Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Of course, Labour economic policy would increase unemployment, reduce GDP and potentially put Britain back into recession. We know that its feeble commitments on borrowing would allow at least £26 billion of extra borrowing every single year, and as has been demonstrated over the past hour or so, every Labour MP actually wants to spend more money and increase welfare bills. That is the real Labour party, and of course it would bankrupt the country again.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

The Chancellor made just one passing reference to wages in his statement, some 42 minutes in, and small wonder. Will he confirm that the OBR has this afternoon revised down its forecast for income tax and national insurance contribution receipts through to 2018-19 by a further £11.8 billion, with £9 billion of that down to lower than forecast growth in wages? How can the worst Chancellor on wages for 140 years ever be the answer to higher living standards in the next Parliament?

[Mr Osborne]

I actually talked about tax receipts and earnings early on in the statement. I pointed out that although tax receipts were lower, crucially they were offset by lower debt interest payments, which is why we have not seen the big deterioration in the public finances that was forecast. Borrowing was lower towards the end of the period than was forecast at the last Budget; the surplus is higher than predicted; and the structural deficit is on course for the reductions we set out. That is because although tax receipts were lower, debt interest payments were also lower.

EU Budget (Surcharge)

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Monday 10th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Since the Council meeting on Friday, the Finance Ministers of Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands have all said that the UK will still pay the full amount. Is the Chancellor seriously arguing that they are wrong, and if so, can he point to a single measure that will cut the overall bill for the UK taxpayer over the next two years?

[Mr Osborne]

We were presented with a bill for £1.7 billion and we are going to pay about £850 million, so in my book that is a cut.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Tuesday 4th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) has worked with local employers to improve skills, and I visited a successful apprenticeship and training scheme with him. We want to ensure that local employers are involved in shaping those apprenticeships and further education courses, and that is precisely what we are now setting up.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T6. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has forecast that under the Chancellor’s current policies 900,000 more children will be in relative poverty by 2020 compared with 2011. Is his real attitude towards the working poor in this country too much stick and too little carrot?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Tuesday 29th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Our economic plan is delivering stability, and it is now also delivering the economic growth and jobs that we all want to see. We are coming out of the very deep mess in which the shadow Chancellor and his team left the country, with the result that in Kettering the claimant count is down by 30%, and 1,500 new jobs have been created in the last year. As my hon. Friend well knows—because, as an assiduous Member of Parliament, he has lobbied hard for them—major improvements have been made in the road and rail infrastructure in the Kettering area, to ensure that there is a balanced economic recovery.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T3. The Chancellor spends taxpayers’ money in Brussels on defending big bank bonuses, but he has not lifted a finger in four years to deal with the falling real wages of millions of ordinary working people. Is he not just presiding over recovery by the few, of the few, and for the few?

[Mr Osborne]

Well, I do not think the hon. Gentleman is Abraham Lincoln, but the point I would make is that we can only see an increase in the living standards of the British people if the British economy is growing and jobs are created. That is exactly what our economic plan is delivering.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The shadow Chancellor is one of the many people whom I want to keep in his job.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Hard-working people in my constituency are an average of £1,600 a year worse off because prices have risen faster than wages in all but one of the months in which the Chancellor has been in office. Can he confirm that this afternoon the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded its March forecasts for average earnings next year, the year after, and in every year of its forecasting period? Did not the autumn statement simply fail to get to grips with Britain’s cost-of-living crisis?

[Mr Osborne]

The OBR forecast shows average earnings going up.

Spending Review

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

The £50 billion figure cited by the Chancellor for capital investment for 2015-16 is gross. Will he say whether net capital investment in 2015-16 will be higher or lower than the year before?

[Mr Osborne]

As I said, we are maintaining capital investment in the way that I set out in the statement.

Economic Policy

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Monday 25th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

If that were the case, why would German rates be lower than ours?

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

On 2 February 2010, the Chancellor said

“we will protect Britain’s credit rating and international reputation.”

Having delivered the third-lowest growth in the G20 since 2010, with real wages having fallen every month that he has been in office, the cost of living staying higher for longer, according to the Bank of England, and our nation’s productivity slumping, it is his reputation that lies in ruins in the eyes of the British people today.

[Mr Osborne]

I cannot believe that the hon. Gentleman waited an hour and four minutes to read us the Whips’ handout again. As I have said, perhaps the Labour party will circulate its alternative economic policy, so that we can have a real debate about it in the House.

Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the campaign she has fought on behalf of her constituents, and on behalf of jobs in Thurrock and elsewhere. The junction 30 upgrade will help to secure the largest port investment in the whole of northern Europe—it is a fantastic thing for the area, it will create many jobs and she has played a real part in helping to deliver it.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

With the average wage 7.9% lower in real terms than it was when this Chancellor took office, does he not share the sense of real disappointment across the country that he did not announce any new measures on child care, the cost of which is rising at twice the rate of inflation? Does that not constitute a significant barrier to work for as many as 1 million women and mean that for many households work does not pay?

[Mr Osborne]

We have announced new entitlements on child care, such as the entitlement for two-year-olds from more disadvantaged families to nursery places, which did not exist under the previous Government. We are also working on new proposals on child care, and I hope in the first half of next year to bring those forward.

Banking Commission Report

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Actually, we are quite happy for the right hon. Gentleman to stay where he is, so I retract my previous comment.

In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), we are confident that we will be able to do this within the regime of European Union law.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Has the Chancellor assessed the impact on levels of net lending to business of corporate deposits, estimated at £270 billion for RBS, Barclays and Lloyds, potentially lying outside the scope of the retail ring fence? Who will decide which corporate deposits sit outside the ring fence—the new Prudential Regulation Authority or the banks themselves?

