Rachel Gilmour MP is facing criticism after failing to attend one of the most significant parliamentary sittings in recent memory, while reportedly shopping in Minehead.
On Saturday, 12 April, Parliament was recalled for an emergency session, the first of its kind since the Falklands War, to pass legislation aimed at saving British Steel and protecting more than 3,000 jobs. The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act grants the government powers to keep blast furnaces running in Scunthorpe, preserving the UK’s last capacity to produce virgin steel.
While MPs from across the political spectrum travelled to Westminster for the rare weekend vote, Tiverton & Minehead’s MP Rachel Gilmour was absent.
Her non-attendance was noted both in Parliament and back home. Facebook user Maggie Hobbs, a resident of Minehead, posted on Sunday, “She was shopping in Minehead’s charity shops yesterday!”
That sentiment is echoed by local campaigner James Wright, who called the absence “a dereliction of duty.”
“This wasn’t about party politics; it was about whether Britain can still make its own steel. The whole country was watching. And our MP didn’t even turn up,” Wright said. “If she had a good reason, let’s hear it. But from what I’m hearing, she was shopping while the country was trying to save its steel industry.”
Wright also pointed to the wider relevance of the vote for rural areas like West Somerset and Mid Devon, “Rural economies like ours rely on strong national supply chains, from steel in construction to jobs in transport and energy. When you let a key industry collapse, the ripple effects hit every corner of the country.”
He added, “This was the first Saturday sitting of Parliament since the Falklands War. If that doesn’t warrant showing up, what does?”
The closure of the Scunthorpe plant would have left the UK as the only G7 nation unable to produce its own primary steel, a material vital for everything from defence, agriculture and railways to wind turbines and hospitals.
Supporters of British Steel argued that allowing such a collapse would not only jeopardise thousands of jobs but also expose the country to long-term economic and security risks by relying entirely on foreign imports for critical infrastructure.
