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Public entitled to some honesty
THE Forgemasters saga will not go away. And what was a local embarrassment for Sheffield MP Nick Clegg has now taken on national implications as former Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and his ex-Business Minister Pat McFadden ferret through official documents to show the coalition government was less than truthful to claim there was no money to fund an £80 million loan.
The Labour men exercised little- known privileges which give them access to papers in their old department in the hope they will serve up an embarrassment to Nick Clegg, who insisted the public were entitled to honesty when he said the previous Government could not afford to lend money to Forgemasters.
Going back on the offer was a serious home goal for Clegg, portrayed as deserting Sheffield's manufacturing roots.
In the world of government spending, 80 million is a small amount and there would also have been the prospect of a 30 million windfall for the taxpayer in the shape of interest payments when the loan was honoured by Forgemasters.
However, there is growing suspicion the loan may have been singled out because it allowed the steel firm to develop its potential for manufacturing nuclear power stations, which the Liberal Democrats oppose.
In fact, only this week the party's Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, was promoting wind power, saying there was no money for new nuclear power stations.
Renewable energy may offer an attractive sound bite but the technology is questionable. If the Lib Dems were influenced on the Forgemasters plan by their anti-nuclear stance, then the voters should be told. They deserve that level of honesty.
Finding ways and means to do good
CASH from the Big Lottery Fund is to make a difference to local organisations after multi-thousand pound grants were handed out. This kind of support is likely to become increasingly necessary in the months and years ahead as the government cuts off the tap of money available for non-key schemes. So it is encouraging to see the Big Lottery Fund continues to dig deep and helps out some very worthwhile organisations.
And whole communities will no doubt benefit from one organisation, the Rotherham-based POP's Summer Camp which gives adventure holidays to young people from the area. Organisers say the transformation is remarkable as young people become more self-reliant and confident as a result.
In a perfect world, this is the type of programme which ought to be available to everyone. But we are all undergoing a severe reality check and learning that money is not always available so it is good that there remain ways and means to ensure schemes such as this can continue.
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
