Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Tuesday 20th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

If my understanding is right, the hon. Gentleman campaigned at the last general election on a commitment in his manifesto to reform legal aid. There have been countless reviews—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The answer from the Deputy Prime Minister must be heard.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Countless reviews have been conducted on legal aid funding, which has ballooned out of all recognition in recent years. As on so many other issues, the Government have the guts to confront the difficult decisions that Labour ducked for 13 years.

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[The Deputy Prime Minister]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I remind the hon. Gentleman that he should exclude me from that list of charges?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am proud of the fact that we have stepped up to the plate to clean up the mess the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram) and his party colleagues left behind after 13 years in office. It is convenient for him to airbrush out of history the fact that when his party was in government it went on bended knee to Rupert Murdoch, yet now it will not even talk to his newspapers. It also let the banks get away with blue murder, but it now wants to tax them to the hilt. The country will not forget the mess it left the rest of us to clear up.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. As usual, demand has exceeded supply. I apologise to colleagues who could not be accommodated, but we must now move on.

The Attorney-General was asked—