Laurence Robertson M.P.

VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER

20th July 2010

 

On my way to London this week I did a detour and called at the Farnborough Air Show, which is held every two years, with the show being held in Toulouse every other year in between.

 

The aerospace industry is, of course, very important to the Tewkesbury constituency and I do my best to keep in touch with the relevant companies and to keep abreast of developments and problems in the industry.

 

The development of the jet engine in this area was the start of the growth of the industry, particularly, though not exclusively, at the Gloucester end of the constituency. GE Aviation, Messier Dowty, Dowty Propellers, Ultra Electronics and Moog are the main aerospace companies in the area.

 

At the show I met with people from Rolls Royce, GE, Cobham, BAe and others and saw some of the projects they are working on. I also had a guided tour of the A380 which is the biggest aircraft in the world. It can carry between 525 and 823 people, depending on the configuration of the seating.

 

The industry is split between civil and military and this is also true in the companies in our area. Some of the military equipment I saw is either being used or about to be used in Afghanistan. On the civil side, the emphasis is on making lighter aircraft which are more fuel efficient, which is also true for the military.

 

Because of the many aeroplanes which are built and in use, and because of the many defence systems which are developed, the industry is a complicated one and the joint ownerships can complicate matters even further. It is sometimes difficult keeping up with exactly who owns what and what is being developed.

 

The industry is very high tech and the standards it adheres to are exacting. Very many of the people who work in the industry are highly educated and very skilled and they create considerable wealth for the country and for our area. One of the challenges is to try to encourage students to study science-based subjects so that they may be in a position to consider careers in the aerospace industry, or in engineering or manufacturing more generally, because there is a shortage of people coming through. Later this year, I shall be holding an event which will attempt to bring manufacturing companies together with students in the hope that this might encourage that kind of movement.

 

In the meantime, I was very impressed by what I saw at Farnborough and I don’t just mean the spectacular flying displays!