THE lack of support in the Budget for the steel and key manufacturing industries was lambasted from all sides today.

Unions, opposition leaders and manufacturing bosses alike expressed dismay at Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s failure to invest in a green economic recovery. 

Labour pointed out that Mr Sunak failed even to mention the steel industry in his 112-page “plan for growth.”

Labour shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said: “Our manufacturers should be at the heart of our economic recovery. But the Budget left them out in the cold.

“We are falling behind other countries in the support our government is providing and we will all pay the price. 

“We needed to see an ambitious £30 billion green stimulus package to create jobs, tackle the climate emergency, and secure the long-term future our manufacturers should rightly have.”

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: “The Budget was yet another missed opportunity by the government to intervene and invest now in the green jobs of the future.

“Once again the Chancellor is found to be short on vision and ambition, guilty of creating a lot of noise, with no real substance.”

Lamenting “an opportunity lost,” the Society of Motor Manufacturers said: “In this crucial year, with COP26 in the autumn and the sector facing a mammoth task in decarbonising within just nine years, we had hoped to see more measures to support the transition.”

And the ADS Group, which represents bosses in aerospace, said that the sector could “become a global leader in delivering future net zero flight, but must be supported to weather this crisis, sustain our capabilities and skills and deliver future investment.”