Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Gemma Doyle

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I fondly remember my visit to Gillingham and the Gillingham town strip I was given when I was there. My hon. Friend is a great champion of Gillingham’s businesses and transport links in the town. Many of the small business rate decisions we have taken today are in no small part due to the campaigning my hon. Friend has done on behalf of Gillingham’s businesses.

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

As the Chancellor’s Parliamentary Private Secretary passes him whatever fact is useful in answering my question, let me tell the right hon. Gentleman that earlier this year, long-term youth unemployment in West Dunbartonshire had rocketed by 625% on his watch. That is nothing to be proud of. He has driven down the living standards of my constituents and he has driven down the value of their wages. When is he going to admit that he has failed on the economy? Will he apologise to people in West Dunbartonshire for the misery he has caused them?

Spending Review

Debate between George Osborne and Gemma Doyle

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

As I said, we are spending more as a percentage of national income on infrastructure in this decade than in the previous decade. What I would say to the hon. Lady about energy-intensive industries such as steel is that there is support, which the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is going to extend as a result of the statement to help them to cope with their high energy costs.

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

Living standards have fallen in every year of the Chancellor’s Government. When is he going to get the message that his strategy is not working?

[Mr Osborne]

As I said, the economic plan is taking Britain from rescue to recovery. I do not know if the hon. Lady knows any more about what the Labour party’s economic policy is. We did not hear from the shadow Chancellor the simple fact that he wants to borrow more. He has abandoned his argument but tragically he has stuck with the policy.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Gemma Doyle

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful case for Basildon, its schools and the particular school he mentioned. I will make sure that the Education Secretary hears the argument he makes. The money is available over the next two years.

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

What will the Chancellor do to make sure that any Scottish Barnett consequentials from capital projects will be used to create jobs in Scotland, and not in China, which is what we saw the Scottish Government doing in awarding the contract for the Forth road bridge?

[Mr Osborne]

There will be additional capital spending. We have a devolved arrangement so it will be up to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament to make a decision about how that money is spent. Of course, I expect Scottish Members here and Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Members of the Scottish Parliament to hold the Scottish National party to account for the decisions it takes. More broadly, its independence programme would be a disaster for the Scottish economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Gemma Doyle

Tuesday 26th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We have worked very hard to freeze the EU budget during the last couple of years and avoid the very large increases that both the Commission and the European Parliament have sought. We are now beginning the very important negotiations on the next multi-year budget framework, and our objective is to deliver the best deal for the British taxpayer and make sure that unnecessary money is not going over to Brussels.

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

T10. Written answers to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex) reveal that the nationalist Scottish Government have made no approach whatever to the UK Government on membership of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Does the Chancellor think that Scotland would have more influence on monetary policy as part of the UK or outside the UK using sterling as a foreign currency?

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Gemma Doyle

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Chancellor is wrong to deny that the Government’s policies are making long-term youth unemployment worse. It is up by more than 80% since the start of this year. Would he now like to apologise for scrapping the future jobs fund?

[Mr Osborne]

As I said, the future jobs fund meant that 50% of people who went on it were unemployed within 12 weeks. The right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband) was very honest in saying that this Government did not create the problem of youth unemployment. Frankly, if we had more honesty from the shadow Chancellor, he would have a bit more economic credibility. I cannot help noticing that the British public think that the right hon. Member for South Shields would do a better job as shadow Chancellor than the man opposite jabbering at me.