AstraZeneca has said that Labour has failed to match the Conservatives offer for support and has cancelled a planned £450 million investment for a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside.
Labour has reversed the previous Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s announcement made in March 2024 to support AstraZeneca which would have seen the pharmaceutical giant expand their existing site in Speke.
The Tory government announced last year they said the investment would boost Britain’s life sciences sector and would provide better health protection for people in the UK to be prepared for another pandemic.
A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said, “Following discussions with the current Government, we are no longer pursuing our planned investment in Speke.
“Several factors have influenced this decision including the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous government’s proposal.”
This decision is yet another blow for Rachel Reeves as she has claimed she it committed to growing the economy.
A Government spokesperson said a “change in the make-up of the investment” proposed by AstraZeneca “led to a reduced Government grant offer being put forward.”
The spokesperson added, “All Government grant funding has to demonstrate value for the taxpayer and unfortunately, despite extensive work from Government officials, it has not been possible to achieve a solution.
“AstraZeneca remains closely engaged with the Government’s work to develop our new industrial strategy, and more broadly we continue to have a thriving life sciences sector, worth £108 billion to the economy and providing over 300,000 highly skilled jobs across the country.”
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said, “There’s no vaccine for incompetence. In the same week they talked about growth, Labour seem to have fumbled a deal with AstraZeneca, one of the UK’s largest companies and central to the critical life sciences sector.
“This is yet another sign that their tax rises and changes to employment law have made the UK an unattractive place to invest.
“When will Labour learn that only businesses can create growth and jobs in the economy.”
A Labour source said, “After dithering for years, (former Chancellor) Jeremy Hunt was so desperate for a Budget announcement he offered a deal with no regard to value for money.
“Of course we want to bring investment to the UK, but we’re prioritising every pound of taxpayers’ money, unlike the Tories, who wasted billions and left Labour to clean up their mess.”
Sharon Todd of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) said AstraZeneca’s decision was a “real concern for industry, sending out the wrong message at a time government is shaping its new industrial strategy, Invest 2035”.
Leave a Comment