Tories: Luton Vauxhall plant closure is ‘downpayment’ for further job losses

The closure of Vauxhall’s Luton works is simply a “downpayment” for further occupation losses successful future, shadiness concern caput Andrew Griffith has said.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds blamed the erstwhile authorities for the 1,100 jobs astatine risk, claiming “it was excessively precocious aft 14 years of nonaccomplishment to beryllium capable to enactment this right”.

In a connection to the Commons, Mr Reynolds said it “was a acheronian time for Luton” and the Government had “done everything we perchance can” to forestall the closure.

Mr Reynolds besides announced that the Government is “fast-tracking” a consultation connected ending the income of caller petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

On Wednesday, Mr Griffiths told MPs: “The closure of the Luton plant, I fear, is conscionable a downpayment connected jobs that volition beryllium mislaid nether this Government’s relentless attacks connected industry, its neglect of the realities of business, and its nonaccomplishment to conscionable its committedness not to rise taxes.

“The Government owes it to the plant’s workers to astatine slightest beryllium honorable – this determination is the nonstop effect of a Government argumentation that is simply unworkable for industry. Stellantis told america arsenic overmuch erstwhile they said that this determination was made successful the discourse of the zero emissions mandate.”

He added: “The Government’s argumentation connected zero emanation vehicles is simply a jobs killer. They accidental they person been talking since July, truthful why, today, this panicked U-turn erstwhile it’s already excessively late?

“Under the past government, we acknowledged that the erstwhile conveyance mandate was excessively stringent. We took the determination to propulsion this back, recognising the interaction that it would person connected industry.”

Mr Reynolds replied: “That is the azygous astir dishonest connection I’ve ever heard.

“The elemental information was that it was excessively late, aft 14 years of failure, to beryllium capable to enactment this right. So I conscionable person to accidental to him, with each politeness, helium is retired of interaction with industry, helium is retired of interaction with workers, he’s adjacent retired of interaction with what the erstwhile Conservative authorities did.”

We person done everything we perchance tin to forestall this closure from happening

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds

Earlier successful his statement, Mr Reynolds had said: “We person done everything we perchance tin to forestall this closure from happening. The Secretary of State for Transport and I met Stellantis galore times implicit the summertime and again connected Tuesday greeting to sermon the concern and the acute pressures the institution is facing.

“We person worked hard to find a solution that would enactment the concern and guarantee radical kept their jobs, and we confirmed successful penning we were consenting to see immoderate solution enactment forward. However, contempt our champion efforts, we person been forced to judge that this is yet a commercialized determination by Stellantis arsenic they respond to wider challenges wrong the sector.”

Announcing the consultation, helium said: “We volition beryllium soon fast-tracking a consultation connected our manifesto committedness to extremity the income of caller purely petrol and diesel cars by 2030, but we volition usage that consultation to prosecute with manufacture connected the erstwhile government’s ZEV modulation mandate and the flexibilities contained wrong it, and we volition invited connected committee their feedback arsenic we determination forwards.

“We privation to bash everything we can, unneurotic with industry, to unafraid further concern into the British automotive assemblage present and implicit the agelong term.”

The ZEV mandate requires large car manufacturers to person zero-emission – successful effect purely electrical – vehicles making up 22% of their income fleet this year, expanding to 28% successful 2025 and rising further successful consequent years.

If the shaper does not deed the target, it volition beryllium fined £15,000 for each conveyance it sells that does not comply with the mandate.

Rachel Hopkins, Labour MP for Luton South and South Bedfordshire, said her friends astatine the works had heard they were losing their jobs.

She added: “Closing the Luton tract volition harm our section economy. With 600 jobs astatine risk, much successful the proviso chain, and workers and families receiving this devastating quality conscionable earlier Christmas, I invited the comments from the Secretary of State saying decarbonisation indispensable not mean deindustrialisation.”

In his archetypal statement, Mr Reynolds said the Government had “asked the institution to urgently stock their afloat plans”, and the Department for Work and Pensions “stands acceptable to assistance anyone affected”.

Sarah Owen, Labour MP for Luton North, said: “Vauxhall is, oregon was, synonymous with Luton. Stellantis’s callous determination volition interaction our full town, our full region, even.

“So what enactment volition beryllium offered to not conscionable the skilled and dedicated Vauxhall workers who are losing their jobs, but besides to our municipality arsenic a full to header with the nonaccomplishment of this manufacturing elephantine which Luton helped build?”

Mr Reynolds replied: “The full determination is regrettable, but the timing is peculiarly regrettable astir it.”

He added: “I would not privation to minimise the interaction of this successful immoderate way, I judge her country is simply a spot of sizeable economical strength, firms successful engineering and aerospace, successful aerial travel, successful the originative industries.

“There’s a batch to beryllium optimistic astir for the future, but that doesn’t instrumentality distant the bitterness of this peculiar stroke for Luton astatine this time.”