Economic Policy Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: HM Treasury

Economic Policy

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts
Monday 25th February 2013

(11 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts

Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

Frankly, the numbers the hon. Lady quotes are nonsense. The employment creation rate last year—perhaps we should give her some credit for saying last year—was the highest since 1989.

Nicholas Dakin Portrait Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)
- Hansard - -

Does the Chancellor think that the loss of the UK’s credit rating is what the Prime Minister was thinking of when he said

“the good news will keep coming”?—[Official Report, 24 October 2012; Vol. 551, c. 917.]

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

Last week we had the good news that unemployment had fallen again and employment had gone up, and we had the forecasts from the European Commission. Although we would of course want UK growth to be higher, they show that it is actually forecast to be higher than that of France, Germany and many of our European neighbours. We are in a tough neighbourhood—it is a tough economic situation—but we are confronting our country’s economic problems.