Simon Danczuk brands Fiscal Charter a 'ridiculous charade'

Simon Danczuk MP

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has branded the Government’s Fiscal Charter a “ridiculous charade” which should not have been dignified with a debate.

Mr Danczuk was one of 21 Labour MPs who chose to abstain during last night’s House of Commons vote on the bill which requires future governments to run a budget surplus.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urged MPs to support the charter, but he reversed his decision just two weeks later by ordering the party to vote against it.

Explaining his decision to abstain, Mr Danczuk described the vote as a “Tory trap” and argued that all opposition MPs should have abstained.

He said: “The Fiscal Charter is a pointless piece of legislation and the Labour Party should have steered clear of it from day one.

“It was a Tory trap to make Labour look like a party of deficit deniers and sadly John McDonnell has put his foot right into it.

“Even George Osborne, speaking in 2010, described fiscal responsibility bills as ‘vacuous and irrelevant'.

“Rather than dignify this ridiculous charade with a debate, opposition MPs should have abstained as I did. By opposing the charter just two weeks after publicly supporting it, the Shadow Chancellor has made the party look indecisive."