Liam Byrne calls for plan to save East Birmingham after LDV closure

Oct 16 2009 By Jonathan Walker

MP Liam Byrne has warned that east Birmingham urgently needs investment, following the announcement that vanmaker LDV is to shift assets overseas.

Mr Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill) said he was “gutted” at plans by LDV’s new owners to end manufacturing in Birmingham, threatening thousands of jobs.

He called on politicians and business leaders to work together to prevent the east of the city sinking into unemployment and poverty.

The MP insisted he had fought to save the vanmaker, which once employed 850 people at Washwood Heath, in his constituency. Losing LDV could also affect thousands of jobs in the supply chain.

Hodge Hill already has the third highest unemployment rate in the country, with 5,106 people, 16.9 per cent of the working population, claiming Jobseekers Allowance.

The figure doesn’t include people who are unemployed but not claiming the allowance, including people on incapacity benefit.

National figures produced by the House of Commons show that the only constituencies with worse unemployment than Hodge Hill are Ladywood and Sparkbrook & Small Heath, also in Birmingham.

Mr Byrne, the Chief Secretary to the Treaury, said: “I’m gutted that LDV’s new owner intends to relocate the assets from Washwood Heath.

“I worked hard to keep production in Washwood Heath, and won the offer of £5 million worth of government financial support for bidders.

“My immediate priority now is the remaining workers who will be made redundant.

“Today’s news makes it even more important that we get new investment moving fast into East Birmingham. We now have the second largest development site in the city, second only to Longbridge.

“We need an East Birmingham alliance where politicians, business, the not-for-profit sector and our public servants join forces to get the East of the city working again.”