AN MP has called on the government to help ensure the region becomes an automative ‘world leader’ through green technology, Jaguar Land Rover and other enterprise.
Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, called on ministers in the Commons to “harness the skills and industry we have in Coventry to once again make the city a world-leader in the automotive industry, but now building the electric cars of the future.”
Ms Sultana was speaking during a debate on the Finance Bill in the House of Commons.
Having highlighted the recent jobs losses announced at Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover and elsewhere, Ms Sultana warned that “we stand on the verge of an economic and social calamity.”
To avoid this, she called on the government to introduce a ‘bold and ambitious Green New Deal’ to ‘hardwire lasting change in our society’.
Her call follows the Prime Minister announcing a ‘New Deal” on Tuesday June 30.
Ms Sultana slammed his proposals as a “drop in the ocean”, noting that the cost of two aircraft carriers was greater than the money announced by the Prime Minister.
She said it was “no time for the government to sit on the sidelines or to try to go back to the old normal.”
She also called for a “New Deal for our key workers”, saying “they kept society running through this crisis. Now it’s time to run the economy for them. So let’s give them a New Deal with the pay rise they deserve”.
Ms Sultana concluded: “And with this New Deal, let’s ask the super-rich and the big corporations to pay their fair share. So no more bailouts for companies registered in tax havens. No more tax dodging or corporate excess.”
