Trump's tariffs add to fears in the UK's struggling steel towns

But others think that clinging to steel jeopardises these towns’ futures.

Katie Bradley of the New Economics Foundation says that towns like Scunthorpe have more than one route to prosperity besides steel.

“With the right support, towns that have a connection to heavy industry can pivot to new, clean industries,” she argues.

Restructuring the UK’s steel operations might also help a former UK bastion languishing in the shadow of imported steel: car manufacturing.

Harland & Wolff, for example, reinvented itself after shipbuilding became unprofitable in the 1990s.

There, the economy now revolves around wind energy and marine engineering – sectors enabled by the shipyard’s existing skills and supply chains.

Whatever they choose, the fact remains that steel towns are caught in a tangle of history, economics, global forces and politics. The bigger question is whether they will stick with the tried and tested – or make the leap to the unknown.