Clegg and Keetch quiz Brown on the European Council and his visits to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

4.29.05pm GMT Tue 16th Dec 2008

' . . WHY will he not make the big, permanent, fair tax cuts for ordinary families that were called for at the European summit?'

• Nicholas Clegg (Party Leader; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat): . . Like so many European Union summits before it, last week's summit was stronger on words than action, richer in promises than in delivery. I welcome the summit proposals for a fiscal stimulus to boost the economy, in the shape of tax cuts and public investment. The question, then, is: why is the Prime Minister not properly practising here at home what he has preached in the European Union? Instead of having his short-term VAT cut, why will he not make the big, permanent, fair tax cuts for ordinary families that were called for at the European summit?

Instead of wasting extra borrowed money on that VAT cut, why will the Prime Minister not invest in green infrastructure for Britain's future, creating green jobs and green growth, as were also called for at the summit? Does the Prime Minister not see that if he does not boost growth in that way-permanent tax cuts and green jobs-Britain will fall behind those countries in Europe that he has boasting about beating for about a decade? Already, in some places one can no longer buy a whole euro for a pound. Does the Prime Minister recognise that many eurozone economies could surge ahead of Britain, under his leadership, leaving us once again as the sick man of Europe?

The summit was a wasted opportunity to defeat climate change. All those of us who want our children to have a planet worth living on will be disappointed that dirty industry has been given extra time to clean up its act. Will the Prime Minister tell us when the commitments will be reviewed, and when the loopholes for dirty industry will finally be closed?

The Prime Minister also told us about his visits to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. I welcome his words of commitment to those countries and support the temporary increase of troops until August in Afghanistan. Does he now recognise that any lasting peace in that country will have to come from a regional agreement-like the Dayton peace accords in the Balkans-and that we need to start talking now to China, Russia and Iran? Does he also agree that, if the local pragmatists in the Taliban are to be split from the national fundamentalists, the talks with the moderate Taliban that are going on in the shadows need to be brought out into the light and given new emphasis?

Finally, I was disturbed to see that Zimbabwe warranted only a few words in the conclusions of the summit, even as millions face disease and starvation, and no words at all from the Prime Minister this afternoon. The Government have got their priorities wrong: instead of being tough on Mugabe, they are being tough on his victims, by refusing to allow Zimbabwean asylum seekers here to work, and, despite assurances to the contrary, by still deporting Zimbabweans to their fate-including Privilege Thalambo, who was arrested with her two daughters for deportation just last Friday.

The Prime Minister talks with great passion about Africa, but he is not providing the right leadership. He has given the wrong leadership on the Congo. Why, instead of encouraging EU leaders to send EU troops, has he encouraged them not to send them? He has also given the wrong leadership on Zimbabwe. Why has he not pushed for international action by the United Nations under the new doctrine of responsibility to protect?

Does the Prime Minister not agree that, on the economy, on climate change and on Africa, making the right promises is the easy bit, but delivering them is the real test?

Gordon Brown (Prime Minister; Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source | Video match this

The right hon. Gentleman's whole theme was that the summit was stronger on words than on action; if any group in the world is stronger on words than on action, it is the Liberal party.

I shall answer individually each of the questions that the right hon. Gentleman has asked. On troops in Afghanistan, I am grateful for his support for the additional mission to ensure that central Helmand is free of the Taliban.

On Zimbabwe, I disagree that we have done little; we have done a huge amount to try to get humanitarian aid to the people who are affected by cholera, to persuade the southern African states to take the necessary action, to bring this forward to the Security Council, as we are doing, and to ensure that the whole world understands the blood-stained regime that we are dealing with in Zimbabwe. We will continue our efforts to try to persuade African leaders to take a tougher stand on the issue.

On the Congo, I think that the right hon. Gentleman realises that, in preference to rushing to deploy an EU force at the moment, the most important thing is to strengthen the UN force. It is to rise from 17,000 to 20,000, and we have put aside some money to help the recruiting of the additional troops for work in the Congo. By far the quickest and most effective way of getting help to people there, and of dealing with the incursions that are taking place, is to strengthen the numbers, the quality and the leadership of the UN force on the ground.

On climate change, I also disagree with the right hon. Gentleman. There is a debate to be had about carbon leakage, and there is to be a rigorous examination of its impact. No action will be taken to exclude the non-power sectors of the economy from auctioning until that rigorous examination has been carried out. The proposals will then go back to the Council for further discussion within six months, so that we can be clear that carbon leakage is not being used as an excuse to escape responsibility for taking action on climate change. Our objectives of a 20 per cent. cut in emissions, of 100 per cent. power auctioning and of a €9 billion commitment to carbon capture and storage were all achieved at the summit, and, for all the difficulties that the right hon. Gentleman has raised about carbon leakage-a matter that has still to come back to be discussed in full later-there have been enormous advances that will put Europe in a position to take the lead in Copenhagen in securing a climate change agreement.

I know that the right hon. Gentleman does not favour the VAT cuts that have taken place, but I believe that they are already making a difference, and I hope that he will support the increase in public spending that is taking place as a result of decisions that we have made. Not only has £5 billion already been allocated to small businesses, with a great deal more to come, but a £10 billion increase in the capital budget from last year to next year will enable us to proceed with our plans for roads, transport, schools and hospitals in a way that will employ more people. I hope that the Liberal party will continue to support that action, which is necessary to inject more capital spending into the economy at a time when it is most needed.

The fact of the matter is that monetary policy has a transmission mechanism that is impaired, and we cannot rely totally on monetary policy. No other major country in the world is saying that monetary policy alone can do this work, apart from the people who represent the Conservative party at the moment. Fiscal policy is absolutely essential, especially at a time of low inflation and low interest rates: the case for using fiscal policy is even stronger then.

It is unfortunate that the Conservatives have not learnt the basic lesson of the 1970s and 1980s that a recession is prolonged by a failure to invest and a failure to use capital spending. The Liberals and I are agreed on the need for capital investment. The Conservative party should go back to the drawing board and think again.

• . . Paul Keetch (Whips, Whips (Commons); Hereford, Liberal Democrat): The Prime Minister says that there are more helicopters on the way, but may I ask him the same question that I asked him on 21 November 2007? When will the dedicated Chinook helicopters that were ordered by John Major for our special forces and delivered to Tony Blair in 2001 be fully available to be deployed by UK special forces in Afghanistan?

Gordon Brown: I agree that we have set aside a huge amount of money for additional helicopters. The timetable for their introduction depends on re-equipping many of them and, at the same time, training the forces to do so. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman specifically about the Chinook helicopters, but I can tell him that the money and the resources have been provided for the additional helicopters.