We did not choose the date of the 1951 Election, nor could we be held responsible for the Appalling Financial Crisis which this Government had to tackle immediately they got into office - and I strongly suspect that the existence of that financial crisis had a great deal to do with the determination of the date of the Election.

We are trying to produce better value for money, in order to cope with the Appalling Financial Crisis that we inherited from our predecessors.

May I begin by thanking Mervyn King for his outstanding public service and hard work through the Appalling Financial Crisis with which he has had to grapple?