MP Danczuk's Agency Vision Twentyone Goes Bust

Manchester-based full service social research agency Vision Twentyone, which was co-founded by Rochdale's Labour MP Simon Danczuk, has gone bust owing more than £222k.

Vision Twentyone was founded by Danczuk (pictured), former Tony Blair adviser Ruth Turner, and Big Issue North co-founder Anne McNamara in 1999, to provide qual and quant stakeholder analysis and community consultation and engagement studies to mainly public sector clients.

Turner and McNamara sold their share of the business in 2005, while Danczuk remained a leading shareholder after his election as an MP last year, but has not been involved in the company's day-to-day management for some time.

He said the firm has been placed into voluntary liquidation after being badly hit by government spending cuts, which had resulted in the loss of around 75% of its business in the last six months.

Following the company's closure in June, eight part-time and ten full-time members of staff have been made redundant. Creditors include HM Revenue and Customs, which is owed £113k.

In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Danczuk said: 'All across my constituency small businesses have been badly hit by the cuts introduced by this government and Vision Twentyone was no different. I'm very disappointed to see the company go under, particularly as good local people have lost jobs as a result. But many other small businesses are in the same boat and there are important messages the government needs to hear.'

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.