UNION leaders have asked David Cameron to ‘come clean’ about a future Conservative Government’s plans for the North West Development Agency.
The call comes after Tory business spokesman Ken Clarke and Economic spokesman John Redwood appeared to clash publicly over the future of the Agency, which has created or safeguarded 222,000 new jobs in the North West since 1999.
The Conservatives have called for Regional Development Agencies, which are key public sector organisations, to be scrapped.
Mr Clarke said he had ‘no fixed views’ on scrapping the Agency, which is supported by leading businesses in the North West, including Darrell Mathews, Regional Director of the bosses organisation, the Institute of Directors.
According to the Liverpool Daily Post, Mr Clarke is now frantically re-thinking plans to axe the Regional Development Agency after the backlash from local business leaders.
The Daily Post interpreted Mr Clarke’s review of Tory policy and the increasing uncertainty about their plans for Government, as “a humiliating slap down” for Conservative Communities spokeswoman, Caroline Spelman who has been at the forefront of calls for the Agency to be axed.
But now Mr Redwood, known by colleagues as ‘The Vulcan’, has increased the uncertainty about Conservative plans in Government, by writing an article in the Conservative-supporting Daily Telegraph, calling for the scrapping of the Agency.
Mr Redwood writes: “We can say goodbye to much unelected regional government….RDAs spend a lot on themselves.
“Any valuable work they do could be more easily and cheaply executed by existing Council officer teams. Subsidising a limited number of businesses is bad news for their competitors and a luxury we can no longer afford. “
North West Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “The Conservatives appear muddled and confused about their plans for the Agency which has played a vital role in boosting the regional economy, creating 23,000 new businesses in the North West.
“We do not know whether to believe Mr Clarke, or Mr Redmond – or neither. That’s why I am asking their leader David Cameron to resolve the obvious uncertainty at the heart of Conservative policy, so that voters can make up their minds at the General Election.
“Without the Agency in the North West, thousands of jobs would be at risk in our region.”
The bosses organisation, the Institute of Directors agree about the importance of the Agency to the regional economy.
Darrell Mathews said the Agency had been “intrinsic to the renaissance of the North West.”
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'Proud to serve the public’ is a North West TUC campaign to protect and promote public services in our Region. We believe public services are a vital part of the North West economy. They create jobs, stimulate growth and... 
