The future of Britain’s high tech industry is of vital importance to the success of our country as a sophisticated exporting nation on the cutting edge of technology. There have been concerns about Pfizer, an American company, taking over AstraZeneca which has been a leading North West manufacturer and exporter.
Whilst, as Conservatives, we support the free market, we do prioritise our long term strategic interests. The research and development of AstraZeneca does need to be retained in Britain and the dropping of the Pfizer takeover is good because it does not add to the insecurity of British jobs or manufacturing.
Meeting with David Rutley MP, I discussed the future of manufacturing and research at Alderley Park and the wider implications for the Northwest of England. As work had already been started, the Alderley Park site had already been secured for further high tech development which means that AstraZeneca’s reduced presence at Alderley Park will mean that there is scope for the development of the new Bio Hub. This means that the strength of the North West's life sciences will be retained and further expansion is possible.
Having worked for AstraZeneca for five years and the mass spectrometry industry for over twenty years, I personally believe that securing highly skilled jobs in the Northwest is vital for our long term economic future. The development of the BioHub secures the AZ site for future developments of high tech cutting edge technology.