A COMPANY which is gearing up to survive the recession has been backed by the Cotswolds MP.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown jumped into a sidecar to get a hands-on view of thriving business Watsonian-Squire, a leading manufacturer and exporter of motorcycle sidecars since 1912.

The MP had a particular interest in the visit through his work as shadow minister for international trade and development, with responsibility for supporting British exporters.

The company, based at Blockley, near Moreton-in-Marsh, produces 300 sidecars a year, exporting more than half of them.

Japan, whose innovative and reliable bikes dealt the final blow to the British motorcycle industry, is its biggest export market.

But Watsonian-Squire said its business growth was being hampered by trying to keep pace with a constant stream of new laws and directives.

The Conservative Party has pledged to tackle the issue through its deregulatory agenda.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Clifton-Brown said: "Everything I have seen today has greatly impressed me – from the management side of the business to the craftsmanship and pride the staff take in manufacturing such an excellent product.

"Businesses, in particular those in the manufacturing sector, have faced so many challenges since 1997 and yet Watsonian-Squire has overcome these.

"An incoming Conservative government would be unashamedly pro-business precisely because of firms like this – they are the wealth and job creators that have all too often been neglected."