Keep Marshall's in Cambridge - Save 1,700 jobs!

October 2009

Cambridge Labour are renewing their call for the Tory and Lib Dem councils to drop their plans to force Marshall's out of the city in favour of a massive housing development. Marshall's are celebrating their centenary this year, and indeed have employees whose families have been working there since the firm was formed. We believe these jobs, and the contribution Marshall's have made to Cambridge over the last century are vital.

There will be more coming over the next few weeks. For now, read Cllr Stuart Newbold's opinion from a recent letter to the Cambridge News.

On September 18, I had the privilege of attending an evening event at the airport to mark the centenary of Marshall of Cambridge and pay tribute to the company and its workforce, both present and past.

The evening started with an introduction on the big screen by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who spoke glowingly about Marshall's contribution to the Prince's Trust, and continued until near the end when we heard about the hundreds of employees encouraged and supported by the company to play an active role in their communities.

Along the way there were some amazing statistics - the company is so dedicated to training that over 10,000 apprentices have been trained in the last 100 years, a commitment which continues today with a quarter of the workforce under 30 and 600 employees being under 25. And in return staff stay loyal. This year there were 33 long service awards * 26 people with a service of 30 years, and seven people with a service of 40 years.

And 25 families currently have three or more people who together have worked at the company for at least 100 years. This clearly is a company, embedded in the local community, who together with their workforce have achieved a great deal for the Cambridge area.

Now contrast this with Cambridgeshire Horizons, the quango made up of representatives from our local authorities and civil servants, charged with delivering new housing in the Cambridge subregion, and given plenty of funding and staff to do so. This month marks Horizons' fifth birthday, and they too are celebrating in style, with an event at their headquarters later this month to reflect on their successes.

Now putting aside the obvious conflict of Horizons striving to develop the airport - with Marshall perhaps lost to the region for good, and what exactly has Horizons delivered so far? Did they help address problems at Orchard Park? No. Are they assisting with the cb1 development? No. Are any of the other Cambridge growth sites here yet? No. Northstowe perhaps? Er, no. Indeed, it's difficult to put one's finger on exactly what difference having Horizons has given us.

But happy birthday to both . . .

although I know which organisation I would like to see here in another 100 years.

Keep Marshall flying in Cambridge!