Sir Keir Starmer: Sunderland’s £1bn boost is Plan for Change
I have always understood that making is different. It was drilled into me at a young age by my father, a tool-maker. And growing up working class in the 1970s, you could see it our communities.is out
Steel in Yorkshire. Shipbuilding on the North Sea coast. Mining, across the coal seams of the Midlands and North East.
It wasn’t just the jobs. It was also the sense of pride. That what you made, mattered. Not just for your family, but for your community, your country and even beyond our shores.
A pride that looked out to the world and said – this is what we make, this is who we are.
Now, nobody should pretend our economy can or should look like it did fifty years ago. The world is a different place now that wants different things from Britain.
Cities and towns across the North have adapted. The region is a diverse economy trading in goods and services.
Nonetheless, the importance of manufacturing to the North East – the industrial heartland of the world’s first industrial nation – cannot be understated. That is why the success of our car manufacturing industry in recent years has been so important.
In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that making cars is now the jewel in Britain’s industrial crown. Factories like the Nissan Plant in Sunderland are the pride not just of that city, but of our country.
This is why I have been so determined to fight for the car industry in my negotiations with President Trump.
Throughout those negotiations people constantly told me to hit back or walk away. Nigel Farage even once said that Jaguar Land Rover deserved to go bust – so we know where he stands on this.
But that is not and never will be my approach. Because the trade deal we have struck by staying in the room matters for working people.
Car tariffs will be slashed – we now have the best deal with the US in the world. That protects jobs. It puts more money in the pockets of working people. And it means the British car industry can look to the future with confidence and pride.
But we can go further. Because the car industry is also changing. All around the world, countries are trying to become leaders in making electric cars.
And the Nissan Plant at Sunderland is absolutely part of that race. But one of the key hurdles is the need for gigafactories that make electric car batteries.
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It’s simple – to keep Sunderland at the cutting edge of the car industry, the city needs a new gigafactory. And that is exactly what it will now get as part of my Plan for Change.
A £1bn investment, announced by the Chancellor, this means Sunderland will be able to power up 100,000 electric vehicles a year.
It means 1000 well-paid manufacturing jobs are coming to the North East. But most importantly, it means the pride and potential of this great industrial region, has been secured for another generation.