Edward Miliband
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(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)
I join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the British embassy staff killed in the appalling terrorist attack in Kabul last week. It is a reminder of the danger that our embassy staff and military personnel still in Afghanistan face on a daily basis. All our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who died.
The Prime Minister said earlier this year:
“woe betide the politician that makes…big promises and then says ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t really mean it.’”
Can he recall any time he might have done that?
The Prime Minister
Let me tell the right hon. Gentleman the promises we have kept. We promised to get the economy growing—it is the fastest growing in the G7. We promised to get unemployment down—we have created 1.8 million new jobs. We promised to make Britain a great place to start a business—there are 760,000 more businesses in this country. This Government are a Government who have made their commitments, kept their commitments and, as a result, have a plan that is working.
Edward Miliband
Come to think of it, the Prime Minister might have broken a big promise quite recently: immigration down to the tens of thousands—no ifs, no buts. What did he say in his contract with the British people? He said:
“If we do not deliver our side of the bargain, vote us out in five years’ time.”
When he said it, did he mean it?
The Prime Minister
Yes, and we have cut immigration from outside the EU by 24%. With immigration, every single step we have taken in the past four years was opposed by the Labour party. What did they do for 13 years in government? They put immigration up as a deliberate act of policy. This Government made promises to our pensioners—promises kept; promises on our NHS—promises kept; and above all, a promise to turn our economy around from the mess left by those two on the Front Bench.
Edward Miliband
So the Prime Minister did mean it: throw him out because he broke his promise. What he ought to be saying, but dare not say, is that he made a solemn promise, and he broke it.
Let us turn to another one of those big, solemn promises. This is what he said to the nurses’ conference just before the last election:
“I want to tell you what we’re not going to do: there will be no more of those pointless reorganisations that aim for change but instead bring chaos.”
When he said it, did he mean it?
The Prime Minister
What we have done is seen more doctors, more nurses, more patients treated, but if we are on promises, I have a little list. I have a list of the right hon. Gentleman’s promises. Right, here we go. Mr Speaker, he promised—[Interruption.] However long it takes. I have all day, and I can tell you, I am looking forward to what is coming next, and I think he will be too. He promised detailed plans for a graduate tax. Where is it? He promised an alternative spending review. That was in 2010. Where is that? He promised he would tell us the list of business people he had dinner with in 2011. Where is that one? He promised to stand up to the unions on public sector pay. When has he ever done that? He promised he would not let the unions run the Labour party, and they run it more than ever.
Edward Miliband
What the Prime Minister ought to be saying, but dare not, is that he made a solemn promise of no top-down reorganisation of the NHS, and he broke that promise.
Let us turn to his promise on living standards. The 2010 Conservative manifesto made this big promise of
“an economy where…our standard of living...rises steadily.”
When he said it, did he mean it?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I meant it, and 26 million people are having their taxes cut, and 3 million people—[Interruption.]
The Prime Minister
Twenty-six million people have had their taxes cut, and 3 million of the poorest people have been taken out of income tax altogether. The minimum wage has been increased for the first time since the right hon. Gentleman’s great recession. Now, people who have been in work for a year are seeing a 4% increase in their pay. They bankrupted our economy. We know that “Mrs Brown’s Boys” was a comedy; “Mr Brown’s Boys” was a tragedy.
Edward Miliband
The Prime Minister has obviously recently been visiting the David Mellor school of charm. What he ought to be saying, but dare not, is that he made a solemn promise to improve living standards and he has broken it.
What about his biggest promise of all, which was on the deficit? In October 2010, he promised:
“In five years’ time, we will have balanced the books.”
When he said it, did he mean it?
The Prime Minister
We promised to cut the deficit. It is down by a third. In a moment or two, we will see the progress that has been made. Obviously, I cannot reveal what is in the Chancellor’s autumn statement, as that would not be proper, but I make this prediction—[Interruption.]
Edward Miliband
The Prime Minister has failed every test he set himself. The thing about this Prime Minister is that he has turned breaking promises into an art form. As the election approaches, the thing the British people know about this Prime Minister is that when he says it, he does not mean it.
The Prime Minister
What a contrast: this is a Prime Minister and this is a Government who have turned our economy around, sorted out our public finances and got the economy growing. No one in this country will ever forget that the Opposition are the people who sold the gold, who broke the economy and who bankrupted the nation; and still they sit there, completely hopeless and unelectable.