I began Business of the House Questions by raising the upcoming Winter Olympics which are being held in the Russian town of Sochi. While I am looking forward to cheering on our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, we can’t ignore the homophobic laws which the Russian government has recently passed. In an attempt to downplay the law, Vladimir Putin has assured us that some of his best friends are gay while praising Elton John as a great musician. Meanwhile, the mayor of Sochi has claimed that there are no gay people in his town at all. Surely the reality is that when LGBT people are oppressed, beaten and killed in Russia, it is our duty to stand up for them. I asked Andrew Lansley to outline what the government will be doing to make our views on the unacceptability of this repression crystal-clear to Putin?
The upcoming parliamentary business which was announced by Andrew Lansley was as sparse as ever with barely any government business of note. Analysis by the House of Commons library has revealed that this government spends a third less time on legislation than the last. I asked Andrew Lansley whether this is because they’ve run out of ideas or because they’re too busy arguing among themselves to produce any positive proposals?
It’s nearly four years since George Osborne predicted that by now the economy would have grown by 8.4 per cent. This week we have learnt that he has achieved only 3.3 per cent. Four years ago the chancellor promised he would eliminate the deficit by the end of this parliament; he’s now telling us it will take nearly twice as long. Yesterday the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, pointed out that the ‘consumer spending boom’ which the chancellor has unleashed is unsustainable. And on Monday Vince Cable broke ranks and warned that with no rebalancing in sight the government is presiding over the wrong sort of recovery. Instead of using dodgy statistics in a doomed attempt to tell people they’re really better off the chancellor should be making a concrete promise that there won’t be a further tax cuts for millionaires!
The recent floods have caused real anguish for people up and down the country and the weather forecast looks likely to make things worse over the next few days. Last night it emerged that the Somerset levels, which have been under water for a month, will now have support from the army. The environment secretary claimed he’s been spending more than ever on flood defences, but actually he’s been spending 15 per cent less. He’s nearly halved spending on protection and maintenance for rivers and it has emerged that a year ago he ignored a report that specifically mentioned the need for dredging in Somerset. The man who was outwitted by goalpost-wielding badgers needs to get a grip of his brief!
Finally I took the opportunity to congratulate the England women’s cricket team for retaining the Ashes. What’s that saying about never leaving men to do a woman’s job?
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Angela Eagle is member of parliament for Wallasey, shadow leader of the House of Commons and writes the weekly Business of Parliament column for Progress. She tweets @AngelaEagle