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    Leaders spar over unemployment figures at PMQs

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    Unite's reaction to unemployment figures

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    30th June 2010

    Harriet Harman called on the prime minister to publish "secret" Treasury figures that predicted 1.3 million people would become unemployed as a result of the coalition's Budget.

    "Can he confirm that secret Treasury analysis shows that under his Budget half a million jobs will be lost in public sector but even more will be lost in the private sector," she said.

    But during prime minister's question time this afternoon, Cameron insisted that employment figures had already been published by the new Office for Budget Responsibility.

    "Unemployment is forecast to fall every year under this government," he said.

    And he said if Labour had remained in power there would have been 70,000 fewer public sector jobs next year and 150,000 less the year after.

    "The reason is we’ve had the courage to have a two year pay freeze," he said.

    But Harman repeated her call for the Treasury figures to be published, which she said painted a bleaker picture on jobs that the OBR figures.

    "He hasn’t answered about the 1.3 million, he hasn’t agreed to publish those documents," she said.

    "The prime minister should know what abject misery this unemployment will cause to individuals, families and communities.”

    Cameron said Harman did not "seem to understand" the figures, and predicted unemployment would fall over the course of this Parliament.

    "We've published the figures," he said. "It's not now us, it’s the OBR.”

    "What the figures show is unemployment in the public sector is higher under Labour next year and the year after.”

    Cameron used his final response to the Labour leader to highlight what he called the "stupidest piece of spending" under the previous government, which he said took place in Harman's own former department.

    He said her department had spent £2.4m on "doing up" the offices including spending £72,000 each on two "meeting pods known as peace pods".

    The prime minister said the department's own internal magazine described them as "twenty first century spaces of quality air and light where we can relax and refuel in a natural ebb and flow".

    Labour has gone from "peaceniks to peace pods, and bankrupted the country in the process".

    While Harman did not have a right of reply, she could be seen mouthing "that's not true".

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