An hour before Business Questions this week we got the welcome news that Britain has finally emerged from recession, but we should never have been in a double-dip in the first place. This was a recession created in Downing Street by a part-time chancellor who cut too far and too fast.
At Business Questions I emphasised once more Labour’s call for an independent inquiry into the case of Jimmy Savile ,which has rightly caused widespread disgust. There are still serious questions for the BBC to answer. In the aftermath of this and the scandal in Rochdale we need to remember that is important that victims of child abuse are listened to and their complaints taken seriously.
Later I raised the complex rules introduced by the chancellor around the abolition of child benefit for higher-earning taxpayers which was one of the government’s first shambles. These rules mean from January an estimated half a million households will have to complete self-assessment tax forms for the first time. But with the changes only weeks away Revenue and Customs has not written to families warning them. There is speculation that the chancellor is waiting until after upcoming by-elections and PCC elections before advertising the unpopular change, I asked for the chancellor to make an urgent statement setting out how is department is going to properly inform families and implement the changes.
Several weeks ago after the prime minister’s botched reshuffle I paid tribute to Sir George Young who had just been sacked as leader of the house by saying:
‘Over the years, he has surprised political pundits with his Lazarus-style tendencies, and perhaps even this time he is merely on a sabbatical and will be back.’
And as I predicted following Andrew Mitchell’s resignation over Plebgate Sir George was back on the bench as the new chief whip. After the success of this prediction I offered the house my tip for the 4.25 at Doncaster on Friday…. Flashman! I also predicted that there would be another omnishambles coming along soon, clearly a very safe bet!
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Angela Eagle is MP for Wallasey, shadow leader of the Commons and writes the weekly Business of Parliament column for Progress. She tweets @AngelaEagle