Business Minister Anna Soubry visiting Tata today

Labour MP John Healey said he pushed for the Tory minister to visit the Aldwarke site, and he remained hopeful about the firm’s future after Tata bosses announced last week it was selling its UK assets.

The shock blow has put thousands of Rotherham workers' livelihoods, and their colleagues across the UK, under threat.

Tata management, Sheffield and Rotherham council leaders, Rotherham Steel Taskforce, trade unions and local MPs Sarah Champion, Kevin Barron, John Healey, along with Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith will also meet with the minister today.

MP John Healey said: “We will all be singing from the same hymn sheet

“She will be seeing first hand speciality steels in South Yorkshire at the Rotherham and Stocksbridge sites.”

Mr Healey said the sites produced some of the world’s highest quality steel.

He added: “This type of steel making is part of the future.”

The Labour MP said he will tell the minister that the Rotherham workforce had taken a huge hit in the last three months with over half of its workforce gone.

He said that equated to around 667 workers who had lost their jobs this year, and there were now around 550 left.

Mr Healey said: “We now need the Government to do what is necessary to help Tata keep the operations going before a long-term solution is found.

“As local MPs we will do everything we can, we are pulling out all the stocks.”

Mr Healey said he pressured the business minister to visit the Rotherham plant today and she was originally only going to visit the Stocksbridge site.

“I spoke to her on Friday and said: ‘look you can’t come to South Yorkshire and not come to Rotherham’.”

He added: “It’s really important she’s here, so good on the minister for coming today.

“The workforce have been hit hard by the huge redundancies, we are still reeling after the decision in Mumbai (to sell Tata’s UK assets) last week.

“What they need from the company and the Government is the commitment and assurance, which we will be pressing for, to make sure this can be sold as a growing business.”

Mr Healey said he expected the minister to not rule out any potential solutions, including nationalisation.

The Wentworth and Dearne MP said he refused to be downbeat about Tata’s South Yorkshire sites because of the top quality steel that was produced there.

"And because it is exported globally for critical defence, aerospace, locomotives and oil and gas products,” he said

“Britain can’t do without steel we make in South Yorkshire.”