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A powerful new campaign, Back British Metals, has launched with a direct call to the UK government: ensure metals are recognised as strategically essential in the forthcoming UK Industrial Strategy and Critical Minerals Strategy. 

Building on the recent government intervention to safeguard British steelmaking, the campaign welcomes this support as a first step, but warns that a broader, more inclusive metals strategy is now urgently needed. The Back British Metals coalition is asking government to show the same bold ambition across the entire UK metals sector, including aluminium, copper, cobalt, lithium, steel, and the platinum group metals (PGMs).

At the heart of the campaign was a Parliamentary Pledge Event, held on Tuesday 20th May, where MPs and Ministers were invited to sign a formal commitment to Back British Metals and show their support for the sector.

Back British Metals is a national call to recognise and strengthen the UK’s capability to produce, process, and recycle essential metals. From strategic energy pricing to smarter procurement, the campaign is focused on building a more resilient and competitive domestic metals sector – one that enables decarbonisation, supports economic security, and underpins the UK’s long term industrial growth. At its core, the campaign seeks to align UK policy with industrial capability, so that foundational metals are not only protected, but championed as part of a joined up industrial vision.

Metals are the foundation of Britain’s industrial strength. From aluminium and copper to steel and the platinum group metals, they are critical to the UK’s clean energy transition, defence resilience, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing sectors. Despite this, too many strategic metals supply chains remain undervalued or at risk. Rising industrial energy prices are damaging UK competitiveness. Strategic grade scrap is being exported instead of reused domestically. And current policy frameworks often overlook foundational metals in both industrial and critical materials planning.

Without a co-ordinated, cross cutting strategy, the UK risks weakening its own industrial capabilities at a time when resilience, energy transition and international competitiveness are more important than ever. Metals must be understood not as commodities, but as core enablers of the UK’s future economy.

The Back British Metals campaign urges the UK government to adopt a joined up, whole value chain approach to industrial strategy, underpinned by tangible policy measures. Specifically, it is calling on government to:

1. Include metals and foundation industries as core enablers of all eight growth sectors in the UK Industrial Strategy. 
2. Adopt a full value chain approach across both industrial and critical minerals strategies, encompassing mining, processing, fabrication, manufacturing and recycling. 
3. Ensure the Critical Minerals Strategy is inclusive, explicitly recognising aluminium, steel, copper, platinum group metals and other strategic materials beyond rare earths. 

For more information and to get involved, contact: Nadine Bloxsome, at ALFED, email: nbloxsome@alfed.org.uk