Lord Lilley
Main Page: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Lilley's debates with the Cabinet Office
(9 years, 4 months ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
The autumn statement was a coalition autumn statement. I spent one day in Cornwall; Opposition Members have spent five years in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to the economy, and the Government side of the House has been clearing up the mess they created.
Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)
In the light of my right hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for devolving powers from the UK Government to the component parts of the UK, does he have similar plans for devolving competences from Europe to the UK?
The Deputy Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman might be surprised to know that I once wrote a booklet about that very idea. Just as we must do at a European level what nation states cannot do on their own—on the environment, globalisation, trade talks and so on—so other powers should be devolved downwards where possible.