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The Economy

Well, it does sound a little inconsistent with the Prime Minister’s slogan of "British jobs for British workers". My hon. Friend brings me on to the subject of Government schemes, which I want to touch upon now that I have taken those interventions. Four months ago, we argued from this Dispatch Box that the urgent priority was to get credit flowing again to businesses large and small, so that they stayed afloat and people were kept in work. We proposed a national loan guarantee scheme as a big, simple and bold answer to the problem that everyone, from the Governor of the Bank of England to the head of the CBI to the trade unions, had identified as the most important problem facing British business. We also said that to help with the cash flow of smaller businesses while they wait for that credit, we should allow them to defer their VAT bills and we should reverse the rise in their small companies tax rate. To help the unemployed get back to work, we suggested a national insurance rebate for any employer who took them on. At the time, the Government—particularly the Prime Minister—of course dismissed every single initiative out of hand. Now, four months later, they are struggling to introduce them.