Autumn Statement

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 1:25 pm on 3 December 2014.

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Photo of Andrew Tyrie Andrew Tyrie Chair, Treasury Sub-Committee, Chair, Treasury Committee, Chair, Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (Joint Committee), Chair, Treasury Committee 1:25, 3 December 2014

The OBR forecasts that over the course of this Parliament the eurozone will grow at a little over 2% and the UK will grow at nearly 9%, which of course is a tribute to the capacity of UK businesses, particularly small businesses, to adapt to the huge economic shock of the euro crisis. However, just doing a bit better than the eurozone is not enough; our prosperity will depend on whether we can absorb the annual shock of increased global competition. Is not it therefore crucial, as we have seen with the pressure on Northern Ireland’s corporation tax rate, that we do much more to sustain a globally competitive tax system?