The new Labour government is already working on what they see as a better deal for the Port Talbot steelworks. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has revealed both he and new Prime Minister Keir Starmer have spoken to Tata bosses and they have made the issue a "priority".

Thousands of jobs at the Port Talbot plant are at risk over plans to close the two blast furnaces and switch to a greener means of steel production which needs fewer workers. One furnace has already closed with the second due to follow within weeks.

But the business secretary said "job guarantees" would be part of the negotiations between the government and the steel giant. The previous Conservative government agreed a £500m rescue package to help keep the plant open and shift to the greener production methods but as part of that Tata Steel said 2,800 UK jobs would be lost.

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During the general election campaign Mr Reynolds and new chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged up to £2.5bn to support the industry's transition to low-carbon steel production, which is expected to include honouring that existing package. Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the business secretary said: "We see this as a major priority. I have already spoken to Tata Steel about it as has the Prime Minister. I will be talking to them again today, representatives of the workforce, to talk about it."

"It is not about underwriting loss-making businesses in a way we might have thought of industrial policy in the past. It is about being a partner for investment in the future. There is more money available for the steel industry under our plans for government. It is about making sure we meet this transition with the private sector together. There is a better deal available for Port Talbot and the steel industry as a whole."

Ms Kuenssberg asked how much the new Labour government were willing to spend to guarantee jobs and Mr Reynolds said: "The money we have available to spend has been in our manifesto. It is £2.5bn on top of the £500m already in the government spending plan. I am now involved in a negotiation and I am not going to reveal my hand. I do want things in exchange for money we will co-invest with the private sector around jobs and technology."

"I think that is a reasonable way to make sure public money is well spent. I am going to make sure that job guarantees are part of the negotiations that we have. We have to make sure this is a transition that works for working people. We can't simply give money out without getting guarantees in return."

Tata responded to Labour's election victory by saying it will "be engaging with new ministers over our ambitious plans to invest in and transform Port Talbot". Rhondda MP Sir Chris Bryant told BBC Wales: "We need to make sure that Tata don't make any sudden moves that make it impossible for us to unpick what was a very bad deal that was originally agreed by the Conservative government."

"The job of politicians is to try to make the impossible possible and that's exactly what we're going to try and do here. Every sinew will be strained to try and make sure that we work as a single government, Welsh Government working with Westminster government, to try and deliver the best possible jobs, to preserve so many jobs."

"Because it's not just about the people who work for Tata Steel. It's also about the whole economy in that region." One of the furnaces at the steelworks was closed at 5pm last Friday and a second will shut in September.