Business secretary Lord Mandelson promised late last week that the government would support the UK automotive industry during the current economic crisis. He also told the Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee that the government was continuing talks with industry representatives over what support the government can give.
As is always the case with politicians like Mandelson, they talk a good game but don’t necessarily want to put their boots on and go play themselves. We have been hearing for several weeks how the government is in talks with the SMMT, car manufacturers and unions representing car workers but the talking is coming up with nothing and as more players are losing staff and money, Mandelson fiddles and keeps talking.
If the US government were prepared to bail out car makers over there to the tune of billions of Dollars even though it is accepted that their working practices are out of date and their major skill seems to be producing awful cars, which are the most eco-unfriendly on the planet and basically hemorrhaging money. How can it be that with world leading efficient factories, state of the art facilities and the best and most skilled production line workers in the world the UK government would rather keep throwing money at the banks and leave the motor industry twisting in the wind?
MTI says; ‘stop talking and start acting’ before it’s too late, or are they just waiting for the best moment politically to take action and how many more jobs will be lost by then?
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