Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Desmond Swayne (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 18 December 2008 on behalf of the Treasury.

Government Finance

Question: Does the Chief Secretary accept a representation from me that, by the Treasury's own figures, the national debt is set to double by 2012, to £1 trillion? Will she confirm that, for next year, Government borrowing as a proportion of our national income will be higher than when Denis Healey went to the International Monetary Fund?

Answer: I should perhaps point out to the hon. Gentleman that borrowing as a proportion of gross domestic product will be not dissimilar to the level that it reached in the early 1990s, when, in fact, the Conservative party doubled the national debt in the space of just five years in response to a home-grown recession, when it did not have an international, world financial crisis to deal with on a scale that we have not seen for many generations. We think that the right thing to do is to increase borrowing right now to support the economy, so that we can come through this faster and stronger.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 485 c1226
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Borrowing Economic situation Public sector Public sector net cash requirement
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk