Gregg McClymont
Main Page: Gregg McClymont (Labour - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)Department Debates - View all Gregg McClymont's debates with the HM Treasury
(14 years ago)
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Mr Osborne
I agree with my hon. Friend. I make the point again that if we followed the prescription advanced by the Opposition—they suggest that tomorrow I should get up and announce a brand-new Budget, and engage in fiscal loosening at a time when we have the largest budget deficit in the G20 and at a time of heightened concern about sovereign debt—that would be a completely irresponsible path to take.
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)
For the last six months the Government have wasted no opportunity to tell us that Britain’s situation is very similar to Ireland’s. Now they cannot tell us fast enough that we are in a very different situation from Ireland, because we have our own currency and control of our monetary policy. Has the Chancellor not spent the last six months talking down the British economy for naked political advantage?
Mr Osborne
The reason we are in a different situation is not just because we have a different currency; it is because we have a Government who have put our public finances in order.