PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Manufacturing: West Midlands - 13 March 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

It was a good night for Villa fans last night, so I congratulate anyone in the west midlands who supports the club, as my husband does.

The west midlands, in many ways, leads the country on manufacturing, and it has one of the UK’s largest specialist workforces. Whether in automotive, aerospace or the rail supply chain, it is an incredibly important area. We have invested in the west midlands investment zone—Made Smarter, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult; it is all there—but we want to keep breaking down barriers to growth in the area, which is why advanced manufacturing is such a key part of the industrial strategy that we will announce soon.

In Telford and the wider west midlands, we have a strong and proud British manufacturing base, as the Minister has just outlined. One of the biggest challenges that I hear from businesses is the uneven playing field between us and the rest of the world on pay rates and regulation. Clearly, no one wants a race to the bottom, so will the Government back British business to ensure that we sell more, make more and do that in the west midlands and in Telford in particular?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; we do not want a race to the bottom. Advanced manufacturing jobs in the west midlands are well paid for a reason: there is a very highly skilled workforce and we want to protect and grow that. He is right that there is more that we can do. Some £2 billion was set aside in the Budget for the automative sector and just shy of £1 billion for aerospace. That will help; however, we can further reduce the barriers, whether around regulation, planning or trading and export, and we are working as fast as we can to do just that.

In Staffordshire and the west midlands, we are the only part of the country that is a net exporter of manufactured goods. The threat from Trump on tariffs could have a significant impact on manufacturers right across Staffordshire and the west midlands. What action are the Government taking to ensure that we will continue to export our world-leading products?

The right hon. Gentleman is right that the west midlands is a big exporter to many different countries, including the US and others. Of course, we will keep talking with the US, as the Secretary of State has been doing, and will ensure that we are standing up for British industry and doing the right thing.