Two pieces of good news for the British auto industry have come in quick succession in a week. In Sunderland (north-east of England), Nissan and its Chinese partner Envision announced, Thursday 1er July, an investment of 1 billion pounds (1.2 billion euros) for the expansion of a battery factory and the manufacture of electric cars. Near Liverpool (north-west of England), after having hesitated to close it, Stellantis decided, Tuesday, July 6, to maintain its Vauxhall factory, with the construction of electric vans from 2022. Amount of the investment: 100 million pounds.
In both cases, the British state was in the driver’s seat. The amounts are secret, but, according to the British press, the government is providing 100 million pounds directly for Nissan, and almost double when including the involvement of local authorities. In the second case, it would be 30 million pounds of public money. In total, between 15% and 30% of the investment will be provided by the public authority. “I think that Nissan would not have invested without the support of the State”, said James Ramsbotham, director of the North East England Chamber of Commerce, who has closely followed the case.
In the country of Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), this kind of aid represents a profound break with the doctrine of non-intervention of the State in the economy. It can also seem counter-intuitive at the start of Brexit. Leaving the European Union (EU) was initially dreamed of by a small group of ultraliberal deputies, who wanted to break down European regulations deemed too rigid. Under the leadership of the British Prime Minister, the opposite is happening.
“Boris Johnson likes to spend”
“Despite being a member of the Conservative Party, Boris Johnson campaigned against the nine years of austerity that preceded him, analysis Jill Rutter of The Institute for Government think tank. He’s someone who likes to spend, who loves big infrastructure projects, and whose promise to rebalance the country [entre le Sud riche et le Nord pauvre] requires many interventions in the economy. “
Even in finance, the big bonfire of regulations, promised by some “brexiters”, is far from materializing. “The idea of a ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ has never existed except in the imagination of a few fervent ‘Brexiters’, some of whom have indeed been close to power at times, explains William Wright of the New Financial think tank. But that has never been official government policy. “
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