Shadow chancellor says Lake District key to country's future (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Shadow chancellor says Lake District key to country's future

10:28am Tuesday 9th February 2010

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SHADOW chancellor George Osborne called in at one of South Lakeland’s biggest employers and said he believed it provided a blueprint for a thriving economy.

The MP took a tour around James Cropper Speciality Papers in Burneside, Kendal, as part of a whistle-stop visit to the area to find out more about the 165-year-old company which produces stationery, book coverings, premium quality picture mount boards and even luxury packaging for the likes of Burberry, Nokia and Selfridges.

Chief executive Alun Lewis told Mr Osborne: “I think the right kind of support for industries like this is very important and we need that backing from government.”

After being shown the factory by operations manager Steve Oxley and production director Patrick Willink, Mr Osborne explained how he believed Cumbria and the north west region was vital to ensure a thriving economy in Britain.

“I am very impressed with this business. You cannot hitch the country’s business on the back of the city of London. We have got to find new sources of growth and it has got to come from manufacturing. The question is how do we do it.

“I think it’s about having a more balanced economy. What we want to do is start with the education system and ensure it produces people with the right qualifications to live and make a contribution to business. That is a big challenge in this country.”

James Cropper, which produces He added: “A company like this faces enormous competition and what it has to add is value. The wages and running costs are higher here than in China or India so it is all about the quality.”

Mr Osborne said that if the Conservatives were in power they would cut the corporation tax rate from 28 per cent to 25 per cent for new businesses on the first ten people employed.

Gareth McKeever, Tory candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale, added: “My main political priority is to bring well-paid employment to South Lakeland and I arranged for George Osborne to visit Cropper's so that he could see first hand how a manufacturing company can succeed in our local area.”

Later Mr Osborne urged local business leaders to back his party's plan to "get Britain back on its feet." at the Confederation of British Industry North West annual dinner at the Low Wood Hotel, near Windermere.

He said the Conservatives wanted to create a more balanced economy by helping to boost exports and business investment. This would be achieved through such measures as reducing red tape, helping manufacturing companies find the right sites with good transport links and ensuring that science taught in educational establishments connected with business needs.

The Shadow Chancellor said there were 'reasons to be cheerful.' Countries like China, India and Indonesia were being dragged out of poverty. These nations of manufacturers put pressure on British companies but they were also becoming 'nations of consumers', which would want to buy our consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and creative media.

"They are also going to want to go on holiday and come to the Lake District," he said.

It was time, he said, to start selling to such countries.

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