Liberal Democrats at Kent County Council have welcomed the joint government / Kent County Council plan for the development of East Kent, but warned of the danger of relying too much on any employment opportunities of Manston airport. Trudy Dean, Lib Dem Leader of the official opposition / Liberal Democrats at Kent County Council, said:
"I am pleased to see that both coalition parties are behind all out efforts to keep the highly skilled workforce at Pfizers in Kent, both in the short and long term. There is a long standing problem of lack of emplyment opportunities in East Kent. Lib Dem Minister Vince Cable has recognised the impact of a further loss of up to 4,000 Pfizer and supplier related jobs. I will be asking Vince Cable to support the proposals of this report.
"However, given the uncertain future of Manston airport, the plans should not rely on its development: airports offer mainly low skilled jobs. The plan should instead concentrate on developing a wide variety of jobs benefitting from improved road and rail links to London. I particularly welcome any proposal for employment in the green economy especially in the generation of renewable energy which is likely to be increasingly urgent following the devastating current problems with Japan's nuclear power stations."
Originally published by Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council, March 16, 2011