Finance Bill

Debate between Liam Byrne and Justine Greening

Tuesday 20th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Byrne]

Of course I will give way to the hon. Lady. She has been chuntering away so assiduously from a sedentary position, and it will be nice to hear her from the Dispatch Box.

[Justine Greening]

Is the right hon. Gentleman saying that he thinks the savings ratio is too high and that we should encourage people to go out and spend, spend, spend even if they cannot afford it?

[Mr Byrne]

No. I am saying that the country’s investors now have so little confidence in the economic plan that they would rather save their money than dare to invest it in productive capacity and growth for the future.

Let us look at some of the measures that show the decline in confidence. The Bank of England says that mortgage approvals fell in June; last month, the consumer confidence index fell for the first time in a long time; and yesterday, Rightmove told us that house prices have been cut for the first time this year. The Budget and the Bill are putting Britain’s recovery in the slow lane. The greatest irony of all is that we must all pay more as a consequence.