Comprehensive Spending Review

Lord Stoddart of Swindon Excerpts

Wednesday 20th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Touhig]

My Lords—

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Stoddart! Cross Bench!

--- Later in debate ---

[A noble Lord]

He is not a Cross-Bencher.

[Lord Stoddart of Swindon]

Yes, he is; he is an independent Labour Cross-Bencher. The Government have ring-fenced health and overseas aid. Is there not another item that has been ring-fenced? It is our net contribution to the European Union, which is £6.7 billion this year. Would the Minister agree that if that were reduced by 20 per cent, it would enable 55,000 more nurses, policemen or teachers to be employed? Should our country not come first rather than subsidising other countries?

[Lord Sassoon]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, for a question that reminds us that we are working extremely hard as a nation to live within our means. It is equally important that within Europe the European Union also lives within its means. The Government will be doing everything they can to make sure that proper financial discipline is applied to the European budget this year and for the next spending period. I do not know, but I have a sense—I might like to ask on the subject—that the Labour Members of the European Parliament were today voting to allow the European Union to have its own tax-raising powers to fund a separate pot of money. The present Government want to see proper discipline applied to European Union expenditure.