Andy Sawford
Main Page: Andy Sawford (Labour (Co-op) - Corby)Department Debates - View all Andy Sawford's debates with the HM Treasury
(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Greg Clark
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to him for doing his bit in an important cluster of manufacturing businesses in Stroud. He has invented and promoted the festival of manufacturing and engineering in Stroud, which will take place between 11 and 15 November, helping to give a further boost to the already successful companies in Gloucestershire.
Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)
According to the Office for National Statistics, Corby is the manufacturing capital of the UK, but over the past three years our businesses have survived despite this Government’s policies not because of them. Will the Minister look again at the decision to pick winners in the boat-building industry and not to award money from the regional growth fund to my local firm, Fairline Boats?
Greg Clark
The hon. Gentleman is wrong in his assessment. He failed to say that the 13% collapse in manufacturing happened during the last three years of the previous Government. In the first three years of this Government, it has recovered. He mentioned the regional growth fund—paying tribute, I assume, to another successful intervention, which has helped firms such as JLR and will help others, including in the east midlands.