Budget Resolutions
Debate between Nigel Farage and Sarah Owen
Nigel Farage
Nice try! I was just gently teasing, that was all.
We heard “invest, invest, invest” at the start of the Budget statement, and I thought, yes, that is absolutely what we need—not just from the big multinationals that come to smart conferences, but equally from hundreds of thousands of people putting their own risk capital into start-ups and new businesses. But no, this “invest, invest, invest” is going to be done by the Chancellor on our behalf. Not only was she a top economist at the Bank of England, but she is now going to be the fund manager of the nation, investing money and trying to pick winners. I would suggest that the last time Governments attempted to invest money and pick winners, back in the 1970s, it ended very badly indeed.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The hon. Gentleman talks about investment in our country and in businesses, but I just question whether he would prefer to have investment from our Government, or investment from maybe the Russian Government.