Union leaders have urged ministers to meet workers from the Coryton oil refinery in Essex, to explain why they have ruled out using state aid to save the plant from closure.
The government said it will not apply to Europe for permission to use state funds to keep the refinery open.
About 850 jobs are at risk after Coryton's parent company went bust.
Ministers said overcapacity in the refining industry meant it would not be sustainable to provide government help.
The Labour Party and unions have pressed ministers to consider putting up cash to keep the refinery - which supplies about 20% of south-east England's fuel - going until administrators can find a buyer.
The future of the Thames Estuary refinery has been in doubt since January, when its Swiss-based parent company, Petroplus, became insolvent.
An economic impact assessment report commissioned by Thurrock Council revealed the closure or change of use of the site would cost about £107m in costs such as materials, contractor payments, and wages.
'Devastating impact'Two weeks ago administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said they had failed to find a buyer and operations would be run down.
Labour MPs and local Lib Dem MP Bob Russell tabled a Commons motion on Monday calling on the government to step in to allow the refinery to remain open until a buyer is found.
“Start Quote
End Quote Department for Energy and Climate ChangeIf Government did step in to help Coryton, this would be a short term fix, and it could potentially lead to job losses at other refineries”
They said the refinery was an important national infrastructure asset and that its closure would have "a devastating impact on the people of Essex" and risk making the UK more dependent on foreign fuel imports.
They have been calling on ministers to approach the European Commission to find out if short term state aid could be offered to the refinery.
Unite and the GMB unions have both condemned the government's decision.
Unite General Secretary Len McLuskey said the government's actions were "simply not good enough".
He added, "Last night, the Chancellor pledged to pump in at least £100bn into the banking system to boost lending... in an attempt to build a financial firewall against the situation in Greece.
"Yet, a similar request from Unite for state aid... to tide over Coryton until a viable buyer is found to take over the oil refinery is dismissed by ministers out-of-hand.
"[Energy Secretary] Ed Davey and his ministerial team should have the courage to... drive to Coryton to tell the workers why they have to lose their jobs, while bankers in the City scoop up outrageous and undeserved bonuses."
'Short term fix'But the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that overcapacity in the refining industry and declining demand for petrol meant it would not be sustainable for the government to provide assistance even if the EU allowed it to do so.
A spokesman added: "If Government did step in to help Coryton, this would be a short term fix, and it could potentially lead to job losses at other refineries who would be at an unfair disadvantage to Coryton.
"This was a very difficult decision and it is particularly regrettable that people may lose their jobs.
"The closure of Coryton as a refinery should not have any impact on supply of fuel to London and the south east. There are many other supply points and operational refineries which can be used."
Some redundancies are expected next week. The government says this is regrettable, but it was working with local agencies and Jobcentres to help the refinery's skilled workforce find new positions.
About 100 workers protested at the site and in Corringham town centre on Monday.
A demonstration was also held on Thursday outside London's Royal Courts of Justice where Prime Minister David Cameron was giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry.
In February, a group of financiers agreed to pay to refine their own oil at the plant for three months, giving administrators more time to find a new buyer.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Former council boss who left half-way through her four year contract receives £420,000 in one of the biggest local authority payoffs - Daily Mail
- Former chief exec had led major shake-up of the way the county council was run
- Council has now dished out more than 600,000 to pay off last two chief execs
- Authority has paid out 10.08m in 'exit packages' to staff made between 2011-2012
By Andrew Levy
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Big pay out: Former Kent County Council chief Katherine Kerswell got a 589,165 pay off from Kent County Council
A council chief who lasted just 20 months in her job was given a 589,165 pay-off, the local authority has been forced to admit.
Katherine Kerswell was a third of the way into her four-year contract when she left Kent County Council in December.
The council had refused to disclose details of the settlement, saying it was subject to a confidentiality agreement. But it was forced to declare the sum under new transparency rules on executive pay.
Its Conservative administration insisted at the time that her departure was part of a cost-saving reorganisation she oversaw that included getting rid of her own post. But there was also speculation she had fallen out with colleagues and councillors.
It is thought to be one of the highest ever remuneration packages for a council manager, and is more than four times the Prime Minister’s 142,500 salary.
The statement of accounts for 2011-12 revealed that Mrs Kerswell, 49, received 139,806 of her 197,000 salary, 420,000 in redundancy payments and a 29,359 pension contribution.
