CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling showed he was in the driving seat on a visit to a Sheffield research and development company yesterday.
He toured ITM Power on Atlas Way, a firm which has developed a way of producing hydrogen gas from tap water, using a solar-powered electrolysing machine which can be sited in the home.
The fuel can then be used to power cars or utilised as a source of household fuel.
Mr Darling saw for himself how the system worked, and even went for a short drive in a blue Ford Focus car which has been converted to run on hydrogen gas. After his spin the chancellor attempted to offer words of reassurance to South Yorkshire workers who have lost their jobs after the unemployment total rose to its highest level in 18 years.
He told The Star: "We want to make sure that if people do lose their jobs, we want to help them back into work."
He added that, in previous recessions, "areas like Sheffield were devastated by mass unemployment and some people never worked again".
But he promised the Government had "learned lessons" from the past.
Mr Darling did not reveal how he would put his pledge to help unemployed people into action.
But he said encouraging new industrial firms such as ITM Power "will help secure jobs in the future".
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