Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is being urged to resign by a Bolton MP over the downgrading of Britain’s AAA credit rating.
Bolton West MP, Julie Hilling, called for the Chancellor to step down during a lively debate in Parliament on Tuesday.
Moody’s Investors Service became the first agency to downgrade the UK, cutting the AAA grade by one notch to AA1, claiming the country faces ‘sluggish growth’ into 2016.
Ms Hilling asked Mr Osborne to accept the country’s debts have run away with him, but his reply was to tell her he was ‘confronting the problems’ left by the last Labour Government.
“The Chancellor’s reply is disingenuous given that the economy was actually growing when Gordon Brown left office,” said Ms Hilling.
“He needs to accept responsibility that this mess has happened on his watch and as a direct result of the policies which he is implementing.”
Before becoming Chancellor, Mr Osborne had set maintaining Britain’s AAA credit rating as one of eight benchmarks to judge the success of the Conservative government’s new economic model.
The decision from Moody’s – considered one of the Big Three credit agencies – was largely predicted, but is a blow to Britain’s position in the world economy.
An urgent question was tabled in the House of Commons following Moody’s decision, despite the Finance Minister previously staking his, and Britain’s, economic reputation on the continuation of the rating.
“It is clear that the Chancellor’s policies are hurting residents in my constituents, as well as across the entire country,” added Ms Hilling.
“They are simply not working. We need a strategy for growth and job creation, however both the Chancellor and Prime Minister are determined to drive the economy head first in the wrong direction”.
Ms Hilling has shown support for Labour’s proposals to create jobs and apprenticeships by introducing a bankers’ bonus tax.
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Picture courtesy of altogetherfool via Flickr, with thanks.
