Keep Cadbury Independent -

I have been supporting the campaign to keep Cadbury independent with other West Midlands MPs and Unite the union.

You may have heard the news this morning that Cadbury’s Board may be about to recommend acceptance of a revised takeover bid by Kraft. Earlier today I issued the following joint statement along with fellow local Labour MPs Lynne Jones, Steve McCabe and Gisela Stuart.

Joint statement on Cadbury

We are very concerned about reports that Cadbury’s Board may be about to recommend acceptance of a revised takeover bid by Kraft. To us, all the arguments about the importance of keeping Cadbury’s independent as a successful and profitable British company remain as valid today as they were last month.

We think a takeover by Kraft could pose real dangers for jobs, innovation and the skill base in the West Midlands. We worry about the kind of future that Cadbury’s would have as part of this giant multinational whose corporate priorities are decided a long way away from the West Midlands and from those other areas of which Cadbury’s has long been a part.

If the Cadbury’s board do indeed recommend acceptance of the Kraft offer, a big responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Cadbury’s shareholders when they come to make a decision. The future of a company so important to the industrial base of this region and the UK should be about more than short term profit – whether for hedge funds or for anyone else. We hope shareholders will think carefully about that when they come to make a decision.

Whatever the final decision of shareholders, the protection of jobs and the long term future of Cadbury’s will remain our priority in the weeks and months ahead.
 
We think what has been happening to Cadbury’s also illustrates the vulnerability of UK companies to hostile or predatory takeovers. This is something which both Parliament and Government needs to address.

Richard Burden MP, Birmingham Northfield
Lynne Jones MP, Birmingham Selly Oak
Steve McCabe MP, Birmingham Hall Green
Gisela Stuart MP, Birmingham Edgbaston