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In a meeting hosted by Glyn Jones, the MD of London Luton Airport and held at their offices at Navigation House, Mr. Osborne gave a short speech followed by a Q&A session with 20 local business leaders covering both large and small businesses from across Luton.  Mr Osborne also had a brief tour of the airport facilities and talked to staff working in the main terminal building.

In a frank and open discussion Mr Osborne answered questions ranging, not surprisingly, from aviation and the vehicle industry to the plight of small businesses trying to raise finance, to the need for more effective training and re-training programmes.

One local businessman asked a question about the recent VAT reduction and questioned the effectiveness of the reduction, the cost to small businesses of implementing the temporary solution, and whether many small businesses had actually passed the VAT reduction on.  Mr Osborne said that he and David Cameron made a tough decision to oppose the move when it was announced precisely because of these difficulties and because "it was an expensive yet ineffective tax cut that the country could not afford in current circumstances".  He said that at the time this opinion was unpopular, but that events had since proved their scepticism correct.

Mr Osborne said: “The Government is spending too much money. No similar country has such a large budget deficit. The government is too big.  For every £4 spent only £3 is raised. Every time we see a policeman, use a hospital or a school, only three quarters of the cost of that service is paid for.  The rest if debt - that will take years to pay off.  Labour’s instinct was to raise taxes. The Conservative instinct is to reduce expenditure.”

Mr Osborne was joined in his visit by the two Conservative Parliamentary Candidates for Luton:  Nigel Huddleston (Luton South) and Jeremy Brier (Luton North); and by Geoffrey Van Orden, a Conservative MEP for the Eastern Region who was also visiting Luton as part of the Conservative European Parliamentary election campaign.  Mr Osborne commented that he "looks forward to welcoming two new Conservative MP's from Luton to parliament within the next year."

In a visit that was scheduled well before the recent MP expense scandals Mr. Osborne nevertheless commented that "it is up to all MP's to explain themselves and their expense claims to their constituents individually, as I am happy to do to the people of Tatton...   But the key thing the country needs is change.  Change that can only brought about by a General Election and the election of a Conservative Government."

Commenting on the meeting, Geoffrey Van Orden said:

“The Shadow Chancellor is under no illusions about the scale of the task that will confront an incoming Conservative Government. He will aim to cut Labour’s expensive and unnecessary bureaucracy – including quangos such as the regional Development Agency and Learning & Skills Council. More attention will be paid to the needs of businesses, particularly SMEs, and to ensuring that there are real skills improvement opportunities for young people and those that have lost their jobs. Conservatives want to see the same focus on the needs of business from the EU - too much of the legislation that comes out of Brussels is a weight on the back of our businesses - we want to change that."

Nigel Huddleston said:

"It was an energetic and interactive meeting at which local businesses leaders were able to express their concerns, frustrations and hopes to the future Chancellor of Great Britain."  He added  "It speaks volumes about priorities and judgement that while we Conservatives were having productive discussions with business leaders about jobs and the economy my political opponent was busy running around the media outlets trying to justify her outrageous expense claims."

Jeremy Brier said:

“Everyone came away impressed at how much time George took to really listen to local concerns and to give frank, honest answers. At a time when everyone in Luton is growing tired of Labour, it was refreshing to have such a senior politician from the Conservatives seeing this great town as a priority to visit.”

* Local businesses and business leaders included:
Glyn Jones - MD - London Luton Airport.
Simon Earles - Manager Development and Corporate Social Responsibility - London Luton Airport.
Derek Ludlow - Chairman of the Ludlow Group.
Richard Baker - Managing Director of Luton Hoo.
Michael Forster - Director, Easter Group.
Peter Taylor - Managing Director, Easter Group.
H.S. (Sandy) Sandher - H.K. Trading Ltd.
Bob Shah - B.P. Shah and Co.
Danielle Chapman - Manager, Corporate Relations, VauxhallUK/IBC.
Tim Jeans - Managing Director, Monarch Airlines.
Steve Whiting - Luton First (local Small and Medium Enterprise group).
Mark Pelopida - Senior Partner, Machins.
David Nash - DNC Shopfittings.
Mohammed Arif - Luton Driving Schools.
Paul Simmons - Easyjet Regional General Manager.
Andrew McConnell - Easyjet UK Communications Manager.
Neil Morris - TUI/Thompson, Planning Director.