"My Lords, does the Minister agree that the original purpose of the change in the fiscal rules brought in by his Government was to ensure that we did not have a ball-by-ball commentary, every time there was the remotest whiff of a financial crisis, on whether or not the fiscal …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, do the Government not recognise that the most obvious thing they could do to improve our growth record would be to improve our trading relationship with Europe? What do the Government propose to do in that regard?..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, in the light of recent events, the last report from the noble Lord, Lord Bridges, as the brilliant chair of our Economic Affairs Committee, could not have been more opportune. As he indicated, the growth of government borrowing in the last 20 years tells us why we have …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, like many in your Lordships’ House, I lived through the history of the steel industry. In the 1970s and the 1980s, we had the debate over nationalisation, privatisation, nationalisation, privatisation, and in the past 10 years we have had a series of crises, culminating—until now, I suppose—with Port …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, there are clearly a number of lessons to be learned from the Spring Statement, but I will draw two quite serious ones: an omission and a failure of communication. Turning first to the serious omission—noble Lords who know me will expect me to say this—this was an opportunity …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, there is clearly common ground on how important the issues are that the noble Lord, Lord Hannett of Everton, has raised, as demonstrated by a number of noble Lords’ speeches.
I think both the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, and my noble friend Lord Tope indicated the known figures, …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech
"My Lords, to follow on from that remark, Budgets normally have a pattern. On the day they come out there is one reaction and then, after a while and some reflection, there is a different reaction. In this case, the reaction was the same: disappointment and criticism.
"My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Petitgas, suggested that this QSD would make a good exam question. I have often thought of it as a possible topic for PhD study; perhaps somebody has done it already.
"My Lords, I am absolutely delighted to join in a Question from the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, because it gives me the opportunity to thank him from our Benches for the collegiate way in which he conducted himself as a DCMS Minister.
"My Lords, this is not the first Government to prioritise growth. In 1964, Harold Wilson put George Brown in charge of a Department of Economic Affairs, to remove what he regarded as the dead weight of the Treasury. George Brown’s plan was to have 25% growth to GDP between 1964 …..." Lord Razzall - View Speech