The visit last week of Ken Clarke (pictured left hosting a meeting with me), George Osborne and Lord Freud highlighted just how important my party think this City will be as we set about rescuing our country from the mess it has been landed in by Labour incompetence and profligacy.

The article below was published in The Derby Evening Telegraph on Sat 12 Dec.

Tories’ Osborne and Clarke hail Derby’s key role in ‘renaissance’

Saturday, December 12, 2009, 07:30

SHADOW Chancellor George Osborne believes Derby has a key role to play in helping the economy recover following the recession.

And he has pledged that if the Conservatives are elected to office next May, he will do more to help the city’s key manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Bombardier, along with their suppliers, to improve their productivity and raise the skills of their workers.

Mr Osborne and Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke are currently touring the country to explain their plan for getting the country back on its feet.

In October, the Conservative Party launched its Get Britain Working manifesto, which aims to get more long-term unemployed people back into jobs and raise the number of apprenticeships.

Yesterday, they were in Derby to spread that message. At an event hosted by the Confederation of British Industry and Derby College, around 100 business leaders listened to Mr Osborne’s plans.

And before that event at the college’s Roundhouse campus on Pride Park, Mr Osborne and Mr Clarke paid a visit to Derby’s biggest employers, aero engine-maker Rolls-Royce.

They were there to find out more about the company’s highly-successful apprenticeship scheme.

Mr Osborne said: “One of our key aims is to create more apprenticeships. We are looking to create around 1,000 extra places in Derby alone.

“Rolls-Royce already has an excellent apprenticeship scheme. Being in power is our goal, but one of the advantages of being in opposition is that we have the time to get out there and consult with leading companies such as Rolls-Royce.

“That is why we chose to come to Derby in the first place, because it is home to many of our leading manufacturers.”

In the past, Rolls-Royce has received state aid from other countries to build factories. One example is a new test facility which received funding from the German government.

Mr Clarke said: “Companies like Rolls-Royce are not just vital to Derby, they are vital to this country.

“High-value, high-tech businesses are this country’s future. They make things which other countries want.

“We should not let these companies face the challenge on their own.”

Mr Osborne and Mr Clarke said that backing manufacturing would help restore balance to the UK economy.

Mr Clarke said: “For more than a decade, manufacturing has been neglected and too much reliance has been put on our financial services sector in London.

“We have seen the implications of doing that with the downturn. There needs to be a renaissance in manufacturing.

“We have the companies and we have the capability.

“In Derby, companies have been successfully manufacturing for years. What we want to do is help them to be more successful.

“And it is not just about the Rolls-Royces, Toyotas and Bombardiers. It is also about helping the supply chain who have encountered their own difficulties with issues such as credit.”

A major Derby employer which is waiting to see if the Government will back its expertise is train-maker Bombardier.

Earlier this year, the Government announced Japanese firm Hitachi as the preferred bidder for the £7.5bn Intercity Express Programme, which will replace the UK’s ageing high-speed train fleet.

Although Hitachi has pledged to build a new factory in the UK, much of the high-value research and development work will be carried out in Japan.

Bombardier bid unsuccessfully for that contract, which would have filled a big gap in its order book. The company, which employs 2,400 people, recently laid off 140 people and is still awaiting the Government’s decision on another multi-billion pound deal, Thameslink.

The Derby Telegraph launched a campaign calling on the Government to reconsider its decision on IEP, which received support from Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers.

Yesterday, Mr Osborne and Mr Clarke were asked whether they would have another look at IEP if they were voted into power.

Mr Osborne said: “I would be willing to look into it. I think this issue exposes other underlying problems in our economy.”

Among the audience at the Roundhouse was Colin S Walton, chairman of Bombardier UK.

Following the speeches by Mr Clarke, Mr Osborne and the Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform, David Freud, they took part in a question and answer session.

Mr Walton explained to the panel the problems faced by his suppliers in securing credit from banks and asked what a Conservative government would do about it.

Mr Osborne said: “Creating a better banking system is the biggest challenge a new government will face. I’m very aware of the frustrations that many businesspeople in this room feel.

“The current government has made attempts to free up credit. One or two ideas have worked, but the majority have been a failure.

“We are currently working on a strategy that would help get credit going. It will be an absolutely crucial part of our overall economic strategy.”

Mr Clarke and Mr Osborne also said they would push for a simpler tax system and cut the burden of over-regulation on business.

Mr Clarke said: “Large companies have large human resources departments to deal with all the regulation.

“Small businesses do not have this luxury and they don’t have the time to wade through the latest changes in regulation. It costs them time and money.

“We want to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship. One of our policies will be to make new businesses exempt from paying national insurance on the first 10 employees they take on over a two-year period.”

Mr Osborne said: “In this week’s Pre-budget report, the Chancellor announced a 0.5% increase on national insurance. A tax on jobs at a time when businesses are trying to recover does not make sense.

“This increase is due in 2011 and if we are in power, it will be something I will look at.”

One of the most telling questions came from one of the students at Derby College, who asked him whether he and the Conservatives could be trusted to deliver on its promises.

He said: “I was in charge of David Cameron’s campaign when he was elected leader of the party and he is delivering. Many of our policies are being stolen by the Labour administration.

“At the end of the day, it is up to the voter if they want change. What I will say is that I am committed to Derby and the East Midlands region.”