Intervene now to save jobs and livelihoods
The public health challenge from coronavirus has not gone away and it is rapidly being accompanied by an economic crisis on a scale far beyond that of the financial crash a decade ago.
The news that Rolls-Royce is to make 3000 people redundant in the UK, including 700 people at Inchinnan, is devastating.
Many of my constituents work at the Renfrewshire plant and they are understandably fearful for their futures, especially when unemployment is on the rise and job vacancies are falling to an all-time low.
What worries me most is that Rolls-Royce is considered a symbol of high quality, an icon of Britain’s historic prowess in engineering and manufacturing.
We must do everything that we can to save livelihoods. We cannot have a return to the scenes of the 1980s, where mass deindustralisation saw highly-skilled jobs disappear from communities, never to return.
I am tasked with speaking up for manufacturing on behalf of the SNP in Westminster – an important opportunity to challenge the UK Government to do its best to boost Scottish manufacturing.
They need to do much more to engage with Rolls-Royce to explore all options to avoid mass redundancies.
That should include the option of bespoke financial support for that and other sectors which may take much longer to recover because social distancing.
Our priority should be investment for the sector, not a £900,000 paint job for Boris Johnson’s plane.
The Scottish Government has set up a working group dedicated to finding ways to save jobs at Rolls-Royce Inchinnan, bringing in representatives from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland to ensure that high-skilled manufacturing capacity is retained for the future – really important development that demonstrates how important these roles are for Scotland’s future success as an enterprising nation.
Countries which have taken an activist approach to industrial policy have given themselves a fighting chance of a sustained recovery.
Germany has taken a stake in Lufthansa and France has provided liquidity to Renault, as both companies face slower prospects of recovery from coronavirus.
State intervention now could save thousands of livelihoods and if the UK Government refuses to take that strategic approach, then the Scottish Government should be given the full powers needed to pursue policies which will build a vibrant and resilient economy for the future.