Shadow Home Secretary and Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh CHRIS HUHNE is the guest speaker at the Annual Dinner of Gosport Liberal Democrats, which is being held at the Alver Bank Hotel on Friday 13 February.
Huhne, who came within 500 votes of becoming the Lib Dem party leader when Ming Campbell stood down last year, prompted the recent police investigation into Labour members of the House of Lords who allegedly told undercover Sunday Times reporters they had tabled amendments to legislation for paying clients. Huhne has now asked Scotland Yard to extend its cash-for-influence investigation to cover claims made about four more members of the House of Lords.
The MP for Eastleigh this week said that the loss of 400-500 jobs at the Ford Southampton assembly plant was a "hammer blow" for the workers, their families and the local economy. He added that the latest Ford results showed that the car company was "bleeding cash" and was forced to take desperate measures, which were communicated on Wednesday to the trade unions at the plant. But he blamed the Government for worsening the situation by failing to ensure that there was credit for van purchasers.
"Last week's statement from Lord Mandelson missed the key ingredient, which is the loans that van purchasers need as they do not buy vans and cars with cash up front. A van is an investment that needs to be paid back over its lifetime," said Mr Huhne.
"Ford Credit Europe Bank has been struggling, along with other car company financing arms, to raise the cash to loan to customers. This is a key problem if the market is to be stabilised and jobs are to be saved” he added.
"These are desperate times for the car industry with collapsing sales, restricted credit and now job losses. My sympathies are with the local families whose future now looks so uncertain."
Tickets for the annual dinner are priced £22 and are available from Bob Forder on 023 9252 7965 or at r.w.forder@btinternet.com.
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