Debt

Lord Low of Dalston Excerpts

Tuesday 29th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Randerson]

My Lords—

[Lord Low of Dalston]

My Lords—

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde)]

My Lords, we have not heard from the Liberal Democrat Benches, so perhaps we can now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Higgins]

My Lords—

[Lord Low of Dalston]

In the debate on the Queen’s Speech, the noble Lord assured the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky, that sustainable recovery was already under way, as he has again said this morning in response to the noble Lord, Lord Barnett. How does he reconcile that with the fact that we are actually plunging deeper into recession? Is this recession denial?

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, if one looks, for example, at job creation over the two years since the election, the private sector has created more than 600,000 jobs at a time when some 400,000 public sector jobs have been lost. The latest figures show that unemployment is at a seven-month low. Of course we would like to see growth sustained and at a higher level, but we should not run down the very considerable achievements of the private sector in generating jobs and exports in the economy.