TALKS over the future of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant are "moving in a positive direction".

That's what Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, told the town's MP Justin Madders in the House of Commons yesterday (May 18).

Mr Madders raised the future of the North Road site, which employs around 800 workers, during Mr Kwarteng's ministerial statement on the 'Ten Point Plan - Six Months On'.

Carlos Tavares, the head of Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker encompassing 14 car brands including Vauxhall, has said discussions between the company and the UK Government on ensuring the Ellesmere Port plant will continue to manufacture cars had made good progress.

Mr Madders told Mr Kwarteng: "There were some positive comments from the chief executive of Stellantis yesterday to the effect that things were moving in the right direction but we were not quite there yet.

"May I take this opportunity to remind the Secretary of State that Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership have been working very closely with the civil servants over the past few months to make sure that the right deal is in place.

"They stand ready to do anything else they can to get this thing over the line, which is what we all want to see."

The Secretary of State said he was conscious of the work Mr Madders has done "as he put it, to get this over the line", adding: "I was gratified to see Mr Tavares’ comments yesterday and I think we are in a reasonable place.

"We obviously need to work very hard together to get it over the line, but the situation in Ellesmere Port is moving in a positive direction."

Earlier in the debate Greg Clark, who chairs the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, said: "Point 4 of the 10-point plan refers to the need for large-scale battery factories for electric vehicles — sometimes called gigafactories.

"They need to be up and running within five years, so will the Secretary of State update the House as to where we are in securing them?

"Will he also comment on the state of discussions about the future of Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port, with its ambitions to build electric vehicles there?"

Mr Kwarteng said he was pleased Mr Clark had referred to the opportunities represented by gigafactories.

"There are conversations as we speak between people who are making batteries and the car makers; clearly, the dynamic between the auto manufacturers and the people who will be making the batteries is an important one. I hope to make a positive announcement about that soon," he said.

"In relation to Ellesmere Port, there are very positive discussions with Stellantis. I am very much engaged with this matter and we are particularly hopeful that we can make some movement in the summer on this too."