Oral Answers to Questions

Charlie Elphicke Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

After four years of never mentioning the deficit and opposing every single spending cut we have had to make, there seems to have been a Damascus-like conversion—Labour Members are all suddenly interested in the deficit. Let me give the right hon. Gentleman a bit of a lesson. Yes, we have had to make very difficult decisions, cutting some Government Departments and some by as much as 20%, but every single decision was opposed by the Labour party. In terms of what is happening on wages, as I have just said, the recent figures out show that people who have been in work for more than a year are seeing pay increases of 4%. We are helping everyone in work by cutting their taxes. In the end, the only way to raise living standards sustainably is to grow the economy, create jobs and cut taxes— three things we are doing; three things Labour would never do.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Q8. This morning, more people went to work than ever before in the history of our nation. Is the Prime Minister aware that in Dover and Deal unemployment has fallen by 37%, thanks to our welfare reforms and thanks to our long-term economic plan? Why would we ever return to where we were less than five short years ago?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In Dover, the claimant count is down by 24% since the election. Across the south-east, the number of people employed is up by almost a quarter of a million. We have record levels of employment. Anyone getting a job is someone else who has the security and stability to provide for their family. At the same time as this increase in employment, we have also seen the pay gap between men and women, particularly under 40, reduced to its lowest ever level. We are seeing a strong and solid recovery. As the Chancellor will explain in a moment, there is no room for complacency. We have to stick to the long-term economic plan and deliver it.