Finance (No. 4) Bill

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Russell Brown

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

The hon. Gentleman was not in the House earlier when it was mentioned that between 1997 and 2007, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 42.5% to 36%. The debt burden fell in the first 10 years of the Labour Government. I was not in the House in the last Parliament, but I wonder whether any Members can remember the Liberal Democrats asking for lower Government spending then. I do not remember it, but perhaps the hon. Gentleman could enlighten me about when he opposed Labour’s spending on schools and hospitals in Bradford and elsewhere.

[Mr Russell Brown]

My hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head. Government Members talk about the Labour Government’s overspending, but I cannot recall a single occasion in the time I have been in the House when any of them talked about not wanting a hospital or school built in their constituency. They were four-square behind us.

[Rachel Reeves]

My understanding is that the Government parties matched us on spending and often called for additional spending, but the Liberal Democrats have changed their mind so often that it is sometimes difficult to keep up.

The fiscal challenges that this country faces are real, and we need to deal with the deficit and get our debt on a downward path, but the choice before us is how to do that and on whose backs. The Opposition’s priorities are to get unemployment down, to get our economy growing and businesses investing so that we can reduce the welfare bill and bring in more tax revenue, and to ensure that the biggest burdens of deficit reduction are borne by those with the broadest shoulders.