Economic Recovery and Welfare

Part of Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 5:23 pm on 19 October 2009.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Pat McFadden Pat McFadden Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee 5:23, 19 October 2009

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from "House" to the end of the Question and add:

"welcomes the Government's decision to support families and businesses during the current global downturn;
believes it is vital the Government takes an active role to support recovery and build future economic strength;
notes the authoritative view of business leaders and leading economists against premature withdrawal of the support for the economy;
commends the Government's leadership in co-ordinating the international action, through the G20, to support jobs and growth;
further welcomes the Government's decision to invest an extra £5 billion to help people back into work and provide the Young Person's Guarantee, increased numbers of Jobcentre Plus staff, 150,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs and an offer to all jobseekers at six months;
calls on business and the voluntary sector to support the campaign Backing Young Britain;
further welcomes the introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance, the accompanying Work Capability Assessment, the expansion of Access to Work, and the Flexible New Deal delivering tailored support with providers paid by results;
further believes that it is the right judgement by Government to encourage investment by small and medium-sized enterprises through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and other support;
further welcomes the successful car scrappage scheme;
further welcomes the help for over 150,000 businesses through giving more time to pay tax bills;
and commends the Government's new industrial activism, which, combined with the real help now being offered, will help secure the country's future prosperity.".

I very much welcome this debate on economic recovery and welfare. Responding to the global recession of the past 18 months or so has tested Governments right around the world. When the world was faced with a collapse in credit, the seizing up of the banking system and a steep decline in trade, Governments had to step in to stop a catastrophe for people and economies throughout the world. Of course, it is not just Governments who will be judged by their response to the crisis; it is Opposition parties, too. For in those moments when intervention had to take place-in those times when we sought to stabilise the banking system; to put more money in people's pockets; to launch schemes to support industry, such as the scrappage scheme, which we have just extended; and to stop recession turning into depression-the judgment of all politicians was tested. Time after time, we have found that the judgment of the Conservative party has been called into question. From the Conservatives' opposition in the beginning to the nationalisation of Northern Rock-the shadow Chancellor said that he opposed that "full stop"-to their opposition to the fiscal stimulus, they have proven time and again that they would not have been up to the task of responding to the grave economic situation in which we have found ourselves. That judgment problem continues to haunt them as the issue becomes not response to recession, but how to foster and sustain economic recovery.

Perhaps we should not be surprised about that, because people of my generation, who grew up in the 1980s, know about the Tory response to recession; I have gently to disagree with Mr. Clarke here, because I remember very well the times when communities were torn apart by swathes of job losses, with little or no real assistance in place to help them recover, when there was long-term unemployment and when child poverty doubled. The Leader of the Opposition says that he is angry about poverty. He should be, because his party created enough of it when it was last in power.