After two long years of campaigning for the future of Hitachi trains in Newton Aycliffe, I was delighted to welcome back Keir Starmer to announce a crucial £500 million deal.
After jobs were threatened by Tory dither and delay, this saves the factory and protects hundreds of jobs at the site. This landmark agreement is the culmination of years of dedicated lobbying, both as a parliamentary candidate and now as your Member of Parliament. Ensuring this outcome has been my top priority and I have raised it at every opportunity in the House of Commons and in discussions with ministers. I’m proud of my fellow North East Labour MPs and North East Mayor Kim McGuinness who’ve joined my campaign and advocated strongly for the plant in Newton Aycliffe. This victory is vital for our town, our local community and our economy.
Hitachi is a good employer, hiring hundreds of local residents and trains staff up to be highly skilled engineers. It makes world-class products and is exactly the sort of firm we want to keep and see grow.
The problem was that while the factory has a strong order book now and in the future, the previous government procured new trains in a way that left an unsustainable gap in orders. This problem also hit other train factories in the UK. Despite the Rail Industry Association warning about this looming crisis for years, the last government did nothing.
When I first brought Keir Starmer to the Newton Aycliffe site, he committed to pulling out all the stops to help tackle the production gap and build a sustainable future for the plant. Keir kept his word. On Friday, I joined him and the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, as he announced the deal to save the factory and secure hundreds of jobs.
The agreement was reached between Hitachi, Angel, and First Group, for 14 new trains, totalling 70 new carriages. The Department for Transport played a crucial role in the negotiations and established the conditions necessary for the deal’s success. This highlights the impact of having a proactive Labour MP and a Labour government.
My work doesn’t end there. The government and Hitachi are still involved in active negotiations about a number of other options and I will continue to advocate for the factory and its employees. This facility is vital not only for our town but also for the broader UK rail manufacturing industry. The government has an ambitious rail strategy that includes public ownership, and I am working to ensure world class manufacturers like Hitachi are a key component of it.
I’m really glad that we were able to make this announcement before Christmas. While there’s still work to do, I know from speaking to factory workers with Keir that this announcement has brought significant relief.
And, as this is the last Newton News edition before Christmas, please can I wish you and your family all the very best for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My office will be open over the Christmas period, so, if there is anything you need my help with, please do get in touch.