"At the end of the Labour period in office, when the first financial storms hit us in 2007, it was clear that the country was, at that point, living beyond its means. It had a deficit of about 3% of GDP, while at the same time the Germans had a …..." Robert Syms - View Speech
"Yes, partly because of that. Traditionally in Britain it has been about 40%, so that gave the Government some room for manoeuvre. Any Government in office would have had a large increase in its deficit given what hit them in 2007 and 2008. There is no great argument about that …..." Robert Syms - View Speech
"Clearly, and another problem in the British economy is that there is a lot of private sector borrowing. We have a high level of indebtedness, both of government and of the private sector. In Italy, they save rather more than we do, and as a country we should try to …..." Robert Syms - View Speech
"We have been in office for only 18 months. It will take six, seven or eight years to stabilise the debt and probably several more to start reducing debt as a proportion of GDP.
I have said some complimentary things about the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West. I …..." Robert Syms - View Speech
"I am listening carefully to the right hon. Gentleman. Can we be clear about the Labour party’s position? Do you oppose the CPI? Do you oppose it just for this year—or are you in favour this year and next year, but want to go back to the RPI in a …..." Robert Syms - View Speech