High Peak Liberal Democrats

The managing director of Siemens UK has warned that his company would stop investing in factories in the UK if it was not part of the EU.

He added that leaving the EU would be "disastrous" for British manufacturers. This follows a poll last month which found that eight out of ten manufacturers want to remain in the EU.

Siemens employs 13,000 people across the country, including many in the East Midlands in locations such as Lincoln, Nottingham and Northampton. In total investment from EU companies has created and safeguarded 12,978 jobs in the East Midlands since 2003.

Bill Newton Dunn, Liberal Democrat MEP for the East Midlands commented:

"Thousands of jobs in the East Midlands every year are created by foreign investors, for whom a crucial factor is the ability to export freely to the world's largest single market.

"If we followed the lead of UKIP and many of the Tories, we would be losing that status and would be out of Europe all together, putting crucial jobs and investment at risk.

"We can better build a stronger economy by working with our European neighbours, trying to shape the rules that come out of Europe, rather than shouting from the outside."

The Facts

Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens UK, warned that leaving Europe would be "disastrous" for British manufacturers at an event organised by the Sunday Times http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Economy/article1344195.ece

Siemens employs people in eight out of nine regions of England as well as in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland http://www.siemens.co.uk/en/about_us/index/uk-locations-text.htm

A poll published on October 14^th 2013 by manufacturers' organisation EEF found that 85% of its members want Britain to remain part of the EU http://www.eef.org.uk/blog/post/Manufacturing-Our-future-in-Europe.aspx

The UK is the largest recipient of inward investment in Europe. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands are among the top 12 sources of investment into the UK. Some 400,000 people are employed by German firms operating in the UK alone. http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/davidlidington/2012/10/15/20-years-of-the-single-market/