The Prime Minister’s assurance of Wrightbus’ future was ‘hollow and meaningless,’ says our man in Westminster
When Wrightbus, a major manufacturer of buses since 1946, started to hit the financial buffers earlier this year, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons on 25 July that “it was of great value to the people of this country and I think it’s a great company and we will make sure, I give my assurance, we will do everything we can to ensure the future of the great UK company.”
Well, that assurance proved hollow and meaningless, since on 25 September the company went into administration. Perhaps Boris Johnson’s now oft repeated claim that he loves buses isn’t quite so genuine after all.
No bailouts here
I hold no brief for Wrightbus, and I’m certainly not sentimental when it comes to long-established businesses going to the wall.
We’ve seen quite a few long-established businesses collapse since the global economic crash back in 2008. And of course, the demise of Wrightbus is a relatively minor matter when put up against the collapse of Thomas Cook which has a far longer trading history dating back to 1841 and employed 22,000 people worldwide.
If the government wasn’t willing to bail out Thomas Cook, I can’t see any reason why it should bail out Wrightbus.
‘Poor conditions’
But that is of no comfort to the employees of the company, its supply chain, and the community in and around Ballymena who understandably will be feeling devastated by this development; Wrightbus was the last major employer in the region.
It’s undoubtedly a sad day. Everyone will be hoping and praying that the administrators will be able to find a buyer over the next week or so, but the omens are not good. Potential buyers have already walked away, and market conditions are poor.
False hopes
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, there are two points to make.
First, it was wrong for the Prime Minister to give the Commons an assurance that the government would do everything it could to ensure the company’s future if in practice it had no real intention of doing so.
Raising hopes and expectations like this is cruel to the employees and the local community, and I’m not sure the government actually made much effort to try and find a solution. I’m not saying it should have – but don’t say you will try if you have no real intention of doing so.
The timing of this wasn’t great either because the government is so totally focused on Brexit and the impending general election that almost no other policy or issue is getting any traction in Westminster and Whitehall. Domestic policy has come to a grinding halt.
Wrightbus may not have been a household name outside of the bus industry, but it was undoubtedly a pioneer in its field, leading the way with innovation and standards. But that’s no guarantee of a successful future in difficult trading conditions. Pioneers come and go, but my heart goes out to the workers of Wrightbus and the wider Ballymena community.
