Part of Opposition Day — [9th Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 1:30 pm on 2 April 2008.
Jim Cousins
Labour, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
1:30,
2 April 2008
The hon. Gentleman has spent the past year denouncing the lending practices of banks in the most dramatic terms, using such expressions as "close to a scam", "irresponsible lending", "rubbish mortgages" and "poor assets"—that was his phrase on Monday night. Now that he is staring the consequences of his own policies in the face and does not like them, his solution is to compel the banks to carry the problem, in the middle of a liquidity crisis, on their balance sheets.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
