THE IMPACT of the credit crunch could be “devastating” on Liverpool, the city’s two main political leaders have warned while urging action to support Jaguar Land Rover.

Council leader Warren Bradley and Labour opposition leader Joe Anderson in backing the Daily Post’s campaign for the Government to support JLR have called for a summit to draw up a strategy to help Merseyside’s car manufacturers.

The pair have put down a motion to a meeting of the full council at the end of January calling for action.

The “Support JLR” campaign is supported by sister paper, the Liverpool Echo and Midlands stablemates, the Birmingham Post and Mail and Coventry Telegraph.

JLR employs 2,200 staff at Halewood and more than 13,000 in the West Midlands.

Our campaign urges the Government to provide a short-term loan or stand as guarantor to give banks the confidence to free up funds.

The motion to council states: “Council recognises how important the two car plants (Jaguar Land Rover & GM Vauxhall) are to the economy of the City; not only through employment but also to the supply chain businesses.

“The impact of the credit crunch on these industries and the economy of the city could be devastating, following the successes Liverpool has seen.

“Council calls upon the Executive Director for Regeneration to facilitate a meeting between the leaders of the main political parties, Government Office North West, the North West Development Agency, the Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool Vision, along with the owners of Jaguar-Land Rover and General Motors to identify a strategy that will work to eradicate the challenges faced by the industry at the two City Region locations.” Vauxhall say it does not need financial help, but instead wants the Government to improve consumer access to credit to help purchases of vehicles.