Iain Wright
Main Page: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)Department Debates - View all Iain Wright's debates with the Department for Education
(11 years, 5 months ago)
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Vince Cable
I know that the hon. Gentleman shares many of my concerns about airport expansion. The wider national interest must be safeguarded and we have commissioned Sir Howard Davies to do a proper and thorough investigation into the extremely difficult issues associated with Heathrow expansion.
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab)
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the leaked letter from the Business Secretary to the Prime Minister, in which he acknowledged the need for
“a compelling vision of where the country is heading…Where we know big investment decisions are going to be made…we need to…provide certainty to business.”
In only the past few weeks, Bloomberg New Energy Finance stated bluntly:
“Investors have made clear to the UK government that policy uncertainty has undermined investment”,
and the National Audit Office said in its report on infrastructure that
“uncertainty over government policy might lead project sponsors, lenders and contractors to defer or abandon projects in the UK for opportunities elsewhere.”
One year on from his letter, why has nothing improved?
Vince Cable
A great deal has changed. There is now a great deal of support not only in government but across business for the industrial strategy. If the hon. Gentleman had been following the news he would have seen that some sectors, particularly the car industry and aerospace, have highly impressive growth and a long-term commitment to Britain. That is what we are trying to achieve.