A Cumbrian MP said he was committed to fighting for the right opportunities for people in the area after the High Court quashed the decision to allow an offshore coal mine to go ahead.
Josh MacAlister, MP for Whitehaven & Workington, said he was sceptical about the plans from West Cumbria Mining and its jobs wouldn’t have lasted.
“The High Court’s finding that the decision by the previous Tory government on the coal mine was legally flawed comes as a surprise to no one.
“The Tories knew it themselves, which is why they were against it before they were for it. They made a cynical political decision to back it, not one based on a sound proposition or any care for our community.
“I was clear about my view on the coal mine before the election and it hasn’t changed since then. I’ve always been sceptical about whether the business case stacked up for a product that there is no domestic market for now the Tories have shut down the blast furnaces and with them our virgin steel-making capability.
“The jobs the mine promised to create would be wholly reliant on a volatile global export market in which prices for coking coal are trending downwards. They wouldn’t have lasted and then local families would have been let down again.
“I want our area to have well-paid, high quality, long-term jobs in the industries of the future, not the past. That’s how we diversify, strengthen and grow West Cumbria’s economy in a meaningful and lasting way.
“That’s why I published my own industrial plan for West Cumbria before the election and why I’ve been working flat out since being elected as your MP to fight for those opportunities to come to our area – new nuclear, renewable energy projects, a major expansion of the Port of Workington to attract new industrial and advanced manufacturing jobs. That’s where our future lies.
“The election was a chance to turn the page on the cynical and short-termist approach adopted by the Tories, offering our area scraps off the table that they knew wouldn’t come to fruition.
“People voted for change and a government committed to creating a stable economy and long-term growth. That’s what I’ll continue to work to deliver for the people of West Cumbria.”
