Osborne slammed for committing £10 billion to IMF
21 Apr 2012
UK chancellor for the exchequer George Osborne ran into heavy criticism from Tory backbenchers and Labour MPs after announcing Britain would commit another £10 billion to the IMF.
According to the chancellor, the increased funding was needed for the protection of jobs and growth in the country.
However, according to critics, the chancellor was putting a squeeze on taxpayers for additional bailouts of the struggling eurozone. He was also seen to be dodging a potentially embarrassing parliamentary vote on the extra contribution.
The deal was struck by finance ministers and central bank governors to boost the IMF's resources by $430 billion, at a meeting in Washington.
In addition to the increase by UK, Japan has pledged to contribute an extra $60 billion, South Korea $15 billion, Switzerland $10 billion and Australia $7 billion. However, the US and Canada have declined any further contributions to the pot.
According to Osborne, the UK considers itself as part of the solution to the challenges facing the global economy, not part of problem, and was helping to solve the global debt problem rather than adding to it.
