The once glorious steel industry in the UK is now in deep trouble and unable to extricate itself. On March 30th, politicians and union leaders in the country called on the state to intervene in the survival of the steel industry, which may even mean that the steel sector will be re-nationalized thereafter.

Previously, India's Tata Steel Company has indicated that the importance of exporting steel to Europe is increasing due to global oversupply. High manufacturing costs, continued weak demand and currency stability have cost the company more than ￡2 billion ($2.9 billion) in the past five years, so Tata Steel now wants to sell its factory in the UK.

But the fact is not that, as individual buyers have discovered, there are calls for the British government to use the taxpayer's money to support the operation of the steel company, in the hope of retaining jobs and maintaining the normal functioning of the industry.

Len McCcluskey, the UK's largest trade union, said in a statement on Wednesday: "The Conservative government should not ignore the call for re-nationalization."

Roy Rickhuss, the general secretary of the Steel Workers Union, said Britain is now on the verge of a “nationalization crisis” and he called on British Prime Minister David Cameron to hold an emergency meeting. At the same time, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the British opposition Labor Party, also said that government intervention is indispensable. If necessary, it is necessary to adopt “industry public shares”, that is, the way the government buys shares in steel companies to help them get out of trouble. .

However, some politicians highly stress that any potential state aid will be strictly controlled by EU rules. Some people also use it to prove that the upcoming June 23 referendum on the Brexit is the most sensible.

The European Commission said that companies supported by the government have more advantages than their competitors, unless they are considered from the overall economic development, and generally do not allow government assistance.

However, the EU also has a number of exemptions that allow the government to provide assistance in research and innovation. The European Commission is currently participating in an in-depth survey to assess whether the Italian government's support to the steel producer Ilva is in line with its rules.

At the same time, the Scottish government is currently trying to rescue two steel plants. However, this is only an agreement between Tata Steel and the Metal Group, not a complete nationalization. But the deal has not been fully completed.

Colin Hamilton, a global commodities researcher at Macquarie, told CNBC by telephone that “the government running steel mills will still be jaw-dropping.” One typical case is the steel mill that Serbia bought from USSteel in 2012. This is also the "biggest big bleeding" in history.

Tata Steel is the UK's largest steel producer. At the end of 1980, the British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sold the British steel company, which had been previously controlled by the government. Its stability has always been seen as a key factor in the future steel industry. But it began to decline by the end of 1970.

This incident has already spread to British diplomacy. Cameron proposed the proposal of low-cost steel when he returned home to Chinese President Cameron last year. Regarding any potential acquisition of the government, the company is highly cautious, and Commerce Minister Anna Soubry revealed to the BBC on Wednesday morning that “the government will consider all feasible measures” to maintain the normal operation of the steel industry.

According to the think tank assessment, 40,000 jobs in the steel industry may be lost if buyers are not found. These include 15,000 Tata companies and 25,000 jobs in the supply chain.

Hamilton said that the peak of steel demand has passed, and in order to balance the current oversupply of the global steel market, the world needs to reduce production. He once again stressed that steel production will be about 25 times the current production in the UK.