A huge thanks to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for hosting a roundtable meeting of senior leaders in the automotive industries this week. It was a great opportunity to discuss the issues faced by manufacturers looking towards the UK as a location to invest. We discussed the importance of keeping the UK’s automotive industry competitive and how we can do so in the transition to net zero. This will be a vital sector for an incoming Labour government. We would part finance the gigafactories we need to keep cars manufactured in the UK, and work in partnership with business to ensure we create the best environment possible for them to succeed.

There was also a brilliant report this week from Stephen Phipson and Make UK on the importance of the UK returning to industrial strategy. Labour’s industrial strategy will be a key pillar in our mission to have the highest growth in the G7 Labour knows business needs certainty and stability to invest and that’s why we will bring in an Industrial Strategy Council on a statutory footing to enact the strategy in partnership with business.

I’m really looking forward to joining the panel with Juergen Maier for vocL’s next Business Question Time next Tuesday at 5pm to discuss what steps we can take to support responsible business leadership. You can register to join the conversation here: https://bit.ly/41xoOTD