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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

When I first entered this House five years ago, I do not think I was a very nice or pleasant person. The wonderful thing about Parliament, however, is that it knocks off, and smoothes, the edges, and I think I am a much nicer person now. I hope that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will return after the general election a nicer person. There have been some great contributions to this afternoon's debate, but listening to her speech was a bit like sucking on a lemon, chewing cotton wool and listening to someone dragging their fingernails down a blackboard all at the same time; it really did set one's teeth on edge. I think she should work on becoming a nicer person in the Chamber, because she is very nice outside it, and I think she will wear niceness very well inside it when she returns—as I am sure she will—after the general election. This country faces some enormous challenges; we would be fools if we did not accept that. Borrowing this year is set to be £167 billion, and next year it will be a very similar sum. Our national debt is £1.3 trillion, and if we include off-balance-sheet liabilities it could be twice as much. These are therefore very uncertain and worrying times for our constituents and the businesses and organisations that serve them. In uncertain times we, as political leaders in this country, need to bring as much certainty and clarity to what we do as possible, because the following is an example of what happens when we have uncertainty. Let me say, however, that I hope Labour Members will see that I am not making a political point. Today, I received a letter from the chief executive of Hertford regional college. I shall read out only the highlights:""We are currently anticipating up to 70 redundancies of management, administrative and support staff, which is likely to be followed soon by 10-15 lecturer posts. The main reasons for our problem are…The legacy of the fiasco over the Learning and Skills Council's mismanaged capital development programme for colleges, which meant we were unable to finish the Ware campus. ""This has left us with no reserves, debts of £12 million and the cost of having to maintain, mothball or demolish surplus buildings at Ware for which we have no need."" He concludes:""Like many college Principals I accept the need for FE to bear its fair share of the coming squeeze on public sector spending. However, it's frustrating having to navigate such an over-complicated, fragmented and spasmodic funding and policy environment."" We did not give this college, or other colleges around the country, clarity. We said one thing and we then changed our minds, and we have put them in great difficulty. I therefore hope that after the next general election all politicians will, as far as is possible, try to stand by what they say and what they promise. I know that that is very difficult to do, but we really must try, because that is one of the best ways we can help both public and private sector organisations navigate what will be a very difficult few years. We must also demonstrate high levels of fairness. There will be a war for public money, and a variety of well-funded pressure groups and organisations will bombard us with correspondence pleading that their area of interest is more deserving than others. I believe that the right hon. Member for Rother Valley (Mr. Barron) was the Chair of the Select Committee on Health for some time.