I read there was an error made in ticket pricing in invitations to a Labour party fundraising dinner for business people in Bolton.

It’s cheeky to say it sums up Labour's understanding of business. Labour have governed Britain well before and will do so again. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a lead body for any government so everyone knows Labour are ready to run it. Labour governed from 1997 to 2010 and the UK had strong productivity performance relative to other countries. When Labour governed the UK had a faster catch-up of GDP per capita with the US than under the previous Conservative government.

Analysis shows that under Labour the biggest contributors to productivity were business services and distribution sectors; it wasn’t all an unsustainable bubble of finance, property and oil as has been suggested. Business performance of foreign direct investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and skills were real yields under Labour.

We lagged behind the other G6 economies on investment in vocational skills and R&D but overall business performance was very effective under a Labour government. Neither does the evidence show that Labour just made the most of the economy it inherited from John Major’s government. Labour promoted innovation, expanded university education and did strengthen some competition policy and my party had arguments about some of that policy under Tony Blair. We did not do well on financial regulation but this did not cause the global recession. Business is a big part of work life in this country in which micro and small business matters hugely and is supported strongly by many Labour politicians.

Councillor Susan Haworth

Harper Green ward