Matt Hancock
Main Page: Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk)Department Debates - View all Matt Hancock's debates with the HM Treasury
(14 years, 1 month ago)
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Mr Osborne
The people who are talking down the British economy are the Opposition. Since the hon. Gentleman mentioned the IMF, let me remind him what it said this weekend:
“Fiscal consolidation remains essential for strong, sustained growth over the medium term.”
Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)
Since the election, the interest rates on gilts at two and three years—the kind of time periods that people borrow for their mortgages—have halved. Does the Chancellor think that that has anything to do with the new Government getting to grips with the nation’s finances?
Mr Osborne
I think it does have something to do with the new Government setting out their plan, and it is easy to see why. We can compare what has happened to market interest rates for the United Kingdom with market interest rates for countries such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece. At the time of the general election, it was well understood that people in the world were concerned about the record UK budget deficit, the largest in the G20. As a result of the steps that we have taken in the Budget—which we now need to see through in the spending review—we have restored stability to the economy and helped to bring down market interest rates. That would not have happened if Labour had stayed in office.