Peter Tapsell
Main Page: Peter Tapsell (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)Department Debates - View all Peter Tapsell's debates with the Cabinet Office
(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberThere is a difficult record of Prime Ministers’ endorsing various rugby or football teams, so I do not plan to do that. All I will say is that I am very proud of the fact that, on St David’s day, the Welsh flag will be flying above Downing street, as it should be—and, when it comes to the rugby, may the best team win.
Has my right hon. Friend noticed that since—in common with the United States and Japan—we lost our triple A status, the cost of our international borrowing has actually fallen?
My right hon. Friend makes an important point. While I do not deny for one second the importance of the rating agencies, the most important test of credibility—a test that is faced day in, day out in the markets—is the rate of interest at which people borrow, and the rate of interest at which we borrow is still at record lows. It has gone down since the election, whereas it has gone up in many other countries, but if we listened to the Labour party, it would go up again.