Public Spending

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

That is not a matter for my judgment; it is a matter for the judgment of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, which we established to restore independence to the statistics on which budget judgments are based. According to the OBR, the structural deficit has risen to 8%, while the overall deficit is £155 billion. That is a vast sum. If we are to restore health to our economy we must narrow that gap, and do so quickly.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

When the cuts that the Chief Secretary has announced today—which his boss will no doubt announce again on Tuesday—lead to lower growth, higher unemployment and the collapse of the construction industry, with consequential reductions in the Government’s revenue and increases in their benefit bills and, as a result, an increase in the deficit, what will he cut next?

[Danny Alexander]

I think that what the hon. Gentleman and, if I may say so, many Opposition Members fail to recognise is that the country faces a choice: a choice between taking the robust action which is needed and which we will take to bring responsibility to the public finances and reduce the deficit, and failing to take that action. The risk posed by the latter course is clear from what has happened in other countries. I believe that the action that we are taking today, and will no doubt take in future weeks and months, is necessary to ensure that in future we have the jobs and growth that we need.