European Affairs

As much as the hon. Gentleman entices me, and as much as he and I can disagree about European matters, I hope, none the less, that we can work together on some matters in the national interest. The right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague), whom I have known for a long time, since we were at university together, referred to my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint). He was rather critical; he appeared to suggest that I would not provide the same degree of window dressing. I must tell him that some of my best friends are window dressers, however, and I am hopeful that he and I can work together. We have heard some excellent speeches today. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) said elsewhere a few days ago that she has been trying to give up such debates. For me, it is good to get back to them, having not been involved in them for a while. I see that the personnel has not changed at all. There were interesting contributions from my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston, the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey), who speaks for the Liberal Democrats, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, West (Mr. Bailey), the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes), the hon. Members for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire) and for North Dorset (Mr. Walter), who both spoke about similar issues, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson), whom I beat in the swimming competition again this year, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) and, of course, the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), who is not in his place. I am sorry: he is just returning—he was hiding behind the Speaker's Chair. Interesting contributions were also made by my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell), the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood), my hon. Friends the Members for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) and for Stroud (Mr. Drew), and the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner). As the hon. Member for Rayleigh said, we all welcome the hon. Member for Isle of Wight back to the House. Many hon. Members raised important matters about the economy. Conservative Members suggested that three things needed to be said about it. First, they claimed that the UK is a hermetically sealed unit, like every other country in Europe, and that the economic crisis in the international arena was a crisis made in the UK. Secondly, they tried to argue that the UK has bigger problems than anywhere else in Europe. Thirdly, they said that answers to the economic problems can be found only individually, country by country. However, several Labour Members pointed out that the truth is different. We heard that many countries in Europe have suffered to a similar extent and in similar style. Indeed, the UK economy contracted by 1.9 per cent. in GDP terms in the first quarter of 2009—a considerably smaller decline than in Germany, Italy, the eurozone and the whole of the European Union. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North made that point. I also point Conservative Members to some recent quotes about the UK economy. Last week, Paul Krugman, the Nobel-prize-winning economist, described the UK economy as looking""the best in Europe at the moment."" He said that the UK's policies had been "intelligent" and""managed to stabilise the banking system"." The International Monetary Fund article IV consultation released on 29 May concluded that the UK policy response to the worldwide crisis had been "bold and wide ranging", and that""The aggressive actions by the authorities have been successful in containing the crisis and averting a systematic breakdown.""