Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy

Jeremy Wright Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

As the hon. Lady will have seen from these questions, we are looking at a number of sites. We are absolutely committed to having at least one gigafactory site, if not more—I think we need more than one—before the next election. I could not be clearer about our commitment to the transition and ultimately to reaching net zero by 2050.

[Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con) [V]]

I am sure my right hon. Friend will agree that the best sites for gigafactories are those where the automotive sector is strong, transport connections are good and battery technology development is already a feature of the local economy. In that regard, I am entirely with my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) in saying that the Coventry airport site is an excellent one—coincidentally, it is, despite its name, in my constituency. My right hon. Friend would be very welcome to visit at any point, and I am grateful for his encouraging words about it. May I ask him also to accept that sites, however good, are no good without occupants? Will he use the resources he has talked about, and his time and that of his officials, to identify the right sites early and work with those promoting them to secure occupants—companies that manufacture batteries on site—as soon as we can?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am happy to give my right hon. and learned Friend that assurance—that is exactly what we are trying to do. We are talking to local communities and local leaders about various sites up and down the country where we can site gigafactories. I am very conscious of the fact that Coventry, given its history and that of the midlands, would be an excellent place in which such a factory could be located.