PETITION GROWING AS MOORE CALLS ON GOV'T TO SUPPORT BORDERS ECONOMY

12.00.00am GMT Tue 5th Jan 2010

Local MP Michael Moore has welcomed the positive response from people across the Borders to his petition calling on the Government to support additional training facilities and protect jobs across the South of Scotland.

Hundreds of people have been in contact with Mr Moore's office since the petition was launched in late 2009 and he is planning to present the responses received to the Prime Minister before the end of January.

Commenting, Mr Moore said:

'2009 was a challenging year for a number of businesses around the Borders, with redundancies across our manufacturing industry and retail sector causing extreme financial difficulty for many families.

'The number of responses I have received to my petition provides a clear indication of just how strongly people across the South of Scotland feel about the failure of the Government to protect jobs and provide adequate alternatives to employment for people that have found themselves out of work.

'Although many commentators have suggested that the economic outlook has brightened in recent months, unless we see action now to prevent further job losses and provide people with the support they need to get back to work it is clear that 2010 could be as difficult a year as 2009 for the Borders.'