Toyota 'no deal warning'

As Boris Johnson heads to Brussels for last ditch talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over an EU trade deal, Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands, Paresh Patel said, “Derby’s Toyota staff and their families, as well as thousands of other East Midlands manufacturing workers, are depending on Boris Johnson to act in their best interest and get a deal.

“This was put in no uncertain terms by Toyota who said this week that leaving without a trade agreement will be ‘very, very negative’ for the business,” he added.

“Car making in the East Midlands, along with other highly integrated manufacturing sectors, will be put at a severe disadvantage by the border delays and tariffs of a no deal Brexit.

“The Tory MPs who represent many of our region’s constituencies have made a lot of promises to working people over the last few years about the benefits of leaving the EU,” Patel went on to say.

“But grievously harming our manufacturing base with no deal will hurt jobs and living standards, not help them.

“As the Brexit negotiations enter their last phase, Boris Johnson must ensure that no deal is not an option if the regional economy of the East Midlands is to flourish and the Conservative Party’s pledges of levelling up are to be kept.”

By Ryan Fletcher