Call to boost Loughborough job prospects

AstraZeneca will close the plant in Loughborough.

Conservative leader David Cameron has said new employers should be encouraged to Loughborough to fill the jobs void caused by the AstraZeneca closure.

The pharmaceutical company announced in March the closure of the site in the town with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Now the Conservative leader says finding another large employer may be difficult.

Liberal Democrat candidate Mike Willis said both Labour and the Conservatives had built a "precarious economy".

The Labour Party was unavailable for comment.

David Cameron had arrived in Loughborough on the eve of unveiling the Conservative Party's manifesto.

He said: "The first thing we must avoid is this crazy National Insurance increase. The worst thing to do when you're coming out of recession is to tax jobs and tax employment.

"The changes with AstraZeneca are having a big impact on the area and it's difficult to find really big employers like that in the future that we face.

"I think a lot of the growth will come from small and medium-sized enterprises and it's those we've got to encourage and get moving."

Mr Willis said: "We are struggling in the longest recession on record and people here in Loughborough know this all too well, with job losses and more uncertainty ahead.

Second-fiddle

"This has all happened because Labour, and the Conservatives before them, built a precarious economy that was too dependent on the City of London, soaring house prices and rocketing personal debt.

"Small businesses had to play second-fiddle to the money men, but no more.

"Now we must support those businesses, help them grow, stem the wave of job cuts and protect the Loughborough economy."

The BNP's Geoff Dickens said: "We have no control over this while we remain members of the so-called Economic European Community."

Candidates announced so far for Loughborough are: Conservative: Nicky Morgan; Labour: Andrew Reed; Liberal Democrat: Mike Willis; British National Party: Kevan Stafford.