This morning SMMT hosted a breakfast event at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester which focused on the need for an industrial strategy to boost UK competitiveness.
SMMT representatives met Labour MPs, MEPs and policy advisors, including Rt Hon John Denham MP, Rt Hon John Spellar MP, Richard Burden MP, Adrian Bailey MP and Ian Lucas MP. Representatives from Unite the Union also joined the roundtable, offering valuable contributions to the discussions.
Iain Wright MP, Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, was the keynote speaker, discussing Labour’s perspective on industrial strategy. Mr Wright spoke of the world-class goods and services produced by the automotive industry in the UK, reiterating strong support for an active industrial strategy. He stressed the importance of collaboration between industry, government and Parliament as well as the need for certainty and stability in policy making for long- term investment decisions.
SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt opened the breakfast and welcomed guests. He spoke on behalf of the sector, outlining SMMT’s industrial strategy paper that was used to focus discussion on government-led policies to ensure continued investment in the manufacturing industries.
Today’s Labour breakfast is the second of three Party Conference fringe events being hosted by SMMT over the next few weeks, as the industry body continues its high-level engagement with key politicians and stakeholders. Click through to find out more about discussions held the Liberal Democrat breakfast event last week.
