Ed Miliband's keynote address at the SMMT summit

Ed Miliband MP, Labour's Shadow Business Secretary, in his keynote address at today's SMMT summit, said:

Can I start by saying what a privilege it is to be at the SMMT conference today.

Because our car industry makes a huge contribution to our country in value added, exports and in jobs; 180,000 people employed directly in manufacturing and over 800,000 across the wider industry

As Shadow Business Secretary, it is an honour to see first-hand the difference you make to communities across the country.

Recently I was at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, somewhere I have been many times before, seeing the incredible work it does as a hub for research, collaboration and scientific advance.

I see this event today as an opportunity to rightly celebrate the industry but also as a call to arms, and that is clear from the document the SMMT has published today.

We are at a crucial point in the future of the car industry.

The industry faces the challenges of navigating the fall out of Covid, which we know has been an incredibly tough period and the UK’s post-Brexit trading relationship with the world.

But far greater even than both of these challenges as you know better than me, is the climate transition, which as you say in your document, involves the biggest change for the industry since its creation.

I believe this is a massive opportunity for our industry where it can build on our global leadership and we can do even better, employing more people at good wages and contribute to tackling the greatest long-term challenge our country faces

But to make it the success it can be, we need a clear plan with public and private working together, and that’s what I want to talk about today.

My approach is that political parties should seek to agree and work together wherever we can, to give you the long-term framework you need, so let me start with a point of consensus with government

It is right to be ambitious on the phase out of petrol and diesel vehicles, the 2030 date.

We called on government to do this.

It is right to lead by example and vital for the climate transition.

But my central message to you today is that high ambition must be matched by high support from government for the industry, consumers and workers to navigate this transition successfully.

What will cause real risks for our country and our industry is if we lead the pack in ambition, but lag behind in government providing the means to make it a success.

First, the global race for the manufacture of EVs.

Domestic battery production is absolutely key to securing the future of the industry.

That’s why British Volt’s plans are very welcome, and we hope for further announcements from other companies.

If we get this right, we can build on our great export success.

But if we really want to win the race on EV production, I strongly believe that Government needs to step up far more actively.

The Faraday Institution has said that the UK will need not just one or two but up to seven gigafactories by 2040.

I look at what governments in Germany, France, China and the US are doing and you can see that the global race for gigafactories is well and truly on.

And it is particularly pressing for us in the UK because of the rules of origin that will be in place by 2027.

We welcome the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

But in my view we should be willing to go further.

The £400m to support battery manufacturing is a start, but not enough.

That’s why we have said that the government should commit to helping to finance the creation of three new, additional gigafactories and their associated supply chain by 2025 with an investment of up to £1.5bn.

This investment would signal the UK’s commitment to the industry and demonstrate that Government recognises the urgency of acting now.

Second, I want to talk about the role of the consumer.

It’s good news that 1 in 10 registrations were electric in 2020, but the vast majority were business or fleet purchases.

Just 4.6% of consumer vehicles sold were electric

The Climate Change Committee tells us that for a smooth transition to 2030, 48% of new sales need to be electric by 2025.

To reach that level of sales, EVs must be affordable for middle- and lower-income consumers not just high-income ones.

For the minicab driver who relies on their car for work and is thinking the price of an electric car is simply out of their reach.

For the commuter who relies on their car but is also worried about being priced out.

Again I think that Government can and should do more to step up and help.

It should not be cutting the plug-in grant.

Indeed, I think we should go further to help consumers. That is why we have suggested a long-term interest-free loan scheme for new and second hand EVs to meet the up-front cost problem head on.

There may be other ways too to make a difference but the key point is the government cannot just step aside because this risks EVs being out of reach for too many.

So too for the consumer we must get the charging infrastructure right.

As someone who has been running an electric car for a couple of months, it has been a deeply informative research exercise around the charging points of Britain.

From Hereford to Loughborough, my family has spent time at a number of charging points.

Someone in the industry said to me he had ‘5 apps. 4 RFID cards and 2 dongles’ to try and cope with the charging infrastructure.

I must say when I get to a charging point I have found it by and large a reasonable experience but there is clearly a need for a transformation in the access and reliability in the years ahead.

We are currently at just over 20,000 public charging points when you say in your document we need over 2 million by 2030.

The latest official figures show you are currently four times more likely to find a charging point in London than Yorkshire.

That’s why we have said that our National Infrastructure Bank should have a central role in delivering the charging points that we need, particularly to under-served areas.

Third, I want to say something on the role of workers.

Right across industry, it is essential that the needs and demands of our workforce are at the heart of the climate transition.

Nowhere is this more true than in the automotive sector.

The Faraday Institution’s optimistic scenario points to the possibility of 78,000 new jobs created in gigafactories and the supply chain.

To make that happen we need the investment, we need the support for consumers, but we also need to get the training and support for workers right.

I know from many conversations with the industry about your concerns about recruiting new workers with the right skills and the need for existing workers to gain new competencies.

Again we need a much clearer plan of government working together with industry on skills.

And in particular, there needs to be reform of the Apprenticeship Levy so it can help meet the training needs you face, something again you call for today.

Let me say in conclusion: when it comes to funding gigafactories, to bringing consumers with us, to our workforce needs, this can all be done if public and private work together.

The opportunities are incredibly exciting and we have a brilliant industry which can put us in a position to win the global race.

But we should be under no illusions, the climate transition represents a massive transformation for our country.

The biggest lesson of history is that industrial transitions need to be managed by government setting a clear direction and plan if they are to be fair and work for our country.

That is the urgent task we face.

This is where government needs to step up.

With a clear plan that has the voice of the car industry at its heart.

I know we can succeed.

I look forward to working with you to make it happen.