BROWN SOURCE OF HP PROBLEM - BURT

5.53.54pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 9th May 2006

Following the decision by US firm Heinz to close their HP Sauce factory in Birmingham with the loss of 125 jobs, Lorely Burt, Local MP and Lib Dem Spokesperson on Small Business, reacted to yet another manufacturing closure in the area:

Commenting, Lorely Burt said:

"This is yet another indictment of the Government's attitude to manufacturing in the UK, with Birmingham paying the price yet again.

"MG Rover, TVR, Peugeot, Chewits and now HP sauce have been unable to marry their business requirements with complex taxation, the skills gap, high energy prices, and spiralling levels of regulation which are the hallmarks of the economic conditions created by the Chancellor.

"Like Tony Blair, Mr Brown's legacy is in tatters with signs that economic conditions are far from rosy at UK Plc."

ENDS