This week’s rise in unemployment is yet further evidence of the government’s failing economic plan. There are now almost 2.7 million people without a job in this country, a 17 year high. And two independent reports have worryingly predicted the worst is still to come. One said unemployment would increase to a staggering 3 million; the other that it wouldn’t fall for four more years. In the Commons on Thursday I urged the government to take action instead of more empty words.
On 6th December the house voted overwhelmingly to continue a debate on the economy in government time. Given the parliamentary managers are yet again struggling to fill the Commons timetable as a consequence of their gross mishandling of their legislative agenda, I asked the Leader of the House to bow to the clearly expressed view of this house, let the chancellor know it’s safe to return from Hong Kong (where he was to announce that the government would be willing to increase IMF funding) and find time for a debate on the government’s mishandling of the economy. The economic outlook remains extremely bleak so it is essential that the government allows time for a further debate instead of burying their head in the sand.
At Business Questions on Thursday I also raised the Horn of Africa report. Up to one hundred thousand people died during the famine in the Horn of Africa last year and a recent report says that had the international community responded faster, this tragedy could have been averted.
There is now a growing food crisis in the west of Africa and there are new worries about people losing their lives. I called on the international development secretary to make a statement, to reassure the house mistakes made in the Horn of Africa are not repeated this year.
The government announced this week a commission into the so-called West Lothian question. Rather than following the cross party approach we took when setting up the Calman Commission or that the current Welsh secretary took when establishing the Silk Inquiry – both of which were on devolution matters – it is outrageous the government has chosen to proceed without any input from opposition parties. It is difficult to conclude anything other than this is yet again constitutional tinkering to secure partisan electoral advantage. I asked the Leader of the House to explain why cross-party agreement has not seen sought.
Finally we learnt from Now magazine that the prime minister and his wife have a ‘date night’ each week. I suggest in the Commons that perhaps Conservative cabinet ministers need to have date nights with their Liberal Democrat colleagues given the cabinet tensions.
The education secretary might want to go on a date with the energy secretary to discuss the leaking of government correspondence for example.
I can understand that no Conservative minister would want to ruin their evening spending it with the deputy prime minister – but perhaps someone could take out the business secretary to remind him what he said on the economy in opposition, all of which he abandoned on joining this government!
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Angela Eagle is MP for Wallasey and shadow leader of the Commons