Steel

The big question of 1964: whether or not to nationalise the steel industry?

The future of the steel industry is a pressing issue in Shotton, Deeside, in the 1960s. During campaigning for the general election of October 1964, Conservative candidate Fred Hardman, and his Labour rival Eirene White MP both address the question of nationalisation. White went on to increase her majority. The steelworks, John Summers & Sons Ltd, the town's main employer at the time, became part of the nationalised British Steel in 1967. But steelmaking ceased in Shotton in 1980, after more than 80 years.