IMF

Jim Cunningham Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The European Central Bank is of course a very important part of the equation, but one of the problems facing Ireland, Portugal and, indeed, Greece was that they were also shut out of international debt markets, and when countries are shut out of international debt markets they usually—almost always—turn to the IMF for assistance, so it would be very odd if the IMF were not there to help them.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

I am glad that the Chancellor has realised—it has taken him four years to do so—that there was a world economic crisis which started outside this country. Yes, Labour in government in the past has supported the IMF, and we still do, as we know that we have to do something to help Europe, but, following what my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr Skinner) said, I must ask why are the British people paying for it through one of the most punitive Budgets ever levied? On the one hand they understand that we have to help Europe, but on the other we have one of the most punitive Budgets that has ever been levied on the British people.

[Mr Osborne]

I have never denied that there was an international economic crisis; what I said was that those problems were not visited upon Britain from abroad. Britain was at the epicentre of the crisis, with the biggest bank bail-outs, the most indebted households, the most over-leveraged banks and one of the largest deficits going into the crisis. That is what I complain about, and I complain in particular about the man who was responsible for most of those economic policies giving us lectures on them afterwards. I welcome the fact that the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) supports the IMF and an increase in its resources, but the money does not come out of the public spending cuts that we have had to make in order to deal with that mess; it comes out of our foreign exchange reserves. We are exchanging one asset for another, and as I have said, every country that has lent money to the IMF has got its money back.