Scale of job losses is revealed in party study

MORE than 230,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost across the UK since 2015, according to research by the Labour Party.

More than 45,000 of the lost jobs were those of young workers aged 16 to 24 in areas including the West Midlands, the North East and North West.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work, said: “Manufacturing provides not just jobs but good jobs, the kind of job you can raise a family on.

“Yet over the last decade, the Conservatives have trashed the proud manufacturing tradition of this country, leaving the workers who built this country with only the crumbs from the table.

“Under this Government, the people who worked to build this country have been forgotten - in towns up and down this country, people are working harder, paying more but getting less every year.”

She added: “As we recover from the pandemic we have a chance to seize new opportunities and shape a new future for Britain, opportunities to give people new skills and jobs here in the UK, to invest in local businesses and to help our high streets thrive again.

“From good green jobs in renewable energy to manufacturing jobs, we must grow modern industries to build a long-term economy.”

Ms Rayner added: “We need to see a proper Procurement Bill which pledges to use Government buying power to support British businesses so we make, buy and sell more in Britain.”