Economic Policies

Lord Low of Dalston Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Low of Dalston]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the success of their economic policies.

[The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon)]

My Lords, returning the UK to sustainable, balanced economic growth is the Government’s overriding priority. Although considerable external risks remain, the Government’s actions to reduce the deficit and rebuild the economy have secured stability and positioned the UK as a relatively safe haven, with interest rates near record lows benefiting families, businesses and the taxpayer.

[Lord Low of Dalston]

I am glad that we are no longer expected to thank Ministers for their replies. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the gap between what Ministers say about the economy and what is actually the case. In the debate on the Queen’s Speech, the Minister told the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky, that sustainable recovery was underway. When I asked him on 29 May how he squared that with the fact that we were in double-dip recession, he palmed me off with references to the success of the private sector in generating jobs and exports. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than manufacturing output plummeted. It is up a bit in June, but yesterday we learnt that activity in the construction sector had fallen at the fastest rate for two and a half years. We are probably heading towards a third-quarter recession.

[Noble Lords]

Question!

[Lord Low of Dalston]

What has the Minister to say about all of that; and can we believe a word of what he says when he has said it?

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, I will try to make the answer shorter than the question.