Not "frittered away" John. About £40 million of it was wisely invested in remuneration and pension packages for the four members of Phoenix. And before we start moaning, let's remember that those guys were prepared to plough a staggering £10 of their own money into the project at zero risk to themselves. The guest is quite right: if there were still communist shop stewards and an occasional strike or two, such public-spirited sacrifices would be severely constrained.

PoppaGator made some good points.

The Chinese, or any other potential strategic partner, has the government absolutely over a barrel, as no doubt they have been planning for a year or two. They were always interested in talking because MG Rober does have the kind of technologies and know-how they needed. But they've already acquired much of the intellectual property they were after, and according to some reports, the Chinese group already owns the MG badge.

No responsible government would risk getting sucked into this quagmire. The one we've got should put all its energy into explaining the rationale, and showing how the British economy can prosper without reliance on middle-grade technologies like car manufacturing. But explaining is something this government has run away from more than any other. All it can do is research opinion, then blow with the wind. Any thought of taking an initiative or showing leadership would be regarded as sheer lunacy.

Just to keep this in sensible perspective, the impact of Longbridge closing, in terms of job losses and community disruption, will be a drop on the bucket against the pit closure program - which new Labour would put into effect tomorrow if Thatcher hadn't already done it.

On other thing: THIS THREAD NEEDS A BS PREFIX PLEASE, if any Mudelfs are listening.