In Stockport to visit KNDS’s factory where I met the highly-skilled fitters and welders making our British Army Boxer armoured infantry vehicles.
“The economy is going gangbusters”. Not my words, or any other Conservative Minister, but a direct quote from the Office of National Statistics. They’ve found that the UK economy grew 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024 – a very healthy performance indeed, and one that I hope will give confidence to businesses and consumers in South Suffolk.
It's worth stressing: these figures mean that the UK outperformed France, Germany and the US. In last week’s edition, the Suffolk Free Press reported about the impact on our local high streets of the ‘recession’. Of course, I entirely recognise we’ve had some really tough years – with crucial external factors of a pandemic followed immediately by a war, and spiralling energy-driven inflation, creating a cost-of-living crunch.
Nevertheless, it underlines why it’s so reassuring to hear of our ‘recession’ being comparatively short and shallow. I was alongside Rishi Sunak when he took over as Chancellor in the pandemic, and he pulled out all the stops – especially furlough – to ensure that the predictions of two million additional unemployed failed to materialise.
Once again, the economy is defying gloomier forecasts. We now have the combination of: wages rising; inflation – including on food - finally stable; taxes cut and the state pension increasing; and in recent weeks, billions of pounds of long-term investment into the UK economy from the likes of Nissan and Google.
Now, I know that our recent £900 cut to National Insurance does not mean the overall tax burden is falling yet; tax allowances have been frozen. But everyone knows that we had to pay for the pandemic and energy support interventions – totalling almost half a trillion pounds. The question is – now that the toughest times have passed, are we doing everything that is possible to get Britain moving forward again?
And this is where we each have to play our part – for businesses to invest; for banks to lend; for those out of work to take the vast array of support on offer to get them back into the workforce; and, yes, for us in positions of responsibility to put our shoulders to the wheel.
For me, in terms of my departmental responsibilities, as Minister for Defence Procurement, it’s about ensuring that the new kit we buy for our armed forces supports UK prosperity as far as possible. So, I was delighted last week to visit the plant at Stockport where we are building our Boxer armoured vehicles from scratch. I had the privilege to not only see the first wholly UK manufactured Boxer rolling off the production line, but to meet the skilled welders and fitters who built this brilliant, highly capable platform - which will be a huge asset to the Army for years to come.
On that note, readers will be aware that the UK has gifted significant armaments to Ukraine, including our AS90 Howitzers – the backbone of our artillery in recent years. I’ve had to take the decision about the long-term replacement for AS90, and one of the reasons I chose something called RCH 155 – a ‘remote controlled howitzer’ – is because it sits on top of the Boxer vehicle, not only making it incredibly mobile, but further driving UK industrial benefit.
Most importantly, there’s my role as your MP and working to boost investment and jobs on our doorstep. On the manufacturing side, it’s been great to be out and about visiting the many local firms that are often relatively unsung, beavering away on our industrial estates – and in particular to see the former Philips Avent plant in Glemsford now producing world class chocolate.
That said, it’s been frustrating in equal measure to see so little progress at Delphi. A number of constituents have written to me about this and regrettably there is no significant update. This is a privately owned entity, and the proprietor has not engaged with or responded to my correspondence, which is disappointing when one considers that the previous owners had apparently credible offers from a company seeking to manufacture electric cars at the site.
Then there’s our myriad of local service sector businesses. I’ve always been clear that a big factor here is encouraging tourism and overnight stays. That’s why I’ve recently launched my ‘reasons to visit’ social media campaign, highlighting the many draws of our locality - starting with £5 off entry to Gainsborough’s House if you travel here by train.
My next one? To promote this weekend’s Hadleigh Show – the best country show on earth, and surely a great way to celebrate all that’s good about the rural economy.
Published in the Suffolk Free Press.
