Ken Clarke: Government right (and Osborne wrong) on Northern Rock
Ken Clarke contradicted George Osborne today. On BBC's Election Debate he said that the Labour government had been right to nationalise Northern Rock.
Ken Clarke appeared to contradict his party’s shadow chancellor today when he outlined that the Labour government had been right to nationalise Northern Rock.
Ken Clarke made his admission on BBC Daily Politics’ Election Debate on business issues:
NEIL: Were they right to nationalise [Northern Rock]?
CLARKE: I think they were right to nationalise it.
NEIL: That’s not what your party said.
PESTON: So you’ve changed your position?
CLARKE: Well I wasn’t on the front bench at the time.
Watch it:
In February 2008 during passage of the Banking (Special Provision) Bill, which gave the Government the powers to take Northern Rock into public ownership, George Osborne said, “I am not in favour of nationalisation, full stop” and voted against the second and third reading of the bill. He told the Today programme that the plan was “completely unacceptable.”
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