Only a national plan of production can save our train production!
Daniel Forrest, Teesside Socialist Party
The Northern Echo painted a grim picture for workers in County Durham this week, reporting that 750 jobs could be at risk at the Hitachi train manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe. Local Conservative politicians hailed the plant’s acquisition of a contract to supply trains for HS2 in 2021 then, three years later, applauded the cancellation of the high-speed rail line, putting the plant in jeopardy.
This comes after the contract to provide new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro was given to a Swiss firm, rather than the Newton Aycliffe factory just a few miles down the road. As one of the last bastions of heavy industry in the North East, it is essential that workers and socialists stand up for local jobs and manufacturing.
The only way to provide a stable, long-term future for the plant is to bring our railways and related manufacturing into public ownership under workers’ control and management. Democratic planning could provide a world-class transport network and maintain and expand good manufacturing jobs for working-class people.
