00:00This Hitachi factory is world-class and I've been here a number of times. I came earlier this year and
00:08spoke to the workforce.
00:09They're fantastic. They're highly skilled, but last time I came before the election
00:14they were anxious because
00:16they feared there was going to be a gap between the contract they're working on now and the next contract and they knew what a
00:22gap means, which is that people might lose their job, huge impact, and I stood before them and said if we win the election
00:29and form a government, I give you my word that we will do everything we can to try and make sure there's a deal
00:36that gets to fill that gap, takes away the anxiety. I'm really pleased that that has now happened. It's really good
00:43for the sector. It's really good for train building. It's really good for the country.
00:47Let's face facts, the last government made a complete mess of HS2.
00:52It took far too long. They were massively over budget.
00:56We are committed, obviously, to the stage between London and Birmingham.
01:01We've got a strategy for rail across the country
01:04which is then going to be measured in years, not months, not chopping and changing, and we will work with Hitachi and others to
01:12make sure that we get the rolling stock we need where we need it.
01:16And it'll be the same as we've done with this deal, which is
01:19understanding what's needed, working with the sector, not against the sector,
01:23but being a government that does
01:26actively pursue these jobs. You know, these jobs could be anywhere in the world. We're in a competition. I want them here in the UK.
01:32This is a brilliant workforce, first class.
01:35We want those jobs here and other jobs across the United Kingdom.
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