Autumn Statement

William Bain Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The shadow Chancellor is one of the many people whom I want to keep in his job.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

Hard-working people in my constituency are an average of £1,600 a year worse off because prices have risen faster than wages in all but one of the months in which the Chancellor has been in office. Can he confirm that this afternoon the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded its March forecasts for average earnings next year, the year after, and in every year of its forecasting period? Did not the autumn statement simply fail to get to grips with Britain’s cost-of-living crisis?

[Mr Osborne]

The OBR forecast shows average earnings going up.