CHRIS GREEN MP: Britain needs a manufacturing revival

I have long believed that Britain needs a manufacturing revival. Different parts of the country have different specialisms from tourism to financial services but, I believe, manufacturing ought to be of increased focus from Government, whether to give support or to stop holding it back.

Reports from think tanks are being produced to say how we bounce back from the lockdowns but they rarely have any impact but often do suggest a direction of travel.

Having been an engineer in the mass spectrometry manufacturing sector, I tend to want practical results rather than theories which was why I was so pleased to hear that the Whitehaven coalmine had got the go ahead in Cumberland.

This could create as many as 500 skilled jobs in the coal mining industry and, because it is coking coal, will be used in the British steel industry.

It is always the case that creating good quality jobs in one sector will create and protect more jobs in other sectors.

Severfield Steel is a major steel manufacturer and they have a huge plant in the heart of my constituency so I want the best for them, their workers and British manufacturing.

I am not easily shocked but I would have thought that it would be obvious for everyone to get behind the creation of these new jobs and to no longer have to import this coking coal from the US or Canada.

I was recently on the BBC’s Politics North West and the Labour MP actually said that the coal mine should not open and those 500 jobs should not be created.

I could hardly believe that any politician would actively want to stop people getting a good job.

The Labour and Conservative Parties have been on a strange road over the last few years. Labour are now viscerally opposed to the interests of miners whilst knowing that this type of coal is necessary for the steel industry to be viable in the UK.

Every Conservative MP I have discussed this with is fully supportive of these new jobs and the manufacturing jobs that they will sustain.

As a Conservative, I want a revival of British manufacturing whilst my opponents have become so out of touch that they seem to think that everyone can either be a human rights lawyer, politician or policy wonk.

This fantasy world of future work where everything of importance that is created is just an opinion has taken a deep hold with sections of our political elite. This even extends to theorising about such important matters as our national security and our armed forces.

Ultimately, an infantry soldier must be prepared to engage with the enemy in a life or death conflict.

The wider British army and military infrastructure must support him on the frontline to give him as much chance of coming home in one piece.

If our enemy take our armed forces seriously then we have far more chance of maintaining peace.

Ultimately, an effective armed forces is the most powerful tool of peace because conflict is deterred and it enables a focus on peaceful means of conflict resolution.

I fear that Labour’s ‘A Progressive Foreign Policy’ pamphlet undermines their seriousness when it comes to foreign affairs and British national interest and it has been endorsed at the highest level of their Party.

We need talented people who can perform a variety of roles but their focus should not be to become “gender balanced” “aid workers”. That may be the role of Oxfam but not of our infantry regiments.

The report rightly raises concerns about China’s growing dominance and even mentions its use of coal power stations but fails to connect the dots.

By not backing our mining, steel or manufacturing industries, Labour increase the risk of their closure and the jobs and wealth being sent to enrich China.

This strengthens them on the world stage and diminishes us which, in turn, means that we are less strong in standing up for British values and interests.

Labour need fewer pamphlets and more common sense.

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