Pottery workers call for more government support

Pottery workers have staged a protest, calling on the government to do more to support their industry in the face of rising energy costs.

The campaigners in Stoke-on-Trent said the recently unveiled industrial strategy only helped energy-intensive firms with electricity costs and not gas, which ceramics companies heavily relied on to fire their kilns.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said they recognised the challenges faced by potteries and that firms would benefit from broader support like the National Wealth Fund.

They said there were also plans to generate more energy in the UK to bring down prices.

Workers in ceramics firms fear their industry is facing an existential crisis, however.

"I've grown up in a family of potters," said Sarah Stirling, an employee at Doulton Water Filters.

"It really affects me as a person to think that there might be no more pottery in Stoke-on-Trent."

Claire Spate, who used to work at Moorcroft, said she was glad to see her company had been returned to family ownership but said staff were still waiting to hear whether they would get their jobs back.

"We understand what predicament Will [Moorcroft, the owner] is in, but we're just now waiting to get letters and to see when we can resume production," she said.

Ms Spate added Mr Moorcroft now had "a big job" to get the business started up again.

She said people visited Stoke-on-Trent from across the world because of the heritage and craftsmanship of its iconic pottery firms.

Sharon Yates, a China cup handler at Dunoon Ceramics and GMB representative, said that although industry leaders were happy they had been recognised as an "essential" industry, companies had not been given any assurances about support with gas costs.

"We need immediate help for the gas to keep the kilns lit," she said.

"If we don't get the help with the gas, then other factories will cease to trade."

Gas was needed for the initial firing, to take their products from clay to the "biscuit" stage, she said, and that electricity was unable to provide the same heat intensity.

Gas now costs six times more than it did in 2022, she added, with standing charges accounting for about two thirds of the overall price paid.

"It's bleak. If the government doesn't step in, more factories will close."

A DBT spokesperson said: "We recognise the challenges faced by potteries in Staffordshire and ceramics businesses across the country."

They added that the industrial strategy included measures which could reduce electricity bills by up to 25%, but they did not mention any measures to support gas costs.

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