will be necessary to make a fracking industry viable in the UK.

This would result in the complete industrialisation of the North of England and the destruction of our tourist and agricultural sectors without creating many new jobs in return.

He mistakenly suggests the steel required would save the UK steel industry.

One of the reasons I think some EU leaders can’t wait for the UK to formally break free of the EU is that it is the UK which has been blocking restrictions on cheap Chinese steel which the EU Commission is seeking to impose.

Now the UK is leaving the EU, the UK is going to become ever more dependent on trade with other world markets and China seems to be a priority for this Government.

So we should not expect fracking to save the UK steel industry.

I find it disturbing that so many people in this country would rather pursue trade deals with authoritarian governments in other continents than with EU countries which have democratically-elected heads of state.