BRIGHTON -- Britain's opposition Labour Party has drawn up a multi-billion-pound package to boost development of electric cars and battery technology, promising to create tens of thousands of jobs and safeguard the automotive industry.
Labour is hoping to win power from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party at an expected early election, capitalizing on the political unrest caused by the country's divisive exit from the European Union.
The Labour Party is using its annual conference in the English resort of Brighton to lay out plans to transform the British economy, promoting higher government spending and a large public investment program.
The party plans to invest 3 billion pounds ($3.73 billion) with automakers in return for a stake in their companies if they use the money to develop new electric car models and technology.
It also promises more than 2 billion pounds to help finance half the cost of building three new battery factories - a leading part of the growing EV industry. The ‘gigafactories’ will be located in South Wales, Stoke and Swindon, potentially on the site of Honda's plant, which the automaker is closing.
"The automotive sector is one of the UK's industrial success stories. However, the sector is under siege from Brexit uncertainty and the government's lack of ambition on electrification," Labour's business policy chief Rebecca Long-Bailey said in a statement.
"If we want our automotive sector to flourish, we need a government who is not afraid to intervene."
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
