Cost of Living

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Chris Leslie]

Absolutely. This is an unprecedented period—we can characterise it as record breaking—during which wages have not been able to keep pace with the costs our constituents are facing.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Leslie]

That is precisely what baffles Government Members so much: they cannot understand the ingratitude of the British people, who somehow seem not to recognise the work that the Government are supposedly doing. The reality is that these are the pressure points—the points of stress and anxiety—faced by so many people up and down this country.

[James Morris]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

[Chris Leslie]

The hon. Gentleman has been very persistent, so I will give way.

[James Morris]

It has taken the hon. Gentleman 20-odd minutes to talk about one of the keys to solving the cost of living crisis, which is the creation of new jobs. I presume he welcomes the 11% fall in unemployment in his constituency during the past year, with a 15% fall in youth unemployment. Is that not absolutely key to our recovery and to solving the cost of living crisis that he has taken so long to talk about?

[Chris Leslie]

The hon. Gentleman, whose name is sometimes mixed up with that of others, should do better than to pick on my constituency of Nottingham East, where unemployment has been a persistent and long-running problem. Of course there have been fluctuations in the past few months, but I must tell him that the number of young people out of work for more than a year on jobseeker’s allowance has rocketed astronomically in this country: it is up 127% since the last general election. The number of long-term unemployed, who have been out of work for two years or more—we must turn our attention to that persistent problem—has gone up 374% since the last general election.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

Let us talk about the growth in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. Is the hon. Gentleman referring to the record 92% increase in unemployment in his constituency in Labour’s last term? I notice that he did not refer to the 18% decline under this Government.

[James Morris]

My hon. Friend refers to what the Labour Front-Bench team will not mention. In the past two years, export growth in the west midlands has gone up by 30%—the best performance of any region. Is that not further evidence that the Government are on track with a sustainable, long-term plan to rebalance the British economy?

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend is right. As a fellow west midlands MP, I have seen at first hand record growth, particularly in manufacturing and in the car industry.

Enough on the mistakes of the past. This Government are working hard to secure the country’s future. The only way we can deliver a sustained improvement in living standards is to continue to tackle the economy’s problems head-on and to deliver a recovery that works for all.