Manufacturing (East Midlands)

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Tuesday 12th February 2013 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

I, too, would like to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) on securing the debate. I very much enjoyed the evident passion and pride in his speech and his enthusiasm for manufacturing, quite rightly not only in his constituency but across the whole east midlands.

I had better declare an interest, Mr Hollobone. I am the non-executive chairman of a fresh food processing company based in my constituency. I founded the company 25 years ago with my younger brother with £1,000, and it thrives today, turning over in excess of £25 million and employing more than 200 people.

My constituency has a rich history in manufacturing, and that continues to this day. We have a diverse range of manufacturing output, from two of the leading brick manufacturers in the country to high-tech companies that are enjoying record rates of expansion. There is no doubt that the UK economy needs rebalancing, regionally and in terms of production, after the previous Government’s dependence on financial services and the public sector led to the record deficit that was bequeathed to the coalition Government.

[Chris Williamson]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is a symbiotic relationship between the public and private sectors, and that many in the private sector—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—rely on public sector procurement? Does he agree that it is important that where local authorities and other public sector bodies are letting contracts, they look, wherever they can, to support SMEs in their local economy?

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[Andrew Bridgen]

Absolutely. In North West Leicestershire we are a pioneering a buy local campaign whereby local companies can register, and not only will the local authority look to procure from local firms offering services, but that website facility is then open to other companies in the district, and it is hoped that they will join in. However, I bring the hon. Gentleman back to the point that we cannot have the situation we inherited, where 50% of the economy is public sector and 50% is private sector, and we are asking the latter to support itself and pay taxes to support the former. That is unsustainable. That is why we have a huge deficit and why we need to rebalance our economy.

[Andy Sawford]

The tone of the debate has been very constructive. It was set very well by the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) and it is to Members’ credit that political point scoring has been resisted. However, for the record, we cannot allow that point to stand. Was it the previous Labour Government who were selling sub-prime mortgages in America, for example? The hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) is entirely wrong on that point.

[Andrew Bridgen]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, but I will not allow him or any other Labour Member to rewrite history. The fact is that under the previous Labour Government, manufacturing as a proportion of GDP in this country fell by 50%. It is not a record that I would be proud of if I were sitting on the Labour Benches. The hon. Gentleman should think on that. It is this Government who will address the need to grow manufacturing and rebalance our economy.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I simply want to respond to the hon. Gentleman’s comment about the public sector somehow riding on the back of the private sector. Those people who are employed in the public sector doing vital work in our schools, hospitals and universities also pay tax and make a hugely important contribution to our economy.

[Andrew Bridgen]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. Public sector workers do vital work, but the answer is that all the wealth creation comes from the private sector. We cannot ask 50% of the economy to support itself and the other 50%. That is why we need to rebalance the economy. It is simple maths and it is why we have a deficit.

In the 1980s, following the closure of the coal mines, we needed to rebalance our economy in North West Leicestershire, and as a result of that successful rebalancing it is now in the top 20 districts for business-led growth in the whole of the UK, and in the top 15 for export-led growth. I would like to cite the success of two small-to-medium-sized companies to illustrate the huge contribution they are making to the local and national economy.

Norton Motorcycles, which is based in Castle Donington in the north of my constituency, was founded in 1898 but rejuvenated in 2008, when Stuart Garner bought the rights to the brand. Success and growth has followed, with the help of the Government underwriting a loan in 2011. The company has doubled production of motorcycles, from 500 to 1,000, and it has an order book going forward of some £25 million. Some 90% of its sales are for the export market and 83% of the motorcycle components are manufactured in the UK. It has also started a Norton academy with Stephenson college, based in my constituency at Coalville. The project is focused on youngsters and limbless ex-servicemen, whom we are already working with at BLESMA—the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association—to give them a chance to get settled back into our society and employment post-injury. That illustrates the wider impact and community benefit of our thriving manufacturing success in North West Leicestershire.

