WARRINGTON South MP Andy Carter is urging Warrington Borough Council to invest in British-made electric buses with the £25m secured for zero-emission buses and a new electric bus depot in the town.
In Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Carter asked Mr Johnson about funding for buses in Warrington.
The Conservative MP asked the PM whether he agreed that funding pledged for a new fleet of electric buses should be spent on British-made buses, although World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules do restrict the council from procuring on the basis of UK-only suppliers.
Mr Carter said: “The Government’s commitment of £25million for a new electric bus fleet in Warrington will have a transformational effect on transport across Warrington.”
He then asked whether the Prime Minister agreed with him that the “right way” to spend that £25m is by buying “British-made buses”. He added that awarding the contract to a British manufacturer would be “supporting highly-skilled jobs, manufacturing jobs, right across the United Kingdom.”
Mr Carter’s request was met with rallying cries of support from his fellow MPs before the PM addressed him as a “great champion for Warrington”. In response, Boris Johnson praised the use of British-made buses already in use in urban areas across the country.
He said: “Warrington has secured £20m, Mr Speaker, for new zero-emission buses. “And I’m delighted to say that a statistic I can barely believe, but it is in my brief, that 80 percent of buses in Britain’s urban areas are already produced domestically.”
In response, Mr Carter received significant backing from fellow MPs who could be seen nodding their heads and cheering in a show of support for this impressive figure.
Commenting more widely on his calls to buy British, Mr Carter said: “The £20m funding for buses and £5m for an electric bus depot bring environmental benefits to the town but will allow reduced high maintenance costs meaning the bus company can run more frequent services across the town, connecting different locations and offering additional services in the evenings and at weekend.
“Warrington can choose to spend this money with a business based overseas or support manufacturing jobs in the UK, which in turn benefits British families.
“When the bus company is considering which new buses to choose as their preferred supplier I urge them to back one of our great British bus companies that have a great track record in delivering quickly and in a cost-effective way.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson responded: “We very much welcome the recent funding awards made by Government towards the replacement of Warrington’s Own Buses’ entire fleet with electric buses, alongside the new bus depot as part of our Town Deal, which is now on site and due for completion in 2023.”
“Excellent progress is being made in agreeing the specification and procurement of Warrington’s new state-of-the-art buses. This procurement, led by the council working in close partnership with Warrington’s Own Buses, will ensure that all the correct public sector procurement rules are followed in order to secure these buses – though WTO rules do restrict us from procuring on the basis of UK-only suppliers.”
“Further to this as was reported recently following the release of the Levelling Up White Paper, Bus Back Better boost for Warrington, Warrington was named as one of five places where the Government announced that the town is set to receive significant Bus Back Better funding. Discussions are at an advanced stage between the Council and Department for Transport and it will be vital for this Bus Back Better funding to match the ambition shown by the Council in committing over £30m of its own funding towards Zero-Emission Buses and the New Bus Depot. We welcome the support of our town’s MPs in continuing to press for this funding.”
