Tag Archives: cadbury’s

NewsHound

LibLink … Vince Cable: Mandelson melted like a creme egg as the vultures swooped

By NewsHound | Sun 24th January 2010 - 1:30 pm

Over at the Mail, Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable writes about Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury, arguing that government policy has failed in three ways: by ignoring the damage mergers do to the economy; by refusing to curb the company voting rights of short-term speculators; and by letting a state-owned bank lend the money which sealed the deal. Here’s an excerpt:

I feel for the Cadbury workers, but that alone is not enough explanation for the anger over the deal and the significance of the takeover. Nor is the fact that Kraft is American. Britain has long been open to foreign

…

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

When should the state intervene? RBS, Kraft & Cadbury and the Eternal Liberal Dilemma

By Stephen Tall | Thu 21st January 2010 - 7:00 pm

US firm Kraft’s proposed takeover of Cadbury’s has made headlines in recent days. First, because it’s a major, historic British brand being snapped-up by a non-UK business (or ‘foreign predator’, as Vince Cable labels them). Secondly, because of the fear that job losses will result. And, thirdly, because of the role of the Royal Bank of Scotland – in which the British government has a majority stake-holding – in lending the money to Kraft which will fund its acquisition of Cadbury’s.

The Lib Dems – in the shape of Nick Clegg and Vince – have sharply questioned the role of the Government in the takeover. At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Nick asked Gordon Brown:

… there is a simple principle at stake. Tens of thousands of British companies are crying out for that money to protect jobs, and instead RBS wants to lend it to a multinational with a record of cutting jobs. When British taxpayers bailed out the banks, they would never have believed that their money would be used to put British people out of work. Is that not just plain wrong?

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Posted in Op-eds and PMQs | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 11 Comments



Recent Comments

  • User AvatarAndrew Emmerson 24th May - 12:06pm
    Unless I'm reading this piece wrong - it seems that the objections were a mixture of very minor technicalities, and far flung policy ideas that...
  • User AvatarWilliam Hobhouse 24th May - 12:01pm
    The Lib Dem Campaign for Manufacturing has been very clear about the building blocks for a stronger economy. And R & D is a key...
  • User AvatarRichard S 24th May - 11:46am
    The key is not the raw volume of trade but the amount of comparative advantage gained, Most of the trade with similar economies in the...
  • User Avatartpfkar 24th May - 11:43am
    I think it will take a 'wrong' GE result for electoral reform to be a serious option again. Our equivalent of Bush vs Gove. Obvious...
  • User AvatarRichard S 24th May - 11:38am
    @Matthew Huntabach, - The top rate of tax in the UK is 45 percent. At what point would we not have an extreme market? Also...
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