Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Linda Riordan

Tuesday 6th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

Unemployment in Halifax has doubled since 2010, because of the Government’s failed economic policies. Will the Minister outline the urgent action that he is going to take to ensure that people get back to work in the town?

[Mr George Osborne]

Unemployment rose sharply at the end of the previous Labour Government, and youth unemployment has been rising since the middle of the previous decade, which is a tragedy for everyone affected by it and for the country. That is why we have the Work programme, why we are introducing the youth contract and why we have our work experience scheme, but a Labour MP is chairing the campaign to sabotage it and deny young people who are currently claiming unemployment benefit the chance of real work experience, so perhaps, first, the hon. Member for Halifax (Mrs Riordan) will have a word with the Labour MP who chairs the so-called right to work scheme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Linda Riordan

Tuesday 21st June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

6. What assessment he has made of potential trends in the level of debt as a proportion of gross domestic product to 2014-15.

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

This Government inherited plans that had Government debt rising as a share of GDP in 2014-15. Thanks to the credible plan that we have put in place, debt is now forecast to be falling in that year.

[Mr Osborne]

The public finance figures are out today, and they show that the British economy and the British Government are on track to reduce the budget deficit, as we forecast in the Budget. On a day like this, in a week like this, for the Opposition to suggest that we should abandon our credible deficit reduction plan shows how out of touch they are with what is going on in the world today.

[Mrs Riordan]

Will the Chancellor confirm that national debt as a proportion of GDP was 36.5% in 2007-08, before the global crisis, which was significantly lower than the 42.5% that we inherited from the previous Government, and lower than in America, France, Germany and Japan?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Linda Riordan

Tuesday 22nd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)]

T6. Following the announcement last week by Lloyds of more job cuts, many of them in my constituency, to a work force who have showed total loyalty to the company, and as the Government own a large percentage of the company—a company that made more than £2 billion profit last year—will the Chancellor intervene to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods, and stop the constant drip-feed of job losses by Lloyds?

[Mr Osborne]

Of course we are concerned when people lose their jobs, including in the banking sector, but what Lloyds is undergoing is the process of merging HBOS with Lloyds bank, which was waved through by the previous Government.