DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg believes "the chances are high" Siemens' planned investment in Hull will go ahead. Speaking to the Mail at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, he said that if the energy giant did "sign along the dotted line", it would have a "dramatic effect" on the Humber, transforming it into a "real hub" for offshore wind.
Mr Clegg's comments come after Hull High Steward Lord Mandelson said he was "80 per cent certain" the planned turbine factory at Green Port Hull would go ahead. Although a final announcement has yet to be made, senior Government and opposition politicians appear increasingly confident that years of intensive lobbying will soon pay off.
"We've worked flat out," said Mr Clegg. "Both the Prime Minister and I have spent a considerable amount of personal time on this, with Siemens themselves and stakeholders in the Hull area.
"It would have a transforming effect on the region, allowing Hull to act as I know it could, and should, do as a real hub for the green, offshore wind industry of the future."
The Liberal Democrat leader marked the end of his party's annual conference by announcing that every child in infant school will get a free school lunch as of next September.
The Coalition will fund English schools to provide every five, six and seven-year- old with "a hot, healthy meal at lunchtime", something it believes will save the average family £400 a year.
Mr Clegg said: "Millions of parents across the country are feeling the squeeze.
"I am determined to do all we can to help put money back in the pockets of these families.
"Universal free school meals will help give every child the chance in life that they deserve, building a stronger economy and fairer society."
The Deputy Prime Minister also praised the "very active local Liberal Democrats in Hull", more than a month after they won two council by-elections in Hessle.
He said: "It's been a tough time for us but I think we've shown extraordinary resilience locally given all the vituperative bile that's been thrown at the Liberal Democrats by the local Labour Party.
"But I think people are starting to see in Hull, as they are elsewhere in the country, that Labour has a great line in insults but they don't have a great line in policy and, at the end of the day, the things that will secure jobs in Hull are the kind of policies we're pursuing, not the kind of insults that Labour are throwing in our direction."
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