Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Skidmore Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of the budget deficit.

[Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con)]

14. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of the budget deficit.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

In the past month, we have created an independent Office for Budget Responsibility to bring credibility to the Government’s forecasts, undertaken and completed in-year budget reductions of £6.2 billion and, today, laid before the House the process for the spending review that will take place this summer. In two weeks’ time, the Budget will set out a credible plan to accelerate the reduction of the budget deficit so that investors are reassured, interest rates can be kept lower for longer, and the recovery can be put on a stable footing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Osborne]

No, sadly I have not, but I discovered that he had a large bust of Oliver Cromwell sitting behind his desk, and that when the Irish peace negotiations were being conducted they had to be held in another room.

[Chris Skidmore]

In my constituency, the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance has increased by 147% in the past five years. Does the Chancellor agree that unemployed people in Kingswood would be best served by decisive action to tackle Labour’s legacy of debt now?

[Mr Osborne]

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. Of course, we inherited rising unemployment from the previous Labour Government and it is a fact that all Labour Governments have left office with unemployment rising—[Hon. Members: “It’s falling.”] Opposition Members say that, but they are not looking at the unemployment figures, which show that unemployment is rising, that we have the highest youth unemployment in Europe, and that a record number of children are growing up in workless households. That is what we have inherited from the Government who had 13 years to sort out these problems. We will sort this out, and give people real life chances.