'Will I be homeless?' Port Talbot steelworkers fear return to dark days of 80s

Jonathan James is in full flow, reminiscing about his family's history at the Port Talbot steelworks, when his composure suddenly breaks.

- Kiran Stacey

"Everyone worked in the steelworks from a young age," the 42-year-old says, as his voice starts to crack with emotion. "I remember my father coming home from work on his Honda Link moped and rocking up with the smell of coke ovens on his clothes. It's been a massive part of my life - growing up, as well as when I finally started working there."

James is one of thousands of employees who face redundancy as Tata Steel plans to close its two blast furnaces by the end of the year and replace them with more modern, less polluting electric ones.

The closure of the Port Talbot plant in south Wales will send economic shockwaves through the region. Up to 2,800 people could lose their jobs as a direct result. Many others in the wider supply chain and community will be affected.

Speaking to the Guardian from the steelworks, the shadow Welsh secretary, Jo Stevens, says the fallout could be on a par with what happened there in the 1980s.

"We were badly affected by that," says Stevens, who grew up in north Wales. "It's left an economic legacy, but also a health legacy - we've got an older, sicker population than many areas in the rest of the United Kingdom.