PMQs: Clegg demands that leadership start at home (South West Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats)

South West Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@southwestbedslibdems.org.uk>

PMQs: Clegg demands that leadership start at home

April 1, 2009 6:34 PM
Originally published by UK Liberal Democrats

Nick Clegg urges the Prime Minister to back up his words to foreign leaders abroad with effective action in the UK

On the day before the G20 Summit, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg reminded the Prime Minister that his international policies must be supported by effective action at home otherwise Britain's climb out of recession will be much slower and life will be even more difficult for struggling families.

Nick also criticised the Prime Minister for not following through on his pledge for a green stimulus package. He said the UK's stimulus package has less green measures than all the other members of the G20.

In his follow up question Nick criticised the Government's wasteful VAT cut and again called for him to cancel it. He urged the Prime Minister to instead invest the money in creating jobs and taking a truly green road out of recovery.

See the full exchange below

Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): We all want this G20 summit to succeed. The Prime Minister is right to say that we will not get out of this mess unless world leaders work together. However, the summit will not help anybody here unless he practises at home what he preaches abroad. On his world tour, he railed against tax avoidance, yet he presided over industrial-scale tax avoidance in British banks and British businesses. He now talks about green-collar jobs, yet his fiscal stimulus has less green stimulus than any other fiscal stimulus in the G20. Does he not see that leadership starts at home?

The Prime Minister: Let me tell the leader of the Liberal party that for the first time we are on the verge of an agreement, which means that every country that was previously a tax haven will have to exchange tax information on request. So with Switzerland, Andorra, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore-all the countries with which we have been trying to get agreement for 20 years; I do not know whether the Conservative party wants those agreements, but we have been trying to get them for 20 years - we will get agreements at this summit. The issue of tax havens has moved to a new level, where we are dealing with the problem.

On a green stimulus, I hope that the right hon. Gentleman finds that the communiqué reflects the desire in all countries of the world that we do not return to business as usual on the environment, that the recovery is low carbon, and that we will do whatever we can, now and in the Budget, to move that forward.

Mr. Clegg: The words sound good-they always do-but now the Prime Minister has to do what he says. He is the only G20 leader who has blown billions of pounds of borrowed money on a wasteful VAT cut that has not created a single job. Why should any other leader listen to his lessons? Is it not time for him to admit his mistake, announce at the summit tomorrow that he will stop the wasteful VAT cut, and invest the billions of pounds in creating the jobs and homes that this country desperately needs now?

The Prime Minister: On the environment, we are the first Government in the world to sign climate change legislation that will commit us to statutory cuts in carbon over the next few years. I know that the right hon. Gentleman's party does not seem to think it important, but we are leading the world, as we should, in the environmental debate.

On VAT and other changes, I have to tell the right hon. Gentleman that one has to use all the weapons at one's disposal to deal with a global financial crisis. We have cut interest rates, the Bank of England is now putting money into the economy, we have advanced public works in the economy, and we have raised the pension and child benefit beyond the level that was expected in January. At the same time, we are giving income tax cuts, starting this week, by raising personal allowances. We are also helping the unemployed and home owners who find themselves in difficulty. That is the way to deal with the downturn: to take all measures necessary to get through it as quickly as possible.