Labour MP demands welfare bill cut
Updated on 24 February 2010
Britain must cut public spending to ensure that the international money markets continue to fund its debt, a senior Labour backbencher has said.
Former welfare minister Frank Field warned that the UK is entering "a period of maximum danger for our economy" which will force people across the country to accept less comfortable lifestyles to balance the nation's books.
He called for the welfare bill to be slashed by withdrawing benefits after four weeks from people who refuse to take up a job guarantee offered by the Government.
And he warned the UK would face "serious unrest on our streets" unless it ended its "open borders" policy of allowing in foreign workers from low-wage countries who compete for jobs with unskilled British workers.
Mr Field's comments are likely to be seized upon by Conservatives, who have warned that Britain could face Greek-style pressure from international money markets unless it acts swiftly to bring down its record debts.
The Birkenhead MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Britain is in "a mega-debt crisis which threatens our very existence".
He added: "We are in a period of maximum danger for our economy, our lifestyle, in this country. The Government has been forcing banks to buy Government debt and has been printing money to buy Government debt.
"We are now in a period where that funny money has run out, although the Governor of the Bank of England on Tuesday said maybe he will start printing money again.
"We do not know whether the rest of the world will lend us the money to maintain our debt levels and therefore slowly readjust to a lower standard of living, which is what this crisis actually means.
"We keep saying we should force policies on Greece, but nobody in this country is talking about these similar adjustments, about how we can cut public expenditure here - which includes welfare - in order to ensure that the money markets lend us that money."
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