Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

My right hon. Friend is quite right. The issues raised by his question are of critical strategic importance, and I fully appreciate the work that he did on driving the industrial strategy. As he pointed out, the industrial strategy set the foundation for vaccines and the success of the vaccine roll-out. He is quite right to point out that we need the same rigour and focus in ensuring that the United Kingdom continues to be an attractive place in which to invest for the manufacture of electric vehicles, in order to meet the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan. Electric vehicles were a key part of that 10-point plan.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

I thank the right hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) for securing this urgent question and agree wholeheartedly with him. Labour stands ready to do all we can to secure the future of Ellesmere Port. The plant has been a major employer in the north-west for decades and is highly efficient and productive. It would be a travesty if it did not have a long-term future. That is now in the Government’s hands.

The uncertainty facing Ellesmere Port and other car plants speaks to a deeper problem caused by the Government’s inaction on automotive. They have been asleep at the wheel. First, automotive has had no sectoral support during covid, despite the worst trading levels in 50 years, while it has received billions of euros in France and Germany. Secondly—[Inaudible.] The green transition for car makers is not underpinned by any meaningful investment or strategy. They need more than the platitudes of the 10-point plan. They need a world-leading gigafactory plan.

Thirdly, Ministers said that the Brexit deal would unleash Government to back British industry, but it has not. Instead, our EU competitors are unashamedly pumping support into their car makers, while ours are left hamstrung by new red tape. It is no wonder that international companies such as Stellantis are looking at their long-term investments and wanting more from our Government.

What further guarantees can the Secretary of State give to Stellantis and others that he will back the switch to electric with real support? What is he demanding from the Budget for automotive? Will he bring forward plans to create green jobs today by raising his ambition on gigafactories and other infrastructure? Finally, will he actually do whatever it takes to help British industry post Brexit, to ensure the bright future that our businesses and workers deserve?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I do not recognise some of the premises of the hon. Member’s question. The Prime Minister’s 10-point plan, far from being full of platitudes, is a world beater. I saw a story in The Guardian yesterday about the UN saying that other countries are struggling to meet our targets and our performance on decarbonisation and net zero, so I do not recognise that. She is right to suggest that we are 100% focused on securing these vital jobs. We are totally committed to net zero. I was lucky enough to be the energy Minister who landed the energy White Paper—the first energy White Paper that the Government published in 13 years. We are very focused on trying to land investment to drive the green industrial revolution here in this country.