Starmer calls for ‘renewal’ of North East with plans for thousands of …

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer[1] will use a speech in the North East to call for “renewal” of the region after what he says has been “13 years of Tory decline”.

Sir Keir’s speech to members of the North East Chamber of Commerce will argue that the Government needs to “get the North East building again” but that next week’s King’s Speech outlining Government plans for the next year will instead by a “manifesto for stagnation”. The speech comes as Labour[2] is significantly ahead in opinion polls, with one survey suggesting that the party is on course to win back all of the North East seats it lost at the last General Election and could also take a number of usually safe Conservative constituencies.

Sir Keir will say that he will create a National Wealth Fund to invest in battery gigagfactories, upgraded ports and carbon capture to take advantage of the job opportunities expected in emerging green industries. Plans for a gigafactory at Cambois, in Northumberland[3], that would have created thousands of jobs have stalled after its backers Britishvolt went into administration, blaming in part a failure to secure £100m in Government support for the scheme.

Go here for more political news[5]

He will also signal support for the automotive industry and say Labour will create 65,000 jobs in clean energy, an area where the North East is a key player.

Sir Keir is expected to say: “You need a Government that gets involved, that rolls up its sleeves, that offers the hand of partnership in pursuit of the national interest, with clear fiscal rules - sound and followed rigorously. A British jobs bonus that will attract new investment to our industrial heartlands, relight the fire of renewal in communities like this. And a new national wealth fund that will stand with business.

“Working together to invest in the critical infrastructure the North East desperately needs. The battery gigafactories that will protect electric car-manufacturing in Sunderland[6]. The hydrogen and carbon capture technology that can provide an industrial future for Teesside. And the ports that can finally handle large industrial parts, so the east coast can lead the world in offshore wind.”

Sir Keir’s speech is also expected to call for a new national skills policy and for improved infrastructure, with the delivery of new roads, rail and energy. That last promise comes just a few weeks after the Government’s plans for new road and rail schemes in the North East after the cancellation of the HS2 scheme in the North fell into chaos with a promise to re-open the Leamside rail line through County Durham[7], Sunderland and Gateshead[8] withdrawn after less than 24 hours[9].

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak[10] said his Government remained “ambitious” as he laid out plans for the King’s Speech which is expected to set the tone for a general election next year. The Prime Minister said the speech would focus on measures to “grow the economy, to strengthen society and to keep people safe”.

The King is expected to open the new session of Parliament next Tuesday, the first time he will have done so as monarch. The King’s Speech will set out the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament, but it will also give an indication of Mr Sunak’s priorities ahead of the general election. He is expected to go to the country in 2024, although an election does not have to be held until January 2025.

References

  1. ^ Sir Keir Starmer (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  2. ^ Labour (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  3. ^ Northumberland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  4. ^ council leader's hopes for North East devolution deal (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  5. ^ Go here for more political news (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  6. ^ Sunderland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  7. ^ County Durham (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  8. ^ Gateshead (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  9. ^ withdrawn after less than 24 hours (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
  10. ^ Rishi Sunak (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)

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