Blizzard- Tory threats to regional Housing industry bad for local people and jobs

Low turnout from Tory MPs for important regional committee

The meeting of the East of England Grand Committee went ahead informally on Tuesday September 8th, because the majority of Conservative MPs stayed away from the planning meeting on local jobs, transport and housing. The Chair allowed proceedings to go on, but the meeting did not have the full weight of Parliamentary proceedings, because not enough MPs attended.

Labour was the only party which had the majority of its MP's in attendance.

On the agenda was a future strategy for the region's development, including road building and housing.

Labour's MP for Waveney, Bob Blizzard MP said:

"Today, at the East of England Grand Committee, MPs from the region discussed a strategy to take us through the recession and beyond, but the turnout from Tory MPs was poor.

 "The Conservatives seem determined to curtail the building of affordable housing- which we need more of, not less. Their frontbencher Caroline Spelman even wrote to Tory Councillors and MPs last week to urge them to delay house-building. We could have had a good debate on the issue if more Tory MPs had turned up."

 A spokesperson for the East of England Labour Party said:

"If more Tory MPs had bothered to turn up, it would have been a good chance for a wide range of MPs to debate the merits of the Conservative's threat to the regional housing industry - which come just at the time when our regional and local economies need the most support.

"Our region's Labour MPs would have welcomed the chance to point out to their Tory counterparts that their party's threats are bad for people here and bad for local jobs in the building sector. Unfortunately, they didn't get that chance today."