The autumn statement, the first budget of Labour’s premiership is next week (October 30), and the future of Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe still hangs in the balance seven months after bosses admitted they were at “crisis point” due to an impending production gap.
Earlier this year, The Northern Echo urged the then Conservative administration to step in and help Hitachi by extending a vital contract to secure the future of its Newton Aycliffe plant.
Business leaders, unions and politicians backed the call, as hundreds of jobs are at risk with the company’s order books running dry.
In the lead up to this summer’s General Election, current Transport Secretary Louise Haigh wrote in The Northern Echo just days after the ‘Keep Hitachi on Track’ campaign was launched that the factory’s future could be sealed “with the stroke of a pen” if Labour came to power, whilst Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to start work saving Hitachi ‘on day one’ of a new Labour government.
But three-and-a-half months on from Labour’s landslide win, an agreement is still to be reached, with politicians and officials maintaining they are “working at pace” to safeguard the 750 jobs at the site and discussions are ongoing.
Today, the Echo is urging the Prime Minister to stick to the promise he made to Hitachi workers in the run up to the election, and calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to use next week’s Budget as an opportunity to secure the firm’s long-term future.
Alan Strickland. MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, said the future of the Hitachi, which employs around 700 workers in Newton Aycliffe, with many more in the supply chain relying on the factory for work, remains his ‘number one priority’.
He said: “Tory dither and delay left the 700 jobs at the factory at risk.
“I’ve been working at pace to secure these fantastic local jobs. Since the election, I’ve held meetings with ministers and Hitachi, the latest of which was just this week in Parliament.
“I’m really pleased that the Department of Transport and Hitachi continue to be in active and constructive negotiations to find a solution to the production issue.”
Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen described the situation as ‘incredibly serious’ and said Mr Starmer ‘made a promise he must keep’.
Mr Houchen said: “This is incredibly serious. It has about 750 local jobs which impacts hard-working families, and the Government made a promise that it must keep.
“I warned repeatedly, at the time, that the decision taken by the Labour North East Councils to outsource the Metro contracts to Switzerland, instead of staying local with Hitachi, was ludicrous, and it gives me no pleasure to have been proven right.
“It is my hope, that alongside the more sensible leadership we are seeing from Kim McGuinness in the North East, the government can stay true to its word and sort this hugely pressing issue out and quickly provide certainty.
“There can be no backsliding, they gave the workers at Hitachi their word and they must make good on this.”
Ms McGuinness said: “I’m in close and regular contact with Hitachi and Government ministers, including the Transport Secretary and the Chancellor, to secure the future of Hitachi.
“We are working hard to agree a way forward which keeps skilled manufacturing jobs and the rail industry here in the North East, and ensures they are put on a strong footing for the long-term.
“When we’re looking to grow the North East economy and UK PLC, having a strong manufacturing base in the region is vital to our prosperity and security as a region and a nation.
“Hitachi remains one of my top priorities as Mayor and I will continue to fight for the North East’s jobs and industry.”
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “I am absolutely committed to protecting rail manufacturing in the UK and developing a long term strategy to secure the industry’s future.
“Unlike the Conservatives, this Labour Government won’t sit on our hands. We are working at pace with Hitachi to safeguard jobs and the future of the site at Newton Aycliffe.
“And we’ll put an end to the boom and bust cycle in rail manufacturing – delivering a new dawn for the sector.”
Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, added: “We are very grateful to the Northern Echo and its Keep Hitachi on Track campaign for keeping this subject, which is of both local and regional importance, firmly in the public eye.
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“Following the change in government, we continue to seek out opportunities to lobby to help keep Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe open and to retain these highly skilled jobs in County Durham.
“We work closely with MPs and our other partners in recognition of the importance of the site to local people, through the employment opportunities it creates, and also the contribution it makes to our economy at both county and regional level.
“Hitachi’s County Durham site is also a key player in the transport industry nationally, as evidenced by its building of Azuma trains with Japanese bullet technology, and we urge the government to pull out all the stops to help keep it open.”