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1. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I will make some progress, because lots of Members want to speak, and I have not even got on to the main argument that I want to make. There are real benefits from this Budget. In my constituency, the council tax rebate will impact positively on 42,000 homes. The same will be true in the constituency of the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) and in others around the country. The Chancellor also mentioned directly the defence dual use investment for companies doing dual-use innovations. When he was Defence Secretary and I was Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, we worked together, and it was the first time that the Secretaries of State of those two Departments came together to work on the strategic challenges and opportunities faced in the defence industry. I am really pleased that we now have a Chancellor investing in dual use. It will be based on the conversations and workstreams that we set up when we were those two Secretaries of State. Those two roles should work together going forward. When Labour came to office in 2024, we inherited a growth emergency. Now we have taken solid steps forward, but we must still have the mindset that we are facing a growth emergency. It is my belief that we are on a motorway heading in the right direction but even now are only travelling at 30 mph. I believe that the challenge we face is a complacency that was set down in previous times, when we took growth for granted. From the 1997 Government onwards, for a decade before the financial crash, I think it is fair to say that we felt that growth was dependable—that there was a sense of inevitability about growth. We could focus on all the social issues we wanted to tackle based on the proceeds of that growth, but we did not