Jarrow Crusade (75TH Anniversary)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:59 pm on 31 October 2011.

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Photo of Stephen Hepburn Stephen Hepburn Labour, Jarrow 10:59, 31 October 2011

It is fascinating that when the Prime Minister is in the Chamber and has the Tories sitting behind him, all he has to do is talk about how Labour left them the debt and they all howl, but when he goes away and talks to audiences who are more distinguished or more educated in finance, such as the IMF and Europe, he starts talking about the world crisis. The fact is that after the second world war, we had a bigger proportion of debt than we have now, yet we built the welfare state and a full employment economy. We did not have the whinges from the Tories that we have now, which are merely excuses for their policies.