Fiscal Responsibility Bill

Which the Government have sought to distance themselves from, at least in part, by not joining the common European currency. Without hinting at my slightly dubious reputation on the Government Benches for being a Euro-realist, as opposed to a Eurosceptic, I start from the view that the Government made the right decision about that, and one that has stood us in good stead. My instinct is that the House probably shares more common ground on many of the subjects that we are discussing than will be conceded in a debate of this kind. The areas of genuine debate are partly to do with the speed with which we proceed. It would be wise to see clear evidence of economic recovery—certainly beyond today's encouraging unemployment data—before rapidly reducing public spending. However, public spending reductions also need to be approached using a rather more robust methodology produced over a period of time, rather than simply taking out the razor blade as rapidly as we can. My instinct is that some of the steps that the Opposition have suggested fit into the category of saying, "Let's make some headline cuts that sound dramatic," but which are ill considered when set against a wider portfolio of policy making.