Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

That concept might well have produced a better scheme, but the fact remains that the scrappage scheme saved our car dealers and our car industry. Sales increased by 30 per cent. There are all sorts of fuel efficiency measures in London. I have to congratulate the Mayor of London on his biodiesel scheme, which enables people to avoid the congestion charge. But, of course, everything can be refined and improved. I would have loved to spend much more time dealing with the speeches of the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Liberal Democrats. They both reminded me of a business man who wishes to take over a football club. He is very successful in his business. That business man goes into the football club. He leaves his acumen at the gates, and he enters a world of total unreality: everything is unreal and bizarre. The team end up being relegated, however, and that unreality is replaced by a fast-moving reality. The Leader of the Opposition's speech was totally nonsensical: it had no meaning, and it made no sense, because it was written before the event. It was meant to please those sat behind him, and to get a cheer and a wave, but it had no significance to the national economy. I must add that the leader of the Liberal party's speech was no better, and I draw that comparison because both of them get carried away by the media. They think that catching the headlines for the 10 o'clock or 9 o'clock news makes a policy, but that is not the case. We will make sure that we fight the coming general election on principles and policies, not personalities and press statements, and I was therefore disappointed by both party leaders' statements. Although my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire is not in his place, I want to congratulate him: he has toiled for many years in his role as Chairman of the Treasury Committee, and he has rendered contributions of great significance to our economic debates and made some very fine remarks on the subject. I suppose, however, that after nine or so years in that post it is understandable if he has become a little conventional in his thinking, and whereas he said that we have to satisfy the markets, in fact we do that quite ably. Our last Treasury bond issue was oversubscribed. The markets have full confidence in our economy, and our ratings have not been downgraded. We are not Greece. When addressing a youthful audience, the Leader of the Opposition made the following aside: "We are now on the same level as Greece." That is not the case, however. Such false arguments are made because it is easy to catch the headlines with them, but that is not a policy. The ratings agencies support our economy and the Government's measures, and they have, in fact, maintained the ratings that we as a sovereign state have had for many years.