Global capitalism explained - why new trains may cape Euro referendum

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of Eye that Hitachi have been lobbying HMG over relations with the EU.

In July Eye noted that the Hitachi website offered the following reflections on Britain's membership of the European Union:

"The Government of Japan expects the UK to maintain this favourable role."

According to Saturday's Daily Telegraph the president of Hitachi also bent iDave's ear: 

David Cameron has been warned by one of Japan's biggest UK investors that pulling out of the European Union could put at risk £1bn of funding for Britain's railways and nuclear energy programme.

The president of Hitachi, Hiroaki Nakanishi, has revealed that he met the Prime Minister in May and raised his concerns. Speaking in Tokyo yesterday, he said that any exit from the EU could lead to less investment by the industrial giant.

In November last year, Hitachi signed a £696m deal to buy Horizon Nuclear Power, a joint venture with GE to build as many as six new nuclear reactors at two sites, Wylfa in North Wales and Oldbury in south Gloucestershire.

Last summer, a Hitachi-led consortium also won a £1.2bn government contract to build new trains under the Intercity Express Programme. The deal will provide new rolling stock for routes to the south-west and on the East Coast mainline. 

Of course there is no suggestion of any connection between Hitachi rescuing the government's moribund nuclear power programme and DfT awarding Hitachi contracts to replace both HST and IC225 fleets on the ECML.

Even so the decision to replace the 225 fleet raised one or two eyebrows. As Eversholt Rail said when the DfT announced that it would proceed with IEP Phase 2:

“We continue to believe that the best option would have been to let the market decide...", a view shared by many in the industry. 

No matter.

What is perhaps more surprising is this section of the interview where Hitachi's President said: 

"One of the requests [from the DfT] was to set up the current Intercity Express Programme," Mr Nakanishi said.

"The Government requested me to set up the whole supply chain in the UK and try to sell UK-made train systems to the continent."

Eye can only presume that this was after Hitachi was declared preferred bidder in a procurement competition with the Bombardier/Siemens consortium! 

With Her Majesty's Government and Hitachi evidently hand in glove, what price now for Cameron's much vaunted 2015 In/Out EU referendum?

Situation has developed not necessarily to iDave's advantge!

Oh the irony!

Just days BEFORE Her Majesty's Britannic Government expended more taxpayer cash on additional Ninky Nonk trains, Japan stuck the Imperial boot into British politics:

"The UK, as a champion of free trade, is a reliable partner for Japan. More than 1,300 Japanese companies have invested in the UK, as part of the Single Market of the EU, and have created 130,000 jobs, more than anywhere else in Europe. This fact demonstrates that the advantage of the UK as a gateway to the European market has attracted Japanese investment. The Government of Japan expects the UK to maintain this favourable role."

Hmmm...

So. "The Government of Japan expects the UK to maintain this favourable role."

Is Britain perhaps now known as 'Little Manchuria' in the Chancelleries of Asia?

No matter.

Eye suspects this is a very clever move by Tokyo.

Allowing Hitachi to prepare a swift evacuation from Newton Aycliffe, as Europe stubbornly fails to order Japanese trains (whether the UK is in, or out, of the EU)...

UPDATE: This from Hagrid's Brother... 

I wonder if ‘someone’ might speculate as to the effect of say a 25%-lower non-compliant future ECML bid using a sensible fleet. 

Apart from predictable embarrassment and the ire of Ms Hodge, of course. 

One for m’learned chums no doubt.