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                      I wish to examine the curious case of the possible resignation of Mr Norman  Lamb. Many people will not have known until the last couple of days the importance of Mr Lamb. He is a trusted adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister. He is a Lib Dem NHS expert, [...]

             Listening to Mr Clegg this morning, I was struck by the central paradox. He said the most important thing the government was doing was a short term fix to cut the deficit. He rightly argued that getting on top of the deficit was essential for economic growth and stability [...]

                 First we are told that providing a new loan to Greece, or Ireland, or Portugal, creates a line in the sand, prevents the contagion spreading. As each sucessive loan demand showed, that did not work. The incoming tide of debt erased the lines. The contagion spread. The mixed metaphors [...]

I am told that there is a new welcome emphasis on the public’s views at Downing Street. They are taking polling more seriously. It was worries by the public about the Health reforms that lies behind the recent decision to consult again and if necessary to change the plans. I trust [...]

Last night I was put through my paces by an audience in Oxford on BBC Question Time. I was quizzed on the NHS, social mobility, arts funding cuts and the AV referendum. You can watch the episode again here . We had a feisty debate on the NHS - unbelievable for [...]

Tory tax rise means thousands more families to lose their child benefit Up to an extra 750,000...

Tory tax rise means thousands more families to lose their child benefit   Up to an extra 750,000 people will become higher rate taxpayers tomorrow (Wednesday), meaning that thousands more families will lose their child benefit in 2013 Labour will warn today.   Following changes announced in last June’s Budget by George Osborne [...]

It’s worrying that Ed Miliband in launching Labour’s local election campaign seemed so defensive and uncertain about his economic case, when it is actually very powerful.   Economic growth by itself, on the Government’s own forecasts, will halve this year’s Budget deficit within 5 years without a single public expenditure cut [...]

"All too often in government the really important decisions slip past you without you realising it, and the true significance of what you have done only dawns on you when it is too late" - Jonathan Powell in The New Machiavelli.Is that what happened with the Euro bailouts? In [...]

                  Based on doorstep conversations recently, and visits to speak to Conservative Associations, I encounter the following attitudes. Many Conservatives now see the Coaliti0n government as heavily Lib Dem influenced. They tell me they want changes in policy, to reflect the poor financial condition of the country and the preponderance [...]

It emerged in the Budget debate which ended today in the Commons that the need for spending cuts is far from the inevitability that Osborne has always claimed.   The independent OBR estimates of growth for the next 5 years, albeit recently scaled down, are still 1.7% this year, 2.5% next year, [...]

"Agreement [on the bail out Mechanism] on behalf of the UK was given by the previous administration, cross-party consensus had been gained" - Justine Greening MP, Treasury minister, July 15th 2010 "I made it clear to the previous Chancellor at the time that I did not support what [...]

                 I was surprised how the government handled media interviews about the TUC protest against the cuts. They could have used them to set out more of the detail of the difficult financial situaiton we find ourselves in. They could have used it to ask how come we are going [...]

The Prime Minister told the Commons today that he and his team had opposed the Euro bail out Mechanism deal negotiated by Alistair Darling, the out going Chancellor, last May. He was repeating what the Chancellor, George Osborne, told me when he said he had opposed it. Yet [...]

The £7 Billion Ireland bailout and (potential) £4.8 Billion bailout of Portugal, easily dwarf the £6.2 Billion of painful, deficit-reducing savings we've managed to make over the past year. Coalition ministers say that they were opposed to the last minute deal outgoing Chancellor, Alistair Darling, did to make Britain liable for the Euro 60 Billion [...]

Conclusions of  24/25 March 2011 EU summit included the following:     2. Within the new framework of the European semester, the European Council endorsed the priorities for fiscal consolidation and structural reform. priority to restoring sound budgets and fiscal sustainability, reducing unemployment through labour market reforms and making new efforts to enhance growth. All Member States [...]

                    The Portuguese government has fallen because it was unable to push through yet another austerity package. The  bond market demands ever higher interest rates to lend money to the ailing country. The economy remains mired in poor performance. Now all the talk is of another EU led bail out. [...]

Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): I remind the House that I offer industrial business advice to a Swedish, quoted international industrial group and investment advice to a British investment company. Some Opposition Members have expressed displeasure that Government Members should have mentioned the circumstances in Greece and Portugal. The Opposition rightly [...]

This Budget does nothing to help families in North Wales who currently face real challenges and...

This Budget does nothing to help families in North Wales who currently face real challenges and from April will find a real cut in their incomes, nor does it help our businesses to grow.   Before yesterday’s Budget Labour called for a re-think to George reckless plan to cut our public [...]

               I spoke in the Commons after the budget and will post that speech tomorrow when text is available.               The budget confirms the same plan as before – deficit reduction through big increases in tax receipts. It relies on above trend growth for three years. I will comment more tomorrow [...]

Tomorrow is Budget day. With the economic recovery stalled and unemployment levels at a 17 year high, the country is already approaching rock bottom and the fears are that announcements in the Budget are going to make things even worse, not better. What we need is a Budget [...]