We'll help you beat recession, pledges Gordon Brown (From Daily Echo)

We'll help you beat recession, pledges Gordon Brown

8:13am Tuesday 24th February 2009 in

By Matt Smith » Politics and business reporter

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THE Prime Minister has pledged to fight global trade barriers to make sure Southampton beats the recession.

He said the city, as a “gateway to the world”, was well placed to emerge from the downturn. He insisted the Government was doing all it could to help struggling residents and businesses. In an interview with the Daily Echo during yesterday’s Cabinet “away day” in Southampton Gordon Brown hit back at accusations the city was not getting a fair deal from central Government.

He said: “I was determined to come to Southampton today to say not just to the people of Southampton but the whole region that we are doing everything we can to help people with their jobs, to help people with mortgages, and to help small business and big business in the area.”

He said the region was caught in a world downturn, but the Government was offering “real help” for mortgages, for training and for businesses “right across the board”.

“Unlike previous downturns, we are doing everything we can to help people and we will continue to look at what more we can do,” he said.

Mr Brown claimed Southampton and the region was “crucial to the country”.

Asked specifically what the Government was doing to help the city, which has been hit by a wave of job cuts, notably at Ford and the docks as demand for goods slumps, Mr Brown said he was determined to keep the country open for business and prevent other countries putting up “protectionist” barriers to trade.

He said: “This is the gateway to the world and everybody knows that this is one of the most important parts of the economy, because people will come here and goods come through this port and we are determined that we don’t allow world trade to fall and falter. Protectionism that would mean less goods coming into the port.”

He added: “The more we can have an open trading economy the more Southampton can get the benefits of trade and the investments we are making in Southampton and the companies are making in Southampton can bear fruit. In the world of the future there is going to be so much mobility of companies and of people travelling, students coming to our country, and Southampton has got a great future ahead of it. We’ve got to get through these tough items to make sure that great future can be realised.”

Asked to reassure the city over 500 job losses at Ford Mr Brown pointed to pledges made by the company that it had a future in Southampton and that it was planning new models.

He added the Government had created a facility with the Bank of England and other facilities to provide “working capital” to enable companies having difficulties with the banks to get support.

Mr Brown said ministers had used the Cabinet meeting to discuss the measures needed to ensure Britain emerges from the downturn equipped to take advantage of the opportunities of the future.

Cabinet discussed the need to promote the low-carbon technology and digital infrastructure of the future, and to maintain investment in education and training through the downturn, he said.

l Mr Brown was able to spotlight the “real help now” booklet and website realhelpnow.gov.uk.

Comments(46)

stuartjebbitt says...
8:59am Tue 24 Feb 09

They're only worried about two people who will be losing their jobs in Southampton very soon.
Alan Whitehead and John Denham.