Britain’s Industrial Future

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

This debate is really interesting. In his introduction, the Minister mentioned that there is a litany of woe and failure in the Labour motion. Of course there is, because we have seen an abandonment of the business strategy from the Government. We have all experienced it. The Minister also mentioned the amount of money that the Government have given through the automotive transformation fund to Bentley, Vauxhall, Ford and Nissan, but he did not mention Britishvolt in my constituency once.

Britishvolt, a promising start-up company that is seeking to build a gigafactory in Wansbeck, is on the brink of collapse because the Government have not come forward with a promised £100 million grant from the automotive transformation fund. In my constituency, 8,000 jobs have been promised, but the Government will not listen. Once again today, many examples have been given, but not one related to my constituency and there was nothing about Britishvolt. It is the one gigafactory in the country that has planning permission, but the Minister never mentioned it, and we have to ask why. Why are the Government not even sitting down with Britishvolt to agree a way forward? We talk about levelling up in a constituency like mine—there would be 8,000 jobs, of which 3,000 would be with Britishvolt developing electric batteries. That is the future. The Minister continually said that he wanted to talk about the industries of the future. How futuristic can we get? We are talking about electric battery production.

That has not been carried through because the ministerial team in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said, first, that it would not grant any finance. It then said that Britishvolt would be granted £100 million, but that that would be after certain milestones at the end of 2023, but the company requires financing now. Does the Minister understand what that actually means for people in my constituency? We have been left behind for generations and there is an opportunity for 8,000 jobs. There would be 3,000 at Britishvolt and 5,000—perhaps even more—in the supply chain. We have to conserve that.

When the Secretary of State for International Trade was asked about Britishvolt a couple of days ago, she said that there has to be “value for money”. We are talking about 8,000 jobs in a constituency that has had the highest unemployment rate in the country for decades. Is that not value for money? Do people in my constituency not deserve the same as other people around the country? It is not really fair, Minister. I urge him to have a look at Britishvolt situation with all urgency.

We have a lot going on with regard to the automotive industry. It has been reported that Jaguar Land Rover is interested in moving its manufacturing base to Slovakia. BMW has set up shop in China. Electric van start-up Arrival has relocated to the US from the UK. If that trend continues, we will have no automotive industry and thousands more people will be on the dole or facing redundancy.

Other things are happening elsewhere. Northvolt in Sweden has successfully entered the electric car market backed by its Government’s Swedish Energy Agency. That will create thousands of high-quality local industrial jobs. Even the German Government have pledged more than $500 million to Northvolt to construct its gigafactory in northern Sweden. While gigafactories open up across Europe from Germany to Sweden, we are sadly lagging behind, crippled by a zombie Government unwilling to support crucial new developments that would create jobs, boost productivity and grow the economy. When the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) was Prime Minister, I asked him where the money for Britishvolt was. He said at the Dispatch Box that it was in the post, but we have not yet received a ha’penny for that company in my constituency. I ask again: where is the money?

My constituents and the potential investors want assurances that the sound of workmen marching from the site in Cambois is not akin to a death knell for the promised decade of growth and prosperity for our long-held-back region, or the final nail in the coffin for levelling up. Sadly, given the promises about the site from a long line of politicians over the past few months and indeed the past couple of years, I will have to take any commitments with more than a pinch of salt. The company has seemingly been cast aside by this Government, but its request for an advance grant of £30 million to guarantee up to 8,000 jobs is entirely realistic and reasonable. It is value for money, Madam Deputy Speaker—you’d better believe it.