Another firm that I have visited in my constituency is Zeeko, a technology company based in Coalville that produces ultra-precision polishing solutions for optics and other complex surfaces. It is growing at a significant rate, taking on more staff every year, and it is exporting all over the world. In 2011, it won a Queen’s award for innovation.

Those are only a couple of examples of how my constituency and the east midlands as a whole are exporting overseas, and are at the forefront of the Government’s mission to rebalance the British economy to ensure that we can pay our way in the world. Encouragingly, as other Members have mentioned, exports from the east midlands have recently reached another record high, sending some £13.5 billion-worth of goods overseas for the 12 months to the end of September 2012.

Another very encouraging signal for the sustainability and growth of east midlands manufacturing is the fact that the latest figures from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs show that non-EU exports now account for 57% of exports from the east midlands. Europe may have been the future once and it is still a very sizable chunk of the market, but with its heavy indebtedness, sclerotic economies and adverse demographics, it is a market that, while important, we will have to look beyond for the future of our manufacturing export growth.

My constituency also plays an important part in distributing manufactured goods, both in the UK and throughout the world. East Midlands airport, which is located in my constituency, is the largest dedicated cargo-handling airport in the UK, currently handling over 310,000 tonnes of flown cargo every year, with ample room to grow. The airport is another advantage for our exporting manufacturers. Together with the proposed strategic rail freight interchange, which will get more freight off the road and on to rail—if HS2 does not run straight through the middle of it—that again illustrates the advantages and opportunities for manufacturers in the east midlands. It is worth pointing out that the strategic rail freight interchange will involve £500 million of private sector investment in my constituency, creating in excess of 7,000 new jobs, hopefully by 2016.

To sum up, the east midlands is leading the way in manufacturing growth in the UK, and my constituency is playing a key role. In addition to the Government, we must all do what we can to provide the conditions for that growth to continue. Lower corporation tax, increased capital allowances, and many measures in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will help to ensure that growth is promoted not only in the east midlands, but across our country.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

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[Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

May I start by saying what a pleasure it is to serve under the chairmanship of a strong east midlands MP, Mr Hollobone? I congratulate the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) on securing this enjoyable debate. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth), for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins), for Corby (Andy Sawford) and for Derby North (Chris Williamson), and the hon. Members for South Derbyshire (Heather Wheeler), for High Peak (Andrew Bingham), for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen), for Erewash (Jessica Lee) and for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris) for their important and significant contributions.

We started the debate by hearing from the hon. Member for Sherwood about Mr Lee, who invented the knitting machine that the hon. Gentleman claimed started the industrial revolution. For the avoidance of doubt, and at the risk of alienating you, Mr Hollobone, and much of the Chamber, I can confirm that the industrial revolution started in my region—north-east England.

It is clear from today’s debate that the east midlands is and should be a leading player in any UK industrial policy. The hon. Gentleman started by saying that the region has a great deal to offer, and the debate has shown that to be true. As my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester South said, a greater proportion of the region’s economic output comes from manufacturing—more than 15% of regional gross value added—than it does in any other part of the UK.

The region is home to some truly world-class companies. No discussion about manufacturing in the east midlands would be complete without reference to one of the world’s greatest engineering companies: Rolls-Royce. The company employs something like 14,000 people in the east midlands, the majority at its plant in Derby, which I had the pleasure of visiting last year. It adds £2.4 billion of value to the regional economy, providing 33,000 jobs in indirect employment.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

[Mr Wright]

Let me finish these statistics, because they are impressive.

One in every 165 people working in the east midlands is directly employed by Rolls-Royce, which rises to an astonishing one in 11 working people in the city of Derby. The company spent over £300 million on its supply chain in the east midlands.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Is the shadow Minister aware that more than 265,000 people in the east midlands are employed in manufacturing and that that is more than in any other region?

[Mr Wright]

I shall come on to that important characteristic of the east midlands economy. I mentioned the important success of Rolls-Royce, but it would be wrong to think of the east midlands as a one-company region. Every hon. Member who contributed today, including you, Mr Hollobone, highlighted successful manufacturing firms in their constituencies, and it is important to do so.