DIGBY Jones, director general of the CBI, has called on businesses to get their message across to all political parties in the run-up to the General Election.

Mr Jones was speaking as he opened a new steel lintel plant at Birtley Building Products in County Durham.

He told a crowd of business leaders that they had never had a better chance to get their message heard.

He said: "The political parties, no matter what their colour, must earn the vote of business and that means listening to what they want.

"From the CBI's point of view, there has never been a better time to be fighting for business than in the run-up to a General Election."

Mr Jones also took the opportunity to call for less regulation on business.

He said: "What we want is less regulation, not more. We don't need ministers introducing more regulations, we need a minister for deregulation, sitting in the Cabinet who can get that message across.

"We need that minister to fight for less red tape to remove the shackles from business."

He said: "We also need a lower tax burden on businesses. The annual tax burden on firms has risen by more than £5bn in each one of the past five years. Inward investors are starting to look elsewhere in Europe, rather than the UK, which used to be their first choice."

"We need a Government that will fight for a socially-inclusive wealth-creating society, but it must remember that manufacturing is the backbone of our economy."

Birtley Building Products' fully-computerised lintel plant represents an investment of £1.5m.

It brings the total investment by the company in its site to more than £6m in the past five years.

Tony Pensom, managing director, said: "Supported by our parent group, Hill and Smith Holdings plc, we identified key areas of action that would secure a low-cost base for the future, including an improved product design and the introduction of greater manufacturing automation."

The plant has the capacity to satisfy up to 80 per cent of the anticipated demand for lintels used in the building trade.

Mr Pensom said: "The plant is continuing to hit all growth targets set, and providing increased job opportunities in an area of continuing high unemployment."

During the next two years Birtley plans to consolidate its growing share of the UK construction product market, and to expand its national distribution network via independent builders' merchants.