Brexit, Decay and Politics Collide on UK’s Industrial East Coast

In Scunthorpe, 63-year-old Martin Foster has spent nearly five decades in the steelworks, watching the industry that sustained his family for generations slowly wither.

Here, the steelworks and the town are inseparable. A statue in the center depicts a man and woman leaving the plant after a shift — a reminder of when steel was the lifeblood of the community. Now, even the remaining jobs are at risk after the EU announced higher tariffs on imported steel, a move that could shutter sites like British Steel.

“It’s the same in every town where there’s a large private employer like British ...