Living Standards

Sajid Javid Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

rose—

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Byrne]

I will give way in a moment. There are not too many speakers on the Treasury Bench today, so there will be plenty of time for interventions.

Let us consider what the Chancellor’s proposals mean for jobs. The OBR now predicts that unemployment will rise next year, and unemployment forecasts for the years ahead are up year after year until 2015. The Government say that there is no alternative, because they still believe that unemployment is a price worth paying. Unemployment is bad this year, but it will be worse in the years ahead: the OBR said yesterday that it will rise up to 8.7%, while youth unemployment already stands at over 1 million. The brutal price that our young people are paying for the Government’s failure to get people back to work is now clear to hon. Members across the House. Those young people will be at the sharp end of rising unemployment in the years ahead. I will give way to the hon. Member for Devizes (Claire Perry), who will perhaps tell me how the Government can do more to get down youth unemployment in her constituency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Byrne]

Youth unemployment came down to record lows under the Labour Government. It was coming down before the election, because we chose to act. Now the key back-to-work scheme for young people has been taken off the shelf for the past year and a half. What is the result? Youth unemployment in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency is going up. He should explain that to young people in his constituency, and he should apologise to them. The back-to-work scheme set out by the Deputy Prime Minister last week is not even planned to come into place until next April. That shows how much his party cares about getting young people back to work.

[Sajid Javid]

rose—

[Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Perry]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Sajid Javid]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Byrne]

I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman, as I have given way to the hon. Lady before.

[Sajid Javid]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. When he left office, why did he leave a note saying there was no money left?

[Mr Byrne]

It takes some audacity for a Member on the Government Benches to stand up after a Budget that has added £158 billion to the nation’s credit card and throw cheap jibes across the Chamber.