Greece

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr—sorry. The right hon. and learned Gentleman took me by surprise. I call Mr Kenneth Clarke.

[Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Con)]

I am always quietly inconspicuous in this Chamber, Mr Speaker.

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the IMF has always made advances to countries in financial crises conditional on a programme of reform aimed at minimising the effect on creditors and, above all, on restoring a competitive and effective economy to prepare for a healthier future? It would be quite irresponsible for the IMF or the European Central Bank to abandon that approach at the moment. The best outcome would be for the Greeks to vote yes in the referendum. The one thing my right hon. Friend has not touched on is the great hardship that could be caused to the Greek people if they vote no and their economy goes into total collapse. Are there any discussions going on about the way in which the friends of Greece can mitigate those consequence for the ordinary Greek population? There is no quarrel in this House with Greece or the ordinary people of Greece who are not responsible for the mismanagement by their Government.

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[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is still a lot of interest but very little time. I will try to take a few more questions on this statement, but I give notice to colleagues that it will almost certainly not be possible to accommodate everybody. There are swings and roundabouts in these things, as Members know.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Greece reminds us all that one can defy economic logic for only so long. Given that eurozone growth rates are well below global growth rates—in the economic slow lane—and that unemployment rates are that much higher, largely caused by the drive towards economic and political union, what cast-iron safeguards are we negotiating to ensure that we retain our sovereignty such that we do not get drawn into this ever-closer union?

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[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am keen to accommodate the remaining interest, but only on the assumption that we can wrap this up by 6.30, so I appeal for extreme brevity, to be exemplified by the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne).

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

The Chancellor said in his statement that eurozone authorities

“stand ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the euro area”.

That may well be tested to the full in the coming weeks. Given that the lesson of the exchange rate mechanism is that pressure will undoubtedly be mounting on other European currencies and economies, what contingencies does he have in place to make sure there is no domino effect?