August 20, 2010
UK Labour party leadership candidate Ed Balls recently made a stop at Dundee and, in the wake of Realtime World’s administration, has blamed the cancellelation of planned tax breaks for the UK games industry are the "cause of the company’s failure."
In a post on his personal blog, Balls reminded readers that the tax breaks by the "previous Labour government" were cut by his colleagues in the Tory and Liberal coalition.
Balls also highlighted the stiff competition his country faces from places like Canada, where government support for the industry coupled with aggressive recruitment tactics of UK companies has made the country look like a shining beacon to developers who are looking for ways to make games and save some money.
"The Tory-Lib Dem government is putting the future of the computer games industry in Scotland at risk," wrote Balls. "The terrible news this week about Realtime Worlds could be just the start unless the coalition government rethinks its decisions which are costing jobs and risking the recovery."
"While Labour set out plans to support the industry in March, the new government axed it in June and the result is job losses in Dundee in August. These are the stark consequences of a government which cuts at any cost and seems to think that unemployment is a price worth paying."
Source: VG247
