Northern Ireland (All-party Talks) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Northern Ireland Office
David Anderson
Main Page: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)Department Debates - View all David Anderson's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(10 years ago)
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Mrs Villiers
Yes, I can certainly do that. There will be no new money for welfare reform.
Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)
The leader of the Minister’s sister party in Northern Ireland said last week that the Government were trying to bribe the people with their own money. The truth is that they are trying to bribe the people to accept an agenda that the people there do not want. It is disgraceful that this involves things as important as identity and the past and the future of the place. Does this not show that because we have a Prime Minister with the attention span of a gnat, exactly as my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr Hain) said, he has left a vacuum—the worst thing one can do in Northern Ireland—which proves that he is not up to the job?
Mrs Villiers
That is nonsense. The Prime Minister made a realistic offer. Remember, what the Prime Minister can put on the table by way of financial assistance is severely constrained by the huge mess that Labour made of the economy in the years when it was in government.