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Regulation has got to be cut the cost of regulation has got to be cut

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"Regulation has got to be cut, the cost of regulation has got to be cut. We guarantee that we will report progress to Parliament so that business will actually feel that burden lifting."All they feel at the moment, is regulation after regulation, tax after tax."We will guarantee a low tax, low regulated economy and we will ensure that UK companies are not put at a competitive disadvantage to other EU countries."In a personal attack on Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, she contrasted her party's approach with that of Trade ministers with "precious little experience" of business.Despite their "lecturing and hectoring" of the business sector, Britain had slumped from fourth to eighth in the world competitiveness league, Mrs Browning said.With problems facing car makers like Ford and Rover, and other major manufacturers, the Government had slapped £30bn of extra taxes and £10bn of extra regulation on business, leading to a "dangerous haemorrhaging" of jobs abroad. "There's not a sector of business that has been able to rely on you to put their case at the heart of Government. You have been constantly rolled over by the Treasury," she told the Secretary of State.Mrs Browning accused the Government of "talking down" manufacturing as a "rather old industry that can be discarded".But Mr Byers rejected her charges.

"While there may be difficulties in some sectors of manufacturing, we still have a buoyant and vibrant manufacturing sector here in the UK and you should not be talking it down," he told Mrs Browning.Manufacturing productivity was rising by 5 per cent a year and export volumes were 9.5 per cent higher than a year ago.Mr Byers accused the Conservatives of wanting to scrap the minimum wage and the statutory right to four weeks' annual paid holiday for people working in companies employing less than 10 people.Tories claimed the Government had imposed £10bn-worth of extra red tape on businesses but that figure included the £6.6bn cost of giving millions of people the right to paid holiday, the Secretary of State told MPs.. Divisions in Tony Blair's Cabinet over the single European currency burst into the open last night when Peter Mandelson and Stephen Byers called for the Government to adopt a more positive stance. Divisions in Tony Blair's Cabinet over the single European currency burst into the open last night when Peter Mandelson and Stephen Byers called for the Government to adopt a more positive stance. In a direct challenge to the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, who wants to stifle debate on membership of the euro until after the general election, Mr Mandelson and Mr Byers spoke out amid growing concern among pro-Europeans and industry that the Government is cooling on British entry.Mr Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told a trade union conference in Belfast: "The fact is that, as long as we are outside the euro, there is little we can do to protect industry against destabilising swings in the value of sterling as they affect Europe - the largest market where we have to earn our living."Although Downing Street played down Mr Mandelson's comments, they threatened to reopen his personal feud with Mr Brown, who had not been told about the speech in advance. Mr Brown's allies said that he, and not Mr Mandelson, would be the key player when the Government decided on whether to join the euro.Mr Byers, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, sought to reassure foreign-owned multinationals, who have warned ministers they may shelve investment plans in Britain because they fear the Government is cooling towards the euro. Japanese firms have launched a co-ordinated campaign to press ministers to join the single currency.Mr Byers is in talks with Nissan bosses in an attempt to persuade them to build their new Micra car at their plant near Sunderland, the most productive in Europe. He is worried Nissan will switch the project to France because it is in the euro zone and the company has linked with Renault.Although Mr Byers reiterated the policy of deciding whether its five economic tests had been met early in the next Parliament, he told the Commons last night: "It is vital that we don't by default drift back to a policy of 'wait and see'. To do so would be to deny a genuine choice to the British people."The statement reflected fears among the pro-euro lobby that Labour could not win a referendum on the issue unless it immediately starts the campaign to swing public opinion behind British membership.Mr Byers' comments are believed to have been cleared with Downing Street, which accepted the need to reassure foreign companies about the Government's intentions.

A senior source said: "We are not talking about plant closures but we are talking about big investment projects being lost - and that means jobs."William Hague seized on the cabinet divisions over the euro. The Tory leader said: "Peter Mandelson has let the cat out of the bag and has revealed Tony Blair's secret agenda to join the euro as soon as possible in defiance of all the evidence. Yet again it shows that Mr Blair is becoming more and more out of touch with the people of this country."The row overshadowed a speech by Mr Blair last night to a Confederation of British Industry dinner, in which he rejected calls to devalue sterling to save jobs. He said: "The problem is the euro's weakness - a weakness that is not justified by any serious analysis of continental Europe's strong economic fundamentals."Outlining a six-point plan to ensure economic stability, the Prime Minister said: "All this takes time Such a policy is for long-term strength Stability will take root over time ... raising productivity takes years, not weeks or even months."Sir Clive Thompson, the CBI president, warned Mr Blair the employment laws introduced by the Government amounted to "the biggest and most damaging overhaul of labour market regulation for 20 years"..

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