Energy Prices

Debate between Chris Huhne and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 19th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. If the right hon. Gentleman does not wish to give way, he cannot be made to do so. I ask Members to be patient with him.

[Chris Huhne]

I will happily give way in a moment, but having listed a few legacy issues that we are attempting to deal with, I should make one final point. The leader of the Labour party held this portfolio for almost two years, but only now that he no longer has any power to do anything does he keep coming up with interesting ideas. He recently came up with the interesting idea—I do not agree with it but it is an interesting proposal—that the energy companies should be broken up and should no longer be vertically integrated. However, I can see no such proposal in the Opposition motion. Why is that? Is the right hon. Lady already resiling from the proposal that her boss made just a few weeks ago?

Indeed, I read this motion very carefully expecting, as usual, to come across a number of points on which we could disagree, but I and my ministerial team have consulted, and we cannot disagree with it. We will not oppose it. I hope that the right hon. Lady asks her boss whether she was right not to propose that key idea he made a few weeks ago.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Debate between Chris Huhne and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 24th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

rose—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. May we have short interventions? The right hon. Gentleman has already made a speech, and there are a lot of Members to follow.

[Chris Huhne]

May I remind the right hon. Gentleman that the former Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the ice always looks most solid just before it cracks? The contagion affected other countries in Europe including, as I cited, Spain, which had a lower central Government debt to GDP ratio than ours, and it is irresponsible to suggest otherwise.