The Growth Plan

Debate between Matt Western and Kwasi Kwarteng

Friday 23rd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

As I have said to other colleagues, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is very much engaging with local councils on where investment zones can be located, but I am very happy to speak to my hon. Friend about the possibilities for locating investment zones in the region he suggests.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Since people close to the Treasury started trailing details about this mini-Budget over the past 10 days, sterling has lost 5% in value against the dollar. Has the Chancellor not just fired the starting gun on a run on the pound?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I know that it is fashionable for Opposition Members to talk down Britain, and they are showing an extraordinary interest in the gyrations of markets, but what will improve market sentiment is strong growth and a Britain that is open for business. That is exactly what we are trying to achieve.

Gas Prices and Energy Suppliers

Debate between Matt Western and Kwasi Kwarteng

Thursday 23rd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I see the Chancellor on a regular basis, as my right hon. Friend knows, and I am delighted to inform him that those conversations tend to be confidential.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

The UK suffers from higher costs both for consumers and for our businesses and industries. Why then, to follow the point of my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley East (Stephanie Peacock), is the UK’s storage capacity just 2% of annual demand versus an average of 25% in Europe? Is that part of the reason why we do not have energy price resilience?

Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy

Debate between Matt Western and Kwasi Kwarteng

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I commend my hon. Friend for that question, which is of great importance. As I have said in earlier answers, we are absolutely committed to exploring and developing lithium mining here in the UK. We fully understand the threats, or dangers, to the supply chain.

My hon. Friend will also appreciate that the Faraday battery challenge, which we have mentioned a number of times, is funding research to reduce our dependency on raw mineral supply and make better use of global resources. That obviously will involve looking at how we can reduce and replace critical raw materials.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab) [V]]

As chair of the all-party parliamentary motor group and the APPG on electric vehicles, I am afraid I have to say that the Government have been slow to move on this, particularly by comparison with the Governments of Germany and France, in attracting investment in battery gigafactories. In addition, through the pandemic, vehicle manufacturers have received consumer support to encourage sales in those countries.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne) is leading the charge to attract private sector investment in a gigafactory in Coventry. Does the Secretary of State not see and support that move? It would supply both Luton and Ellesmere Port, but also Halewood and the Jaguar Land Rover factories in the midlands. Would that not be a great outcome?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

It would be a great outcome, and I am not going to make a partisan point about it. There are MPs of different political stripes across the hon. Gentleman’s region, as we have seen in these questions, who are very keen to develop this kind of technology.

I am always very happy to engage with colleagues across the House in order to get the right outcomes. It is not just a question of the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne); there are MPs in his area across the House representing midlands seats very ably, and I am very happy to engage with them on this.