Socialist Stupidity Threatens Jobs as They Begin Attack on Private Equity Funds
Monday 4 June 2007
A conference in Brussels, organised by the Party of European Socialists (PES), today called for regulations on private equity and hedge funds. Reacting to MEPs' claims that private equity funds are "too often motivated by the desire to make a lot of money fast, with no respect for jobs, workers or long-term investment" (Danish MEP Poul Nyrup Rasmussen), Conservatives condemned left-wingers for burying their heads in the collectivist sand.
Timothy Kirkhope MEP said:
"Private equity is a complex and often misunderstood part of the economy. The role of a private equity firm is to see value in a business that is not being fulfilled, and private equity has often turned loss-making businesses into profitable and healthy enterprises.
"There is nothing wrong with the principle of selling those parts of a company that do not contribute to its effectiveness. The Socialists' conference today is completely unbalanced attempt to jump on a populist bandwagon, and contributes nothing to the understanding of the role of private equity.
"In my constituency, Leeds/Bradford airport has been bought for £100 million by a private equity fund which will invest further money in jobs and technology. So much for Rasmussen's view that there is no respect for jobs, workers and long term investment. It is this utterly wrong-headed dogmatism which condemns millions in unreformed labour markets to years of unemployment."
ENDS
