Honda: Rachel Reeves, BEIS Committee Chair comment

On news that Honda is set to announce the closure of its Swindon car plant, Rachel Reeves MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee said:

“This is devastating for Swindon, for jobs, for the supply-chain, and for the UK’s car industry.  The threat of Brexit is already having a damaging impact on investment decisions in the UK.

The PM now needs to rule out no deal immediately and keep us in the single market and customs union rather than risk further fatal damage to our car industry. Japan and the EU have a free-trade agreement, guaranteeing tariff free access. It would be an act of folly to toss that away, along with friction-free access to the EU market, in the forlorn hope that we could negotiate a better deal.”