G20

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Monday 7th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is not just a question of the extra interest payments the Government would have to pay, although that would be pretty crippling for the taxpayer; it is also the fact that those higher interest rates would affect business investment and the mortgages that people pay. We could see a really bad effect on households and business as well as on the Government finances.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

When will the G20 show global leadership and produce a plan for growth and a plan for jobs?

[The Prime Minister]

The point about the global plan for growth and jobs—and the reason it is worth while, and the whole of the G20 process is worth while—is that different countries are committing to doing different things at the same time to maximise global growth. It is quite clear that Britain needs to get on top of its debts and its deficit and export more; it is also clear that China needs to grow its consumption, grow its middle class, and import more. If we all do these things at the same time, we will find that we can maximise global growth and increase employment levels too.