Harriett Baldwin
Main Page: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)Department Debates - View all Harriett Baldwin's debates with the HM Treasury
Public Finances: Borrowing Costs
Harriett Baldwin Excerpts(1 day, 14 hours ago)
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Darren Jones
I thank the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee for her question. She will know that our first commitment in the Labour party manifesto at the last election was to fiscal responsibility. It is the bedrock of this Government and the bedrock of every decision we take. As the Prime Minister set out in his plan for change, the reason people will know the difference that a Labour Government make is that they will have more money in their pockets by the end of this Parliament than when it started.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
In yesterday’s extraordinary emergency statement from the Treasury to try to calm the markets, it paid tribute to the fact that the Government inherited the second-lowest debt in the G7. Is the reason the Government Front Bench is so empty today and the Chancellor has fled to China that she has realised that her Budget means she now is the arsonist?
Darren Jones
I must say I am rather surprised by the inflammatory language of the former Chair of the Treasury Committee, which is clearly no reflection of reality. The Chancellor is going on her trip to China. It has been well documented for many weeks, and it is an important visit for trade and investment in the UK economy. May I say that there was no emergency statement or emergency intervention? Those are make-believe words being propagated by Opposition Members. The Treasury responded to requests from journalists about headroom, as we might do in the normal way. There is no need for any emergency intervention, and there has not been one.