[Mr Osborne]

A key part of the Vickers report was that the location of the ring fence would be flexible. Certain things would have to be in the ring fence, such as small and medium-sized business overdrafts and deposits and the overdrafts and deposits of individuals, and certain things definitely could not be in the ring fence, such as investment banking activity. However, corporate deposits could either be in the ring fence or not in the ring fence; that would be a decision for individual institutions, although of course they sit under the regulatory regime. That is what John Vickers recommended, having looked at this very carefully, and that is the plan that we are now implementing.

Independent Banking Commission Report

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Monday 12th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of competition in the investment banking sector. It is not often talked about outside the pages of the Financial Times, but it can be very uncompetitive, the fees can be exceptionally high, and there is that old maxim that no one ever got fired for hiring Goldman Sachs. The report will enable Britain to remain a home of competitive investment banking while protecting retail customers. That should encourage new entrants and drive down the fees that are charged. That would all be a good thing.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

In the first six months of this year, the five major UK banks lent £63 billion to non-financial corporations, excluding small and medium-sized enterprises. The Vickers recommendations would not oblige the banks to protect that lending via the 10% capital requirement for retail banks within the ring fence. Does the Chancellor agree with that recommendation, which would contribute to up to two thirds of all bank balance sheet holdings being outside the protection of the ring fence?

[Mr Osborne]

Again, I think we should trust the judgment of John Vickers and his commissioners. They explicitly considered whether to prescribe more closely than they have the scope of the ring fence—I am not talking about the height now, but the scope—and whether to include lending to larger corporates inside or outside it. They decided to leave that open to the banks. We will consider that advice and recommendation, but it strikes me as quite sensible to have some flexibility about the scope, if not necessarily the height, of the ring fence.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Tuesday 10th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I can today report to the House that in the past year Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has saved an additional £1 billion by tackling fraud and error in the tax credit system. For many years, the flaws in the shambolic administration of tax credits went completely ignored by the Labour party, causing misery for hundreds of thousands of families and costing the taxpayer billions of pounds, but we are now sorting out this mess.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T3. Has the Chancellor had an opportunity to note the findings of last week’s report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, which show the contraction in public and private demand since emerging from the recession to be higher in this country than in any comparable major economy? Does that not show that the Government are cutting too far and too fast?

[Mr Osborne]

First, the report recommends higher taxes and higher interest rates—perhaps that has become part of the Labour party’s official policy. I think it is worth looking at what the CBI has said this week. I have already quoted what it said when I was asked what the outcome would have been had Britain followed Labour’s plans—it said there would have been weaker economic growth—but its director general has also said:

“We are rock solid behind the chancellor’s plans to eliminate the structural deficit within a parliament”,

which are an

“essential part of putting the economy back on a stable footing”.

That is the voice of British business’s view of the deficit. [Interruption.] The shadow Chancellor says that is not true. A couple of months ago he was quoting the CBI across the Dispatch Box at me, but now that the CBI says that Labour’s economic policies would lead to weaker economic growth, he is in denial about that too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Tuesday 8th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Does the Chancellor agree that any credible strategy for growth must include proposals for a fully capitalised, properly independent green investment bank? Will he assure the House that the Treasury has ceased to act as a roadblock to the creation of such a bank?

[Mr Osborne]

We are absolutely committed to creating the green investment bank. Indeed, we set aside money in the spending review to achieve that, and we will have an announcement in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Tuesday 21st December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

1. What estimate he has made of the potential effects on the level of demand and output in the manufacturing sector of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.

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

I am happy to report today that annual growth in manufacturing output is the fastest in 16 years, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply reported the strongest manufacturing employment balance on record last month. This is a crucial contribution to rebalancing the British economy away from its dependence on debt. The Budget and the spending review will help to sustain that by cutting tax rates for manufacturers, investing in transport infrastructure and skilled apprenticeships, and providing the economic stability that our deficit reduction plan has delivered in an unstable world.

[Mr Bain]

I thank the Chancellor for that reply, and I wish him and his fellow Ministers on the Treasury Bench, and all right hon. and hon. Members, including you, Mr Speaker, a happy and peaceful Christmas. Does the Chancellor agree that the best Christmas present he can give manufacturers in my constituency and throughout the country is a proper White Paper on growth? He has often promised to publish one. When exactly will he be bringing it before this Chamber for debate?

[Mr Osborne]

We have a specific review of advanced manufacturing to see what more we can do to help it, and I intend the Budget on 23 March to focus very much on supporting economic growth and removing the barriers to the expansion of manufacturing businesses and others. We are looking both at specific sectors, such as advanced manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, and at cross-government issues, such as planning and employment law, so that we provide not only the economic stability that we have delivered in recent months, but the platform for economic growth.

Financial Assistance (Ireland)

Debate between George Osborne and William Bain

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

What assessment have the Chancellor and his counterparts in the eurozone made of the capacity of the European financial stability fund to withstand further calls on finance from Italy, Spain or Portugal? If the assessment is that the fund is not big enough, would he be prepared to see it increased?

[Mr Osborne]

As I say, I do not think that it is sensible for me to speculate about any other country in Europe or anywhere else in the world in the current environment. I would make two observations. One is that the IMF is well resourced and is now on the road to reform, so that it properly reflects the balance of economic power in the world. It is therefore well placed to deal with whatever situation emerges, in whatever part of the world. As for the eurozone stability facility, that has to be a decision for members of the eurozone. They contribute to the facility, and they have set aside a considerable sum of money—€440 billion.