Labour MP Richard Burden, whose constituency includes Longbridge in Birmingham, gives his reaction on the Phoenix deal to buy Rover to BBC News Online When I last wrote for BBC News Online back in March, the West Midlands was reeling from the shocking news that BMW had decided to break up and sell off the Rover Group, putting tens of thousands of British jobs at risk. The reaction in the Midlands …
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): Is it not a fact that the people of Longbridge, the workers of Rover and, indeed, everyone else, were assured by BMW that it was in for the long term? It was not just in words. New plant for the new Mini was still going in at the very time that BMW made the announcement; indeed, work was still going on last week. Is it not important that we look to the …
Mr. Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): Yesterday in Prime Minister’s questions, I said that the entire midlands area was holding its breath, waiting on the BMW board meeting that was to take place today. We now know the result. The responsibility for what looks like befalling Longbridge and other large parts of the Rover group is that of BMW. The day after the announcement in 1994 …
The news from Munich this week has left the Midlands in a state of shock. As the region comes to terms with BMW’s appalling decision to break up the Rover group, many thousands of people are in fear for their jobs. The workforce at Longbridge, quite rightly, feel betrayed by BMW. And the break up of Rover means uncertainty not only for Rover workers themselves but for the 50,000 or so …
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.