Autumn Forecast

Debate between George Osborne and Ann Coffey

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

There is of course concern about the high deficits, particularly in the eurozone. Let us hope that the action taken yesterday to stabilise Ireland, and also the clarification that eurozone Ministers offered about the future permanent bail-out mechanism and the involvement of private sector creditors in that, will help to achieve stability. That is certainly what the intention was yesterday.

[Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab)]

Stockport council will tonight announce proposals for cuts, with the likely loss of 400 jobs. That will have a devastating impact on my constituents who are affected, but it will also lead to loss of confidence by those with jobs that they will have jobs in the future, which might lead to reluctance on their part to spend money in the economy. Is the Chancellor concerned that such lack of confidence will affect new jobs and future growth?

[Mr Osborne]

Of course, I have enormous sympathy with anyone who faces a job loss, but we are creating the economic conditions where they will be able to find a new job, I hope. There is support from the welfare system. We expect more than 1 million new jobs to be created over the coming years. I make this observation to the hon. Lady, who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the previous Chancellor: if the Labour Government had been re-elected in May, they would be cutting billions and billions of pounds from public spending, this year, next year and in the years ahead. That was in the March Budget plans, even if they are not the plans that the shadow Chancellor is sticking to. If the hon. Lady is able to find a way of cutting many, many billions of pounds—£40-odd billion—from public spending without in any way affecting the local government settlement, she should please let me know.