Oral Answers to Questions

Tony Lloyd Excerpts

Wednesday 29th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We want to see a balanced energy policy and there is a place for renewable technologies in such a policy. We are making two changes that I think will be welcome to the hon. Gentleman. First, we are cutting the subsidy to onshore wind, because I think that it has been over-subsidised and wasteful of public money. Secondly, when the Localism Act 2011 fully comes in, that will give local communities a greater say about issues such as wind turbines. Of course, we tried to do that earlier by abolishing the regional spatial strategies that the previous Government put in place, but we lost that case in the courts so we need the Localism Act to come into force in full.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

Q2. Earlier, the Prime Minister answered a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith (Mr Slaughter) with a little more abuse than he would have wanted. Does the Prime Minister recognise that 200 couples in his constituency with 400 children and 600 couples in my constituency with more than 1,500 children will lose working tax credit, possibly up to the level of £3,800 or more, which can be 25% of their income? Without sounding complacent, can he say how he will answer those couples and their children?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have had to take difficult decisions because of the enormous debt and deficit that we inherited. In taking those decisions, we have protected the poorest families by increasing the child tax credit. That is what we have done. We have also helped the poorest who are in work by lifting 1 million people out of income tax. The question must come back to Labour: “You left us with this mess, what would you do about it?”