Hamish Champ: MPs - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?storycode=64532

I suggest the lack of comments on this piece are to do with the complexity of the subject matter. Steve W may well be right. Fortunately for my skepticism antennae the politicians I've met tend on the whole to fall well into the former category and are honourable, hard working and tireless people and this tendency applies across party.

Recently met someone who told me of a British low carbon technology design and manufacturing company which has just secured firm orders from abroad for 10,0000 of one of the units they make in the UK. Delivering the scale of this order would put the company - and Britain - at the top of the world of leading edge low carbon technology manufacturers but they do not have the capacity to deliver without rapid substantial investment in plant and infrastructure. Finding it difficult to raise equity or bank loan finance and having been told by banks and potential investors to approach government departments responsible for supporting such emerging technologies, they did approach the government and were told that support would not be available at all without first getting risk capital investment in from the private sector or banks.

Great Britain.

Been there, seen it, not done it.