Chancellor Alistair Darling in no hurry to sell Northern Rock

Apr 29 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

THE Chancellor has promised he is in “no hurry” to sell Northern Rock after claims thousands of jobs could be lost in a rushed sale.

Treasury officials had prepared plans to offload the nationalised bank later this year, but last night Alistair Darling backed down from those plans.

This week The Journal called on the Chancellor to take his time over returning the bank to the private sector after Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins predicted large-scale job losses if the Government rushed into an early sale.

Virgin Money or Santander, the company behind the Abbey Bank, had been linked as potential buyers for the Rock, a move which could see officers merged and the bank name changed,

But in the House of Commons yesterday the Chancellor played down the risk to Newcastle-based jobs.

Mr Darling told MPs: “I’m in no hurry to do this. I think it is far better that we ensure that when we sell, we are satisfied it represents the best possible deal. It’s not something I would rush into. I want to make sure that we do get a good price for the assets we now have.”

As well as job losses it has been suggested a rushed sale of the Rock during the recession could lead to the Government missing out on more than £1bn. Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins yesterday met with Treasury officials and was given similar assurances that the Government would not rush into a sale.