Economy: Overseas Trade Deficit

Lord Lawson of Blaby Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Neill of Gatley]

My Lords, I thought that I had read the Financial Times thoroughly this morning but I missed that particular piece. If we want to reduce our current account deficit by reducing our attractiveness to foreign investment, we need to be very careful on 23 June.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kinnock (Lab)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord O'Neill of Gatley]

My Lords, I hate to be a statistical nerd about these things, but I am staring at the data. Last year, our overall trade balance as a share of GDP was minus 0.20%. In 2010, it was minus 2.8%. As I said a few minutes ago, the trade deficit today is smaller than it has been for 10 years.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby]

My Lords, in the context of inward investment, to which my noble friend rightly referred and which is in fact the driver of this, did he have time in his busy life to read the story in Le Monde a few days ago? It was reported that the important French internet company Valtech is waiting for the outcome of the referendum and, in the event of Brexit, proposes to move its headquarters from Luxembourg to London.

[Lord O'Neill of Gatley]

My Lords, I like to think that my talents are spreading as the years go by but I am not yet capable of reading a French newspaper and so have not read that particular story.