Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Murray Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 18 March 2015.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Ian Murray]

The Chancellor said in his first Budget:

When we say that we are all in this together, we mean it.—[Official Report, 22 June 2010; Vol. 512, c. 167.]

When the Prime Minister and the Chancellor came up with such a vacuous soundbite, was it before they decided to give a £42,000 a year tax cut to millionaires, or before they attempted and failed to eliminate the deficit on the backs of the poorest?

[The Prime Minister]

The fact is that the hon. Gentleman cannot hide from the statistics that show that inequality is down, poverty is down, 3 million of the poorest people have been taken out of income tax altogether, and, most importantly, we have created jobs for tens of thousands of our fellow countrymen and women. Today, we see the unemployment statistics with a record number of people in work. In his constituency—I would have thought he would want to welcome this—the claimant count has fallen by 49% since the election. That is what has happened; that is how we are beating poverty.