Labour's shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy has told The Northern Echo that the collapse of Britishvolt in Blyth is a sign that the UK is "falling behind" other countries.
Britishvolt, a start-up company manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles, was seen as a flagship project for the UK government but failed to receive enough investment and was forced to call in administrators yesterday (January 17) with the immediate loss of 300 jobs at its gigafactory in Northumberland.
Read more: Jobs dream shattered as £3.8bn Britishvolt project set to end in collapse
Talking exclusively to The Northern Echo, Jonathan Reynolds MP said that Britishvolt's demise was avoidable. "The collapse of Britishvolt was not inevitable," he said, "but it is a sign of the absence of any form of industrial strategy from this government."
Reynolds, who represents the constituency of Stalybridge and Hyde in Greater Manchester and is originally from Houghton-le-Spring, laments the current state of investment in the UK and blames it on the turmoil in government over the last twelve months.
"The Blyth site for Britishvolt is absolutely perfect. The harbour is excellent and well-maintaned, there's a highly-skilled workforce in the area, and it's well placed for low-cost green energy. If the government can't get investment in a place like this, it raises real questions."
Compared to other countries, the UK is falling behind when it comes to its industrial strategy, according to Reynolds.
"Italy and France are set to create 20,000 more jobs by 2030, while Germany are on track to create 150,000. We need investment to maintain the number of jobs that we currently have or we risk falling behind. To maintain the number of jobs that we currently have in the automotive industry, the UK needs 8-10 gigafactories by the year 2040.
Ian Levy, the Conservative MP for Blyth, whose constituency neighbours the Britishvolt site released a statement in which he broadly echoed the sentiments expressed by Reynolds.
He said: "The UK automotive industry’s need for a battery giga-factory remains and the site on the Blyth Estuary is still the best in the country with a large area, excellent power connectivity, a deep-water port, strong workforce supply and easy access to the national road network."
The collapse of Britishvolt has been blamed on a number of factors including promised investment from the UK Government not materialising, which set off a chain reaction where private investors have then withdrawn their investment bids. The Government's investment was reliant on the company achieving certain conditions, or "milestones".
Read more: Britishvolt reaction: Questions raised about Government investment
The gigafactory's absence may also set off a chain reaction of job losses elsewhere in the North East, with a lithium plant signing a thirty-year lease in the Teesside freeport area before Christmas. The element is a key component of electric vehicle batteries.
Ian Lavery, the Labour MP for Wansbeck - the constituency where the Britishvolt site is located - was excoriating in his criticism of the government in the House of Commons yesterday, saying: "Back in July, Boris Johnson - when he was the Prime Minister - told me that the cheque was in the post to Britishvolt. The reality is they have never received a penny from the government.
"If they are serious about levelling up the North East the government needs to put their money where its mouth is and get behind a gigafactory being built on this site in Cambois."
Even if Britishvolt went ahead, we'd still be far behind international rivals.
— Jonathan Reynolds (@jreynoldsMP) January 17, 2023
Labour will work with businesses to get the eight new gigafactories Britain needs by 2040 to keep the British motor industry driving forward and secure good jobs in Britain for decades to come.
In his interview with the Echo, Jonathan Reynolds told us that "If levelling up means anything, it needs good jobs all over the country.
"It's hard to find any real, tangible evidence of levelling up so far. We need good work and good jobs all over the country. Businesses don't believe the government is reliable in this area. The UK's largest car manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, have yet to announce investment in a gigafactory.
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"When Labour forms the next government we will launch a National Wealth Fund to bring jobs back to our industrial heartlands and secure the future of our world famous automotive industry for decades to come by part-financing the creation of three new, additional gigafactories by 2025."
The failure of the Blyth gigafactory can be put firmly on the government, according to Reynolds.
"This Conservative wanted the credit for the announcement of Britishvolt's Blyth factory, and now they need to take accountability for its failure."
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