MP anger over UK contribution to aid
CRITICS from across the political spectrum yesterday voiced their opposition to chancellor George Osborne’s decision that the UK should contribute several billion to the Irish bailout.
Labour MP John Mann said that he would vote against the contribution, saying: “What George Osborne has chosen to do is use money from the average taxpayer to bail out the bankers – including British bankers – yet again.”
Tory Douglas Carswell MP also voiced his discontent, highlighting that the mooted figure of £7bn for a UK contribution was “more than we struggled to reduce public expenditure by when we first came to office.”
John Redwood MP, also a Conservative, said: “We’ve just gone through quite a big exercise making cuts so we’re not looking for ways to spend several billion more outside the UK.”
However, Osborne is likely to win any vote on the matter, with all the three main parties supporting his decision.