Prime Minister's jobs message for Coventry as he says government 'is driving important change'

Investment in the UK must be measured in “secure jobs in places like Coventry,” the Prime Minister has said on a visit to the city. Keir Starmer spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) while on a visit to University Hospital in Walsgrave.

It follows a £2 billion boost for the car industry over the next five years in the government’s latest budget, including support for zero emissions vehicles. His comments also come months after he visited the city as leader of the opposition.

On that visit he praised Coventry as an “amazing city” but one that is being “held back” – with too much poverty and not enough government support. Speaking yesterday about the support for electric cars, Starmer told the LDRS moving to electric vehicles is “an important part” of the government’s goal of clean power by 2030.

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He added: “What I would say to people in Coventry is, what we’re doing with the mission-led government, what we’re doing with clean power, is driving a really important change that will bring about lower bills, more stability but also jobs with it. And the important thing about the jobs is working with our local Mayors as the Chancellor says to make sure the jobs are in all places across the United Kingdom including in Coventry.”

He also stressed that what the government is doing with the budget is “creating the conditions for inward investment.” He cited a summit two weeks ago where £63 billion of this investment was “signed and agreed.

He added: “That will be all sorts of really important jobs in places like Coventry across the country. So this, we are measuring our success by good, well-paid, secure jobs everywhere in the United Kingdom.”

Asked what else is on the way for Coventry and what the other jobs are he is referring to, he said: “If you look at what we’re trying to do with our town centres there’s a huge amount of change there that’s being driven by the budget and by the politics to make sure that we’ve got thriving high streets which then attract businesses.

“There’s a lot of measures in the budget yesterday for small businesses and people who are starting up et cetera. But also the absolute focus we’ve got for inward investment, that it must be measured in secure jobs in places like Coventry. That’s as it were the framework for the discussions that we’re having.”