The announcement this week by Rolls-Royce who potentially has to cut 9,000 from its global workforce of 52,000 is a significant blow to British manufacturing.
The cuts will predominantly affect its civil aerospace business, which has its base in the UK. Adapting to the challenges the current crisis has created, means now more than ever before UK manufacturing must adapt and diversify. Last year the government announced it will be investing up to £18 million to support a consortium led by Rolls-Royce to design a first-of-a-kind Small Modular Reactor (SMR).
Trudy Harrison MP, who will be returning to Parliament on June 2nd to meet with Ministers into order prioritise the new nuclear agenda, is pushing the case to support the manufacture of an innovative new reactor, with the Moorside site earmarked as the prime location for nuclear development.
Mrs Harrison said: “The need to deal with an energy and climate crisis, coupled with the urgency of levelling up surely necessitate a wholescale prioritisation of new nuclear. During my many recent meetings with industry and community leaders, including Rolls-Royce and EDF and Copeland businesses we are all agreed on the siting benefits around Sellafield.
“ I shall return to Parliament on 2nd June to renew my determination to secure progress and urge all those in agreement join with me. Now, more than ever before, we must take control of British manufacturing, secure the highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships and bring forward the nuclear renaissance I called upon the Prime Minister to support”.
Mrs Harrison is a strong advocate for nuclear energy having worked at Sellafield and continuously raised the profile of the industry in Parliament and across the UK. The Copeland MP who also sits as Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Nuclear Energy has been in regular discussions with Copeland Borough Council and EDF Energy on the creation of a nuclear prospectus for Copeland.
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson pledged his support for a “nuclear renaissance”, with a new Government Energy White Paper set to be published soon.
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