Pre-Budget Report

As the House will know, part of our business plan for Northern Rock—which, of course, had to be approved under the state aid rules of Europe—provides that it must reduce the number of people to whom it lends in order for the business to survive in the longer term. I must say that that was a bit rich coming from the shadow Chancellor, who opposed our nationalisation of Northern Rock and who would have done absolutely nothing to save the bank. The shadow Chancellor claimed that our accounts and the figures that I gave on Monday were not right. They were right. We have set out a clear plan for how we will support the economy now: how we will help businesses and people, and, in the medium term, how we will raise the funds that are necessary for borrowing to be brought back down to a current balance by 2015. Unlike the Conservative party, we have set out a plan—a plan to help Britain now and to ensure that we have sustainable finances in the future.