David Ruffley MP has today released new House of Commons figures, obtained during his questioning of Harriet Harman, Minister of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which reveal that the number of bankruptcy orders made in Suffolk has increased by a staggering 183 percent since 1998.

The number of bankruptcy orders made in Bury St Edmunds County Court increased from 87 in 1998 to 274 in 2006, an increase of 215 percent.

The number of bankruptcy orders made in Ipswich County Court increased from 191 to 513 during the same period, an increase of 167 percent.

Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich are the only county courts in Suffolk which deal with insolvency matters.

David said:

'These new House of Commons figures reveal a staggering increase in the number of bankruptcies in Suffolk.

'Since 1998 the number of bankruptcy orders made at Bury St Edmunds County Court has increased by over 200 percent. Across Suffolk as a whole the increase is an equally worrying 183 percent.

'This increase in bankruptcy orders exposes the shocking toll that this Government has taken on the finances of the people of Suffolk. The level of debt they have encouraged is forcing hundreds of people a year into the misery of bankruptcy.

'People are being encouraged to borrow too much, and lenders are making poor lending decisions.

'These figures are just the latest symptom of an economy built on debt and it is Gordon Brown who is to blame."