Back British Metals: New Campaign Calls for Government to Recognise the Strategic Value of All UK Metals

A powerful new campaign, Back British Metals, has launched with a direct call to 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 is a Parliamentary Pledge Event, planned for 10am to 12 noon on Tuesday 20th May, where MPs and Ministers will be invited to sign a formal commitment to Back British Metals and show their support for the sector.

The Mission

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.

Why Now?

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. Current policy frameworks often overlook foundational metals in both industrial and critical materials planning.

Without a coordinated, 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.

A Cross-Sector Call to Action

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, we are calling on Government to:

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

Get Involved

This is a call to action for the entire UK metals sector. Back British Metals will be hosting a Parliamentary Pledge Event on Tuesday 20th May, inviting MPs, Ministers and industry leaders to demonstrate their support by signing the pledge and backing a truly strategic approach to UK metals. We urge stakeholders across all metals sectors to get involved, show support and help deliver a unified message to Government.

Let’s make this a turning point. Let’s Back British Metals.