We do get a debate on the Budget after all!

Today George Osborne tabled a formal request for urgent debate on the Budget,and the Speaker wisely granted it for tomorrow.

Nigel Griffiths, Labour MP, raised a bogus point of order, complaining about just how many Conservative MPs had “piled into the Chamber” to suppoprt this request. Nigel, it is called Parliamentary democracy. It used to be automatic that we had a long debate on budget proposals. Are you so out of touch? Is Labour now the enemy of democracy? Why did we have to ask for what is the nation’s right?

8 Comments

  1. mikestallard
    November 25, 2008

    I watched the "debate" last evening on TV.
    The Labour politicians on the front bench looked bored while George Osborne was doing his speech. I noticed the Prime Minister quietly looking at his watch. Then – they vanished!
    When you made your point about having a proper debate on such an important subject, you made it to an almost empty set of government seats.
    No doubt they all had something much more important to do than discuss the economy.

  2. Susan
    November 25, 2008

    I'm looking forward to the debate tomorrow and well done to the Conservatives for persisting in asking for one. Nigel Griffiths' ridiculous intervention was a symptom of the puerile attitudes which pervade the Labour benches.

    The Labour govt & party are very much adrift and out of touch with the public. Since RIPA (2000), SoCPa and other, so-called, "anti-terrorist" legislation was introduced the law-abiding have been criminalised. I'm sure we once had a judicial system which was copied and envied world-wide but now we are not allowed to do anything unless the government says we may. Rights are inherent, not conferred and people boxed into a corner have only two options: acquiesce or fight. I anticipate a Conservative government untangling the web of anti-democratic legislation when it regains office and hope Dominic Grieve and his department are looking into it right now.

  3. Blue Eyes
    November 25, 2008

    Mr Redwood, you must realise by now that the Left do not regard Parliament as a place of debate and accountability. They see it purely as a funny way of electing a government. Alas they are probably right.

  4. Acorn
    November 25, 2008

    JR, I expect to see you jumping up and down like a jack-in-a-box in tomorrows debate, sock it to 'em, big time.

    As we now appear to have TWO budgets per year, it is only right that you at least get to talk about it.

    It was amusing to witness yesterday, how little ZaNuLabour MPs understood what was being said. I have said before, that ZaNu MPs, reach their level of incompetence when they are elected to a Parish Council. Fortunately for them, the electorate that puts them in Parliament, is even thicker than they are.

    I understand from the intelligent ones oversees, that they are "selling the pound on highs", apparently, highs are coming up several times an hour. They tell me this is not good for us. "We are looking at a dollar twenty eight" he says.

    I say. "Are you telling me that my hickory-smoked baby back ribs at the Hickory House in Aspen, next February, are going to cost me £14.83 rather than the £9.63 that I paid last February".

    "Life's a bitch, and then, you die" he says. Anyway, apparently, the CDS market prices for sovereign debt, is the metric that we Redwoodians should be concentrating on. "If it gets above 300 basis points, consider emigrating"; the flash Yank with the new Salomon skis says. The trouble is, history tells me, I should believe him.

  5. A Ellis
    November 25, 2008

    "Are you so out of touch? Is Labour now the enemy of democracy?"

    I can't believe your so naive to have written the above John. The whole party political system is the enemy of democracy and the state has become the enemy of the people.
    You also wrote;
    "Why did we have to ask for what is the nation’s right?"

    The answer to that question is that our elected servants have illegally given up our sovereignty, we now have an administration that believes that it is above the law.

  6. Brian Tomkinson
    November 25, 2008

    What would Cromwell have made of Labour's attitude to Parliament?

  7. APL
    November 26, 2008

    "Nigel Griffiths, Labour MP, raised a bogus point of order, complaining about just how many Conservative MPs had “piled into the Chamber” to suppoprt this request."

    Well yes. God forbid we should expect to see MPs in the chamber.

  8. Jason
    November 26, 2008

    Hi John,

    I too watched the Shadow Chancellor's performance at the dispatch box last night and what can I say – a much improved performance – did you have a word with him?!. One needs to really challenge whether a cut in VAT is even sane – given the plethora of more targeted, effective alternatives. The chancellor need to explain why he chose VAT – i thought Vince Cable did a good job of hosing him down on that account. So i think the more aggressive performances will hit home eventually. What needs to be hammered home now is the message about alternatives – fully costed and shown how those will be more effective, more quickly and better overall. The chancellor effectively asked for that in his lacklustre response – trying to get mileage out of it even. Tomorrow is a fantastic opportunity to be well armed and focused and 'unleash hell' for him. Is fiscal stimulus really needed? and if so what is appropriate? – even Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reluctantly suggested it is in a recent column – to much outcry on his blog i might add. What are the most effective alternatives (to VAT) as a vehicle. Provide some evidence to at least put a doubt in the mind of the public. After all it is a massive gamble that in all likelihood will not payoff. Their growth forecasts should be derided – and the risks to the downside properly detailed, with the consequences of worsening fiscal position clearly spelled out. My only (selfish) worry in all this is that the pound sinks further if there is an almighty row over this pre-budget and the chancellor's ineptitude is fully exposed. That is a risk worth taking, though today it seems the pound was up against the dollar (more due to overall dollar weakness in my view) as it was relatively flat -vs- the euro. Still that is no endorsement of the pre-budget – and it will only be a matter of time before the forecasts come in lower than expected and more dark clouds will descend over sterling….as a counter to this I also feel it is worth mentioning that Europe is in no great shape either. Great blog by the way…went though a couple of your downloads – still going through the economic competitiveness document..pretty thorough….i somehow feel that this stuff needs to be communicated more to the public.

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