Mr King added that he found it “amazing” that millions upon millions of pounds had been sunk by the government into projects like the ‘pink elephant’ Public arts centre in Sandwell, but that “when it comes down to real people and real, sustainable jobs there is apathy”.
Mr Kings comments on LDV’s specific problems this week come after his call for action in the Birmingham Mail on March 4 when he criticised the council for simply sending an ‘advice bus’ for workers.
He then said: “Don’t send a bus to Washwood Heath to advise on redundancies.
“Send a car instead with a £10 million loan from the city and dare Lord Mandelson to double it.
“In days of old, our city forefathers created gas, water and transport undertakings. We thought big.
“Well let’s tell those southern types if needs must we will think big again.”
Today Mr King again called for action before it was too late, urging the government to “call the dogs off” on the tax demands and demanding that the council “puts its money where its mouth is”.
The former Conservative MP added: “I have also been amazed by the almost complete silence of certain Labour MPs.
“Richard Burden is chair of the all party motor group and you would have expected him to have been knocking down Lord Mandelson’s door, but I’ve not read as much.”
Northfield MP Richard Burden, leader of the House of Commons Motor Group, said: “Quite a number of companies have approached HMRC and reached accommodations over their tax bills. “LDV is very important to the West Midlands and if they need a deferral to buy some space, everybody should be doing what they can.”
The Labour MP added that he had been in talks with Lord Mandelson, the Treasury and the Primie Minister Gordon Brown over the future of the car industry.
But Business Minister Ian Pearson (Lad Dudley South) has insisted the Government would not fund the van-maker unless its Russian owners invested significant sums. However, he did agree to meet backbench MPs to discuss the van-maker’s future, after he was pressed by Labour backbencher Geoffrey Robinson (Lab, Coventry North West).
Erdington Labour MP and Further Education minister Sion Simon today called on his own government to cut the van maker some slack over the tax demands.
Mr Simon said: “My feeling is that finding leeway for people with their tax bills is one way the Government can give real help to people during this economic downturn.
“If this is the kind of short-term help LDV needs while a management buy-out is developed, then that has got to make sense for Birmingham and the West Midlands.
“This would help LDV, the supply chain and keep skilled jobs in the region.”
The government, however, appears set on not helping LDV.
A spokeswoman for Lord Mandelson’s Business department said: “Our position remains that GAZ [LDV’s current Russian owners], not taxpayers, should provide the funding for the company’s transition to the proposed management buy-out arrangement.”
The parlous state of LDV’s finances were highlighted earlier this week when it was revealed that the company has been offering ‘vans for cash’ to creditors in a bid to reduce its debt.
But as the Birmingham Mail went to press, no-one at the city council was available to comment on how they would or would not assist LDV’s cash-flow problem.
