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Legislative Programme and Budget Statement (Wales)

The Treasury wants money, and that is why the Government are making huge cuts—to bring money back in. It is a little rich of the hon. Gentleman, although I know that he is a new Member. I voted for an increase in national insurance in my first Parliament. The current Prime Minister voted against it. That measure was for investment into the health service. The Government are trying to lecture us about not increasing national insurance, but we voted for that measure because we wanted to see more money going into the health service, to raise it to European standards. I know that the Government are against raising national insurance, but I feel that it is fairer. As The Guardian reports today, the cat is coming out of the bag on unemployment. There will be increases in unemployment in Wales. During the first decade of the Labour Government, there was an increase of 7,000 jobs in my constituency, which has structural problems of unemployment. From the mass unemployment of the ’80s and ’90s, we saw a 29% increase in employment in my constituency. This Budget and the Queen’s Speech put that at risk, and that worries me. The Secretary of State nods her head. Can she give me an assessment of what impact her party’s policies will have on unemployment in my constituency? I am dealing with the facts and what is actually happening, and I am worried that many more people will lose their jobs in the future because of the measures in the emergency Budget.