Global Britain

Taiwo Owatemi Excerpts

Monday 11th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

In 2016, the Government began using the phrase “global Britain” in the aftermath of the referendum. We received clarity last year from the Foreign Secretary who let it be known that the Government’s vision for a truly global Britain included showing our allies that we would remain great partners and friends, that we would be an energetic champion of free and open trade, and, finally, that we would be an even stronger force for the world. So far, I have seen action that would only diminish our standing and reputation on the global stage, such as the scrapping of international programmes for students in the United Kingdom to meet and network with their counterparts across Europe, which are their closest peers.

As the chair of the all-party group on Erasmus, I was devastated to learn that the Government had chosen not to participate in the programme post-Brexit. The Erasmus+ scheme allowed students to broaden their horizons, learn new languages, and forge international networks and relationships. As it stood, it could have contributed heavily to the Government’s vision of a truly global Britain. Scrapping the programme and announcing the new Turing programme, with limited details on what the scheme will entail, I am concerned that the Government have scrapped a brilliant programme for another that falls short. It is very underfunded and does not share the many benefits of the Erasmus+ programme. If we are truly aiming for global Britain, we must also consider how international students fit into the new Turing scheme. At present, the idea of reciprocity seen in the Erasmus+ programme does not seem to be present in the new scheme.

While we speak of a truly global exchange programme, we should be celebrating the good that British education can offer international students as well as celebrating the cultural benefits of learning from them, too. International students give us our local communities and we must do more to encourage and support them to choose Britain in their own exchange programmes.

Something woefully lacking in the Government’s vision of a global Britain is our own world renowned manufacturing industry. This is an industry that has been ravaged by the pandemic and overlooked by the Government during the Brexit negotiations. I want to see the Government finally prioritise this sector, save our businesses and employers and give them better assurances. Members will know that manufacturing has a deep root in my city of Coventry and in the west midlands. The west midlands can boast of the Rolls-Royce site at Ansty, which is the only site that can weld the veins of plane propellers. It is one of only a handful sites around the world that can produce fans with their plane engines. We risk losing our proud heritage of world-class expertise in the aeronautic industry. We need to capitalise on British talents, support our homegrown industry and ensure that jobs are not exported out of this country.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am keen for the Government to let us know where those two important tenets of our British society can fit into their global vision.