Inward investment to create new jobs has fallen off a cliff - Gardiner

Barry Gardiner MP, Shadow International Trade Secretary, commenting on today’s inward investment statistics¹ from the Department for International Trade, said:

“These figures are extraordinarily bad. Inward investment to create new jobs has fallen off a cliff-edge. The government’s Brexit chaos and lack of clarity for business means investors have simply decided not to put their money into the UK – as highlighted by the recent EY UK Attractiveness Survey.

“The Secretary of State has presided over a massive drop in investment projects and new job creation. The number of jobs saved through investment has fallen by nearly 80 per cent and the number of FDI projects has dropped sharply.

“The Tory leadership candidates must listen to businesses and stop their dangerous and damaging threats to take our country out of Europe without a deal immediately.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. Today’s Inward Investments statistics release from the Department for International Trade shows:

*Involved refers to those FDI projects in which the Department for International Trade has played a direct role in facilitating the project.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/department-for-international-trade-inward-investment-results-2018-to-2019

1. Jobs saved through investment has fallen by from 28,000 in 2016 to just 6,000 in 2019, which equates to nearly an 80% drop. 
2. The EY UK Attractiveness Survey 2019 shows that: 

“Asian investors have exhibited the most negative response to the referendum result, with 13% having reduced their investment  and 14% having put activity on hold. North American investors have been the most likely to increase investment, with 9% doing so, while 17% of  Western Europeans have paused investment and 6% have cancelled projects since 2016”.

Source: https://www.ey.com/uk/en/issues/business-environment/ey-uk-attractiveness-survey