Giant’s warning should set alarm bells ringing, says MP
Nissan’s warning about the ‘serious implications’ of a botched Brexit should set alarm bells ringing, says a Sunderland MP.
Bridget Phillipson, the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, is a leading supporter for the People’s Vote, to let the public have their say on whatever deal is on the table before Britain leaves the EU.
Nissan warned that a Brexit that does not include a trade deal will have ‘serious implications’ for the carmaker’s Sunderland factory.
The Japanese firm employs about 8,000 people in the UK, and it said crashing out of the EU’s single market and customs union into World Trading Organisation (WTO) rules would be detrimental to its operation.
Ms Phillipson said: “These latest warnings from Nissan will set alarm bells ringing across the North East.
“If the botched Brexit that’s being pushed by the Government leads to lost manufacturing jobs in my region or in other parts of the UK, it will not be forgiven or forgotten.
“The Government cannot continue to play politics with people’s jobs and livelihoods.
“No one voted for a Brexit deal that decimates our highly-skilled automotive sector, or manufacturing industries.
“Warnings like these from major employers like Nissan only strengthen the case for a People’s Vote at the end of the Brexit process.”
Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott added: “”I’m not surprised that there are announcements. With Nissan, what is needed is certainty about the future of the conditions that they will be operating in.”