Robert Oxley, campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the council had shown ‘scant regard’ to value for taxpayers’ money.
He added: ‘Councils may have a legal requirement to make a redundancy pay-out, but this is staggeringly excessive.
‘Councillors need to scrap the overly generous contracts that make these deals possible before any more money is blown on gargantuan redundancy pay-offs.’
Expensive business: Kent County Council headquarters. A total of 10.08million has been paid in 'exit packages' to staff between 2011 and 2012
Mrs Kerswell had a 197,136 salary in her previous job as chief executive of Northamptonshire County Council. She had defended the pay deal by saying it was equal to only 29p for each person in the county.
She was also lampooned at the time for her ‘Taste the Strawberry’ campaign – management speak that was meant to represent the overall ‘flavour’ of the council’s services and help it to improve its performance.
She moved to Kent in March 2010 and oversaw a shake-up of the way the county council was run under its ‘Change To Keep Succeeding’ programme, which involved a cull of senior directors.
Kent County Council, which needs to make savings of 97million this year, paid out 10.8million in so-called ‘exit packages’ to about 1,000 staff in 2011-12. This included 172,000 to the authority’s former finance director, Lynda McMullan, who left in September last year and now works for the National Audit Office.
History: The council gave the chief executive who Ms Kerswell replaced a 200,000 pay off
Council leader Paul Carter said: ‘Removing chief executive posts is what more and more councils should be doing.
‘Employment law and contractual obligations mean we have to pay significant redundancy costs, but it will save a fortune in the long run. Our council is now being guided by officers who have worked their way up and know what life is like from a Kent taxpayer’s perspective.’
Last year it emerged that Phil Dolan, the former chief executive of South Somerset District Council, which has just 162,000 residents, had received a redundancy package of almost 570,000.
The transparency rules which forced the council to reveal Mrs Kerswell’s pay were introduced by the Coalition government.
Local Government Minister Grant Shapps last night criticised Mrs Kerswell’s pay deal as ‘deeply concerning’. He said: ‘I find dipping into the public purse to make such an eye-watering pay-off unacceptable.’
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Russian bids to keep Coryton refinery open - Financial Times
June 15, 2012 10:40 pm
Source: www.ft.com
On TOWIE, We're Not All Uneducated Idiots - huffingtonpost.co.uk
When Jessica Wright mistakenly tweeted 'rest in peace' following the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il you could almost hear the stereotypes being sharpened.
The response was immediate and vicious.
Here, snarled the chattering classes, was glaring proof The Only Way is Essex, which Jessica and I both star in, was a TV show populated by the clueless and watched by their less clever relatives.
For despite its mega-success, knocking shows like TOWIE - and the people who appear in them - has become a national pastime.
Case closed, your honour.
It doesn't matter that the economy is tanking, Europe's crashing around our ears, and, let's face it, England are still a very long way from Euro 2012 glory.
The problem is, despite a stereotype fuelled by years of Essex Girl jokes, we're not all uneducated idiots, no matter what the critics might think.
For what it's worth, I've got a First in economics from Loughborough University and, believe it or not, Diags is a former law student. Ask around if you think that's an easy course to get onto. Incidentally, Jessica has got a degree in business and marketing management and is very bright.
Okay, you might not get many discussions about politics or what I think is wrong with the economy on the show. It doesn't mean we're not having them. People watch TOWIE to be entertained, not lectured; it's not Newsnight or Panorama.
And, if anything, TOWIE is about trying to take people's mind of worrying about the recession or losing their job. That's what entertainment is about. And it doesn't mean we're gormless Essex oinks either.
Growing up in Essex I always wanted to work in the City. My Dad is a broker and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Luckily, I was quite academic, but I worked hard and got a good degree.
After Uni, I went straight to work for one of the top investment banks in the world. I took and passed more exams, this time for the Financial Services Authority, so I could legally trade. The hours were long and there are no free rides in the City these days but I loved it. From here my future could have been mapped out.
People from Essex are ambitious and want to do well. Working in the City isn't just a geographical fluke because it's on our doorstep. You can make a good living and we're prepared to work hard. Maybe some of us are wheeler-dealers but we're confident by nature and that works well in the Big Smoke. That's why social mobility has always worked for us.
