Labour has called an Opposition Day Debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 20th July, and will call on the Government to drop their now discredited Charter for Budget Responsibility: Autumn 2015 update, which requires the government to reach a budget surplus in 2019/20. After the then Chancellor missed two of its three targets in March, he was forced by the Charter to set a Budget that included cuts in public investment over each of the next three years to meet this budget surplus.
Labour’s motion is:
That this House calls on the Government to repeal the Charter for Budget Responsibility: autumn 2015 update which was laid before this House on 12 October, and to bring forward an alternative to lay before the House at the earliest opportunity which provides the basis for stabilising our economy and provide long term investment for growth.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell MP, said:
“The Tories want to pretend to the British people that just because they had a change of Chancellor that they have had a change of policy, but the truth is that George Osborne’s failed economic plan is carrying on under Phillip Hammond.
“If this is not the case then he can join with Labour in voting against the planned cuts to investment spending and in-work benefits that his predecessor announced in the Budget built on failure back in March.
“Phillip Hammond cannot keep saying he is waiting till the end of the year because the Government he was part of didn’t plan for the fallout of Brexit from a referendum that they called.
“Britain is being placed on hold by the Tories, as there are families and businesses around our country who are planning ahead now, who cannot wait for the Chancellor to finally make up his mind up.”