Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

I agree: a stitch in time saves nine. The policy of the hon. Member for Middlesbrough would take us in the direction that Greece followed. Instead of immediately making sensible adjustments to public spending that did not damage front-line services, that country ended up in a panic and a crisis. In the full glare of a market collapse, it had to put through hasty and perhaps ill-judged public spending reductions, probably on a bigger scale, because it was not prepared to take sensible action in advance. The hon. Gentleman and the Government now believe that there are efficiency savings to be had, and that they can do more for less. I am glad that we have got to that point. For many years under this Government, the House was told that there were no efficiency gains to be had and that they were all will-o'-the-wisp proposals dreamt up by Conservatives; but now—at last—that is common ground. The good news is that incoming Ministers will find, in business terminology, lots of low-hanging fruit. There are many easy things to do to get more for less, because the public sector has not been through the kind of procedures and tests that the manufacturing sector in particular has been through in the past decade. Every year, manufacturing companies have to ask, "How can I get prices down and quality up? How can I serve my customers better and charge them less?" That is not impossible, but one must ask those questions to survive and have a successful and flourishing business in such a competitive business world. It is now common ground that such things are achievable, but the public will judge who has their hearts in it more to deliver, and who is more likely to have the skills to do so. Not unreasonably, the public will ask, "Why have the Government been in office for 13 years and scattered all this money, often very wastefully, and not thought until now about treating efficiency and improvement seriously?"