PoliticsUK

With respect to Rebecca Flair, if she thinks that the way to rebalance our economy is to invest in flood defences, to give more money to councils and RDA's, she does not understand the scale of the problem. The solutions to rebalancing our economy require bolder thinking than just spending more, esp...

The Conservatives chose to starve schools of funding in their recent Shadow Budget - now their policy has changed so that they will starve only 'failing' schools of funding while using taxpayers money to fund schools in more affluent areas. While the government isn't going to decry parental choice, ...

First of all, I think stating that £700 million is just 'something' shows how dangerous spend happy they are. Secondly, if Ms. Flair's only strategy is to hire more police officers it begs the question - why not just hire another 2,500? Another 5,000? Another 10,000? This race for the highest number...

If you listened to the Liberal Democrats, you'd think the Home Office was dealing with austerity, cuts or damaging spending freezes. That simply does not square with the facts. The government is, of course, putting its money where its mouth is. We've boosted the Home Office budget by over 4% in real...

While the Conservative government merely talked tough talk on crime, they let violent thugs fill our street and create unprecedented chaos. Their failure to be tough on crime in the short term was a problem, but they also failed to get to the root causes of crime to ensure every child had opportunit...

A structural weakness of the UK economy is that it is fundamentally divided in a way other developed countries are not, with wealth mostly concentrated in affluent parts of London and the South East. This division is stark between countries, between regions and even within cities - with some parts o...

Madam Speaker, I thank the Shadow Chancellor for his question, and of course congratulate him on his ascension. I will be frank that in our discussions I received no specific advice from the Governor - but, as always, I am willing to consult him on such matters. While it is premature to say that the...

The truth is, very little will change. William Croft was never really in charge. Sir Nicholas Mounstuart was. He is responsible for the Conservatives’ disastrous Shadow Budget and his incompetence played a role in it : whether it’s the broken tuition fees promise, the broken flood defence promise or...

The Conservatives have already shown the UK their budget which blows our surplus and brings the UK back to an age of borrowing and ever increasing debt, and off the back of it have put forward a proposal that on liberal estimates would cost £40 billion – without costing a penny of it. This attitude ...

Madam Speaker, First, I’d like to express my condolences to the Shadow Chancellor for his recent loss. I am sure he is in the thoughts of all across the House. Secondly, I would inform the House and the Shadow Chancellor that I ensure I keep a consistent dialogue with the Governor of the Bank of Eng...