Sadly, while my qualifications were good, my timing sucked. With the country plunging ever deeper into financial meltdown it wasn't necessarily the best time to be making a name on the money markets. So call us what you will, but if there's one thing me and the other cast members are it's opportunistic.
Consequently when my good friend Joey Essex asked me once again if I'd consider being in TOWIE, I jumped at the chance.
I've been friends with Joey all of my life. In a lot of ways we're complete opposites but I think that's why our friendship works. The fact that a person is not academic does not make them an idiot. Nor does being from Essex.
The thing about Essex is that it's big, really big, something like 1,200 square miles, and probably one of the most bad-mouthed places in the country.
Other counties might have their places of outstanding natural beauty, their glorious beaches, their wrecked castles; we have our nail bars, clubs and clothes shops, so the critics sneer.
So I'm sorry to disappoint those who think we're all about fake tans, vajazzles and haircuts.
These might come out in the show. It doesn't mean we're shallow or obsessed with them.
Everyone who's on TOWIE knows that first and foremost it's entertainment. If it doesn't entertain, it doesn't work. Full stop. That's why it's such a laugh. And, without sounding too poncey, an honour to be on it.
The show's success is down to the fact that people like to laugh at us, and get involved in our lives, and it's deeply touching that they can forget their own troubles by enjoying our ups and downs.
TOWIE's opened a lot of doors, too. The fact that you're seen by millions of people on TV every week is something you can put to work and make a career out of. Many of the cast members have recently launched and now manage their own businesses. Obviously it boosts your publicity being on TV and people make the most of that. What's wrong with a bit of entrepreneurship? Can you be stupid on one hand, and cashing in on the other? I'm not sure you can.
We're high profile. We get a lot of attention, and we're lucky too. I'm not complaining about that.
But don't expect me to sit back and take being branded a thickie simply because of where I'm from and how I speak.
It's still early days for me on TOWIE but I'm having the time of my life with a great bunch of people.
In the long-term I want to run my own businesses but I could easily see myself going back into the City again. I've always got my degree to fall back on. That's given me a good foundation for the future.
Where do I see myself in 10 years' time? Anyone who answers this question with confidence is as deluded as we are stereotyped, who knows what life will throw at you... you get one chance and as long as you're true to yourself then the critics aren't important.
Incidentally, if you want to know why the economy has collapsed, it can be put simply: a state of collective euphoria and excessive risk taking in an increasing globalised economy means that small ripples on one side of the world will eventually be felt on the other. This is due to how inter-connected our modern day global financial system is. Our politicians are not just making decisions that will affect our domestic economy but all of those which are connected around the world. A much more daunting task than it was 30 years ago.
How do we fix it? What do I know... I'm just a reality TV star.
Follow Tom Pearce on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tompearce1
Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
Kent: Return of councillor who left malicious voicemail for bisexual colleague ‘an insult’ - pinknews.co.uk
A bisexual councillor in Kent has said it is ‘shocking’ that a Conservative colleague who told him he hoped he would ‘get Aids’ will rejoin his party’s team following a six-month suspension.
In May, independent councillor John Worrow received a voicemail from Conservative Ken Gregory which said: “With a bit of luck, you’ll get Aids.”
After a police investigation, Mr Gregory was cautioned for malicious communication and suspended from the Conservative group for six months.
But Mr Worrow told PinkNews.co.uk this afternoon there was anger at the prospect of Mr Gregory returning to the council at all.
Mr Worrow said: “Many residents feel that the decision for him to remain in the Conservative Party is an insult to those in the area who are living with HIV AIDS.
“On the same day as this shocking decision to allow Ken Gregory to rejoin the Conservatives in six months’ time, I received anonymous hate mail telling me I am going to hell for being bisexual.”
Mr Worrow said residents had called for a protest outside Thanet council offices on 12 July at 6pm, an hour before a public council meeting that Mr Gregory is attending, to call for him to resign.
The Conservative group leader had not responded to a request for comment on Mr Gregory’s suspension by the time of publication.
Thanet District Council became the first local authority in Kent to support equal marriage rights for gay couples in April. It was the second council in England, after Southwark, to affirm such a position.
Discuss this →Source: www.pinknews.co.uk
Ah Yes, Ms Kerswell and her 'Taste the Strawberry' campaign for another county council? Evidently you can fool all of the people, all of the time, especially where local councils are concerned.
- Pickle.P, Northampton UK, 16/6/2012 05:36
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