North East jobs are at risk because of EU bureaucracy. Vital jobs in the North East are at risk because of EU bureaucracy, warned UKIP MEP Jonathan Arnott today.
The situation in the North Sea oil and gas industry has been described as
“critical” by an industry chief because the UK loses out to foreign
competitors.
Dennis Clark, chairman of OGN Fabricators, says the industry is on the
brink of extinction and has predicted that if no more work is secured before the
last of its two remaining contracts is completed in November their Wallsend yard
will close with 1,250 job losses.
“When the government is spoken to about this he says that they respond
saying they cannot favour UK content as it is against European rules,” said Mr
Arnott, North East Euro-MP.
“This is just not good enough, British jobs including thousands in the
North East, are at risk.
“This is a classic example of how our hands are tied by the EU and
nothing is going to improve on that front until we withdraw our
membership.
“Our government talks about developing the ‘Northern Powerhouse’
but
this does not auger well. The North East needs a great deal of investment
and commitment and this includes the offshore oil and gas industry,” said Mr
Arnott.
