Lord Mandelson says Tory plans will drive up jobless

Mar 12 2010 by William Green, The Journal

TORY plans to axe regional development agencies would drive up unemployment in the North East, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has claimed.

Just weeks before the general election, the former Hartlepool MP blasted the Conservatives’ latest comments on regional development agencies (RDAs) as another “wobble”.

Senior Tories Ken Clarke and Caroline Spelman sent out a letter to all Conservative members to clear up the party’s policy on RDAs, which has been mired in confusion.

The Tories pledged to preserve regional decision-making if the North East disagrees with plans to scrap quangos.

The letter said local enterprise partnerships could be established along regional lines if that was what local businesses and councils wanted – although it could equally be made up of smaller, competing areas.

The development came as The Journal’s Case for the North East campaign has warned about the danger of scrapping our regional voice.

Lord Mandelson said: “Breaking up the RDAs would mean less investment, higher unemployment in the regions. The Tories’ policy would lead directly to higher joblessness in the regions.”