AstraZeneca has abandoned a £450 million investment in a major UK vaccine plant powered by renewables in a blow to Rachel Reeves who vowed this week to “kick-start economic growth”. The Telegraph has more.
The drugmaker, which is Britain’s most valuable listed company, said it was no longer going ahead with the investment at the site near Speke, Liverpool, after failing to secure the necessary financial support from the Government.
AstraZeneca has been locked in a stand-off with the Government for months over state aid for the project, which would have involved a new factory powered by renewables built at the site. It had reportedly been offered around £90 million by Rishi Sunak’s Government, but Labour had sought to cut that state aid to £40 million.
The announcement drew immediate criticism from the Tories, who said there was “no vaccine for incompetence” and branded the decision an “absolute tragedy”.
It will be regarded as an embarrassment for the Chancellor, who named AstraZeneca as a key investor in Britain two days ago in a major speech promising to “kick start growth” in the economy.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said: “Following protracted discussions with the Government, we are no longer pursuing our planned investment at Speke.
“Several factors have influenced this decision including the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous Government’s proposal. The site will continue to produce and supply our flu vaccine, for patients in the UK and around the world.”
The decision is a blow to the Chancellor, whose speech on Wednesday was aimed at revitalising the economy and attracting investment to the UK. …
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.”
Worth reading in full.
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Not completely off-topic:
Take-off or bail out? The airport even Ryanair thinks is a tough sell says the BBC
but…
An economic moron.
It could have a future as a cargo hub. As it formerly was an RAF station it has the longest runway of the airports mentioned, and Doncaster has become a major Amazon hub too. It has something going for it, but its not 737’s to Alicante. Thats the sort of thinking that wasted £100m investment in the first place. Also Rachael, you need economic development to drive demand. While everyone is working their balls off to pay for stupid programmes like Nett Zero, there wont be spare cash to invest in anything much. A moron indeed.
Yes
More bloody bullshit.
Yes
The M18 doesn’t go very near Robin Hood so once you leave the motorway it’s a pig to get to. No direct station line.
Recently used Humberside -& found operator KLM using local Eastern Airways 45 minutes to Schipol hub which goes everywhere.
Humberside is a gem. Nobody there, no queues, easy parking.
Getting round the top of Leeds to airport is nerve racking due to A1 or M62/ring road congestion tho’ a bus from station is efficient.
East Midlands at the mercy of M1 congestion but train arrives nearish.
No direct train to Manchester from East Yorkshire. At the mercy of M62 congestion & massive parking costs.
Easyjet out of Liverpool works. Just a full day travelling.
I’d have to disagree about it being difficult to get to Robin Hood. M18 Jct3 to the airport, they built a new road out to Parrots Corner, (car parks and park and ride there for staff) and then a road direct into the terminal. Agree about rail, although the GNER line London to Scotland is 200m from the end of the runway. A missed opportunity. Agree with Humberside, but as it gets a good chunk of revenue from helicopter flights to gas rigs, there has to be a question mark long term. The rest again, I’ll give you.
She’s a Socialist – they don’t do economics. If they did they wouldn’t be Socialists.
The more her past is looked into it is clear Rachel has never done economics either.
Great news. Quackcine poisons, ready for the next plandemic. A plant ‘powered by renewables’. Ha ha. Love it. 2 loser cults. Shut down all the quackcinery.
I wonder if the heave-ho has anything to do with Astra’s C1984 “vaccine” getting crossed off?
No they wanted that as much as anyone else, hence pulling it at exactly the right timing
“Powered by renewables”, what a load of tosh, would they have downed tools when the wind died, and just how would they have filtered out green electrons?
Just more 100% renewables BS, that marketing slogan should be illegal. Yes, they may pay their electricity bills to renewable generators, but that just stops other people from doing so.
All renewable electricity gets used, regardless of whether or not anybody buys it.
Oh dear how sad never mind. I vaguely remember the name AstraZeneca in connection to a very expensive product that was so bad even the Satanic Pharma industry had to withdraw it.
While £50 million is small change compared with other public money that gets sluiced away, the principle seems questionable of using public money to support the most highly valued company in the FTSE100.
Not only in vaccine collaboration but also in evaluation of a monoclonal antibody, AstraZeneca got used during Operation Warp Speed to infusions of public money to fund private enterprise:
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2380882/trump-administration-expands-collaboration-with-astrazeneca-to-develop-and-manu/
“Trump Administration Expands Collaboration With AstraZeneca to Develop and Manufacture an Investigational Monoclonal Antibody to Prevent COVID-19…
…BARDA to provide approximately $486 million to AstraZeneca for two Phase 3 clinical trials and related development activities”
Nice public money if you can get it.
Don’t be silly! It’s all part of her plan for Growth™️ and Starmwurstführer’s cunning plan for Change™️.
It is beautiful and spiritual and poetic. As if the spirit of the land refused to have the monstrosity of a spike protein factory built upon it. And the renewables malarkey was a piss take too far for the archangel. There aint no energy coming into this country right now because this country has to go through a harsh purgatory. Even Poundland is struggling to turn a profit. When you can’t afford Poundland then you are in the deep kimchi. Every part of the beast system will be laid bare and every resource we depend on for survival will be attacked. Just look at the reduction in fertilizer production. This is already written in and can only have one outcome in terms of global population. People in Ireland have been without power for over a week you don’t hear much in the media about coming to their support.
Sorry? Am I hearing this right? A government subsidy for a drugs company that just made billions from the scamdemic?!!! Now we have lost the plot!
Good.
Who in their right mind would consent to another AZ vaxx after their most recent attempt at a covid vaxx and the horrific results. Not a surprise they have given up on their plans to expand.
They’ve only cancelled the investment in the UK, it’ll go ahead somewhere else, likely Belgium or Germany possibly…
Remind me ! Their Jab was the one actually pulled for killing people with blood clots so any money available should go the victims !
Oh such a blow. —-A Covid and Climate scam all wrapped up in one bites the dust.