Labour Party pledges £2bn for gigafactories

Labour plan to back electric vehicle manufacturing if they win the next General Election with an investment of £2 billion to part-finance the creation of eight new additional gigafactories in the West Midlands, the North East, the North West, and the South West.

The party says the new battery plants will support £30bn in growth in the UK and power over 1.8m cars.

On a visit to Warwick Manufacturing Group, which invests in skills and innovation in the EV industry, the party called on the Conservatives to back Labour’s plan on gigafactories and charging infrastructure, as the United States and Europe surge ahead with investment to secure the jobs of the future.

Louise Haigh, Ed Miliband and Jonathan Reynolds – Labour’s Transport, Net Zero and Business chiefs – will warn that, under the Conservatives, the UK risks “losing the race to build the electric vehicle revolution here in Britain” as leading manufacturer, JLR, reportedly warn they may locate battery production in Spain without support for capacity in the UK and the Chief Executive of Make UK warned that due to government’s lack of strategy the industry “is in the last chance saloon”.

And new research by Labour shows the UK will have one-tenth of the battery capacity of Germany by 2025, and one-thirtieth of the United States.

To support the manufacturing of electric vehicles and £30bn of growth Labour will: 

• £2bn to part-finance the creation of eight new, additional gigafactories in the West Midlands, the North East, the North West, and the South West as part of the party’s ambitious Green Prosperity Pledge.
• Accelerate the roll-out of public charging points to make it easier to own an electric car wherever you live, with binding targets.
• Make the UK a clean-energy superpower by 2030 with net-zero carbon electricity, lowering UK electricity costs – a key barrier to UK car industry competitiveness.

Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP, said: “Our world-class car industry can lead the way, but under the Conservative’s we are losing the race to build the electric vehicle revolution here in Britain.

“Labour will turbocharge electric vehicle manufacturing and bring good jobs back to Britain’s industrial heartlands. We will invest in eight new battery plants, and lower sky-high electric costs hampering British industry with our plans for zero-carbon power. And we will accelerate the roll-out of charging points, to give motorists confidence to make the switch.

“Labour’s vision is clear – instead of shipping jobs overseas as we have done for decades, we want to win the race for the industries of the future, and create good jobs here in Britain.”

Australian company Recharge Industries recently completed the acquisition of battery firm Britishvolt.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.