MP for Wrekin Mark Pritchard clashed with Gordon Brown in the Commons over Britain’s “failing economy” and the rising jobless toll in Shropshire.

On the closing day of the debate on the Queen’s Speech yesterday, the Conservative interrupted the Chancellor after Mr Brown had recalled average interest rates of 10 per cent under the last Conservative government.

To jeers from the Labour benches, Mr Pritchard asked Mr Brown: “Isn’t it time that you took responsibility for our failing economy? Labour MPs can mock, but unemployment in Shropshire has risen in the past 12 months by 36 per cent.

“Let’s go back to 1979 when interest rates were at 22 per cent under Labour.”

Mr Brown accused the Shropshire MP and shadow chancellor, George Osborne, of “talking down” the UK economy. He said growth was higher than forecast compared with countries like America which had been forced to downgrade its growth estimates.

“The sooner the Conservative Party stops talking down the British economy, which has been growing for 10 years, the better it will be for investment in this country,” said the Chancellor.

However, Mr Pritchard won backing later in the debate from Ludlow MP Philip Dunne, who said unemployment appeared to be rising much more rapidly in some rural areas that had relied on manufacturing.

“In my constituency, much of the unemployment has been in the aluminium capital of England, Bridgnorth, where we have lost 200 manufacturing jobs in the past six months alone,” said the Tory MP.