Member Article

Teesside MP hopes government's Nissan action is start of Industrial Strategy

Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has praised government action to help secure Nissan’s future in the North East.

The MP ‘warmly welcomed’ a statement from Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark last night.

In his statement Mr Clark confirmed reassurances from government has been instrumental in Nissan’s decision to produce the new Qashqai and the X-Trail SUV ranges in Sunderland.

A consistently vocal critic of the government’s response to the SSI crisis, Blenkinsop said that recent government actions ‘stands in contrast’ with the closure of the SSI in Redcar over a year ago.

During this closure and the wider steel crisis the government have been criticised for their lack of strategy or decisive action.

Blenkinsop revealed: “I have frequently criticised the government’s inaction when it comes to protecting our industries and especially jobs in the North East. However, on Nissan it seems the government has finally got it right.

“The reassurances given by Greg Clark to Nissan relate to access to tariff free trade with European market and it’s not just the car industry that needs that access.

“Over 50% of UK steel exports are to the EU so any post-Brexit tariffs will have a devastating effect. I hope the minister will soon repeat his commitments to Nissan to British steelmakers.

“The government let down thousands of Teessiders when it failed to stop the SSI closure a year ago. I hope this action on Nissan represents a change and the start of an industrial strategy. We will have to see.”