George Osborne has stressed the British taxpayer is once again paying “for the mistakes of Labour’s age of irresponsibility” after the Government announced details of a second bank bailout package.
The Shadow Chancellor said Labour had “no option” but to undertake another taxpayer bailout after the failuer of their first bailout package.
But he called on the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to reveal the exact amount the taxpayer is exposed to under the deal, and warned there should be “no nonsense about what a good deal has been struck”:
“The British taxpayer is insuring the car after it has crashed. And the sad truth is that it’s families up and down the country who are paying the price, while those responsible try and walk away from the wreck so far unscathed.”
George accused Labour of “running around like headless chickens” and stressed that they have lost the confidence of the British people:
“The fact is, they have announced so many different schemes, exercised so many about-turns, made so many false claims, broken so many promises, that no one believes a word they say anymore.”
And the Shadow Chancellor slammed Mr. Darling for the £650,000 a year taxpayer-funded pension given to Sir Fred Goodwin, the former CEO of RBS.
“Whichever way one looks at it, this obscene pension is unacceptable and the Government is on the hook: either they did know and failed to act, or they didn’t know and failed to ask the right questions. It is a totally irresponsible use of taxpayers’ money.”
Read George's
full statement on the second bank bailout