Ronnie Campbell
Main Page: Ronnie Campbell (Labour - Blyth Valley)Department Debates - View all Ronnie Campbell's debates with the HM Treasury
(14 years ago)
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Mr Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley) (Lab)
Are there not lessons for us in the United Kingdom to learn, given that the Irish cut very deeply not so long ago? Does the Chancellor not think that we should have a credible growth programme along with what the Government have already done? How will the Chancellor solve the problem when he does not know the causes?
Mr Osborne
An absolute precondition of growth, as we can see in Ireland, is stability, and there is no stability if people put a question mark over a country’s ability to fund itself. One reason why the international assistance package is being put in place is to take the sovereign out of the debt markets for the next couple of years. Quite frankly, the decisions we took in May, in June and last month were absolutely necessary to restore international confidence in Britain’s ability to deal with its deficit and to restore some sanity to its public finances. I find it slightly bizarre, having now had this argument for about a year with Labour Members, that they continue to pursue the belief that we could stick with a set of fiscal plans that no one regarded as credible.
Mr Osborne
As I have said, it is for the Opposition to speak to their own policy. As I understand it, they are still committed in principle to joining the euro—
Mr Osborne
Maybe not on the Benches where the hon. Gentleman sits, but it is those on the Opposition Front Bench that I am talking about.