Euro MP Christine Oddy will have two opportunities to put her views on the economy to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, when he visits Birmingham and Coventry on Friday (5 January).

In Birmingham Ms Oddy will be among a small group of Labour Party members who have been invited to a question and answer session with the Chancellor. The event is part of the programme by ministers to meet members and involve them in the policy-making process.

Later, the Chancellor, accompanied by the Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers, travels to Ms Oddy's Coventry and North Warwickshire constituency for a Productivity Challenge roadshow. The event at the TechnoCentre on Coventry University's Technology Park aims to help the Government in its work with the business and education communities to raise productivity to the levels achieved by Britain's major trading rivals. Current productivity levels in the United States are 40 per cent and in France and Germany 20 per cent higher than in Britain.

Ms Oddy said:

"It's refreshing to have a Government and a Chancellor who want to listen to what people have to say. I certainly intend to take the opportunity to give my views on the economy and measures I believe should be included in the Budget."