Investment in U.K.

Netflix has signed a deal to rent a 3/rd of the studio space at Pinewood studios to have a hand in producing more British made tv productions.

This is very good news, what they were saying on the news is the next thing we need to do is to produce the batteries in the U.K. too.
It would be good if Government could see this as an opportunity to invest in manufacturing in the U.K.

Crossed post with TerriBull batteries for the cars obv!

Good news for the car industry; let us hope the unions do not ruin it as they did in the 1970s.

Mrs T silenced the unions when she was in power. The only time they'll rear their heads is if Corbyn gets to No.10.

All this good news in spite of the uncertainty over Brexit, well I never!

We could do with having better run unions more focussed on helping members and less on strutting the national political stage.

It is too easy to just connect the unions with striking and the bits that get into the media but I was very glad of the support of my union when I was being bullied and undermined in my work by an incompetent manager and I was not alone. The bullying power of a large employer over its labour force should not be underestimated.

Quite so MOnica People getting together to support each other (in other words a union) should be celebrated not feared.

Ilovecheese

' It would be good if Government could see this as an opportunity to invest in manufacturing in the U.K.'
--

The government has seen an opportunity alongside other companies /institutions.

epsrc.ukri.org/newsevents/news/faradayinstitution/

" The Faraday Institution, a new, multi-million pound research institute was announced yesterday (Monday 02 October 2017), by Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It will drive and accelerate fundamental research in developing battery technologies, and its translation.

The Institution will be the UK's independent, national institute for battery research. Funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the government's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), the Faraday Institution is part of the coordinated activity between Innovate UK, EPSRC and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to meet the Faraday Battery Challenge, announced by the government in July, of delivering an integrated programme of research, innovation and the scale-up of novel battery technologies.

The Institution will have a budget of £65 million over four years. This will be used to set up the Institution, to establish a battery technology training programme, and to fund a series of research challenge projects carried out in the academic sector under the Faraday Institution's direction.

The research institute will draw upon academic expertise in universities across the UK to deliver a research and training programme that is designed in conjunction with industry to keep the UK at the forefront of novel battery technologies.

Announcing this major investment in the UK's research base Mr Clark said: Through the Faraday Research Challenge we are cementing our position as the 'go-to' destination for battery technology so we can exploit the global transition to a low carbon economy.

The institute will have a critical role in fostering innovative research collaboration between our world-leading universities and world-beating businesses to make this technology more accessible and more affordable.

We have huge expertise in this area already and the collaboration between our seven founding universities provides a truly unique opportunity for us to bring together our expertise and an effort in this area behind a common set of strategic goals to ensure the UK exploits the jobs and business opportunities.

The ambition of the programme is to make the UK the go-to place for the research, development, manufacture and production of new battery technologies for both the automotive and the wider relevant sectors. To research, innovate and scale up."

www.gov.uk/government/news/green-light-for-investment-in-electric-car-battery-development

That's good Pogs

You’re right M0nica - without the unions there would be no support in the workplace. We shouldn’t see them in such a negative way. I have always joined a union and over a really bad patch, thank goodness I did.

What a pity we have had a large (relative to last 2 years) drop in sales of these greener cars after the premature withdrawal of subsidies for electric cars.
Plug-in car grant gone.
Hybrid car scheme went last year.
... a bit like the renewable energy subsidy, just when it starts to become a possibility for more people, the help is removed.

quizqueen well said. Great to read the news that there are UK companies that still see UK as having a place in the world.

There aren't enough charging stations for electric cars nor are the batteries good enough for long journeys.
Maybe (in future) the main highways will be kitted out with more charging points but you're going to have to have a map of every station on every route you travel, so no suddenly deciding to go down that leafy lane to explore local villages etc unless you have a full enough charge to get you there and back.
Electricity is by far the most expensive energy. I dread to think what the cost will be to run an electric car.

I wonder how many of our MP's have offshore bank accounts ?? Especially the odd" tax-dodging "ones in Switzerland.

It is brilliant news. I have an electric car, a Leaf, it adds £25 to my fuel bill each month, my electricity is provided by Ecotricity, also have solar and pv panels. The dashboard display tells you where the charging places are. Progress needs making in range. Can we have some informed facts please.
Fed up with union bashing, as a Union member of a profession for 30 plus years, let us get up to date with our ideas and not hark back to the 70s. Who informs your knowledge, which media and family sources do you rely on, perhaps not your own and if anyone says the Daily Hatemail, I rest my case

I have a Toyota Hybrid, which makes its own electricity and does not need plugging in. It is more economical to run than my old non-hybrid car.

By the way, I was a union rep for Unison when I worked.

West Midlands - Castle Bromwich and also Wolverhampton. Both areas that need a boost. Brilliant news .

Their intention is to make the East Midlands a "Power House" in the electric car industry.

Erm...I think you'll find Castle Bromwich is in the West Midlands.

Crossed posts, Patticake.

Union supporting posts outnumber the one expressing doubts, though hardly union bashing.

I was told recently by a reliable source that the amount of energy required to build a new electric car is the equivalent of driving the average petrol car 100,000 miles.

I have had my current car, which I bought second hand for 12 years and have driven it 80,000 miles, so that is still more energy efficient to keep it than sell it and buy an electric car.

Motorway service stations have several charging points for electric cars.

It is good news about the new jobs but 2,500 doesn't compare with the thousands of job losses announced over the last few months. Perhaps JLR are betting on the UK not leaving the EU!