Nissan in Sunderland

Anne-Marie Trevelyan Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am a north-easterner myself by birth and upbringing. We should celebrate the resurgence of industry across the north-east in recent years, including the expansion of Nissan. The hon. Gentleman should know—Members from all parties certainly know—that I worked closely with Members on both sides of the House to pursue investment opportunities. Had we not done so, we would not have had the investment that Nissan made two and a half years ago that secured those jobs for the future. I will continue to do that, all the time.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con)]

I have many constituents who work at Nissan in Sunderland. They are highly trained and committed workers who do a long commute every day to work in such an extraordinary and fabulous place. As my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) said, the changes to the EU rules—and therefore the UK rules, too—on diesel emissions have put real pressure on Nissan to move away from diesel engines in the longer term. Will the Secretary of State set out clearly what the Government will do to support not only Nissan but the car manufacturing industry as a whole to move fully to electric vehicles over the next 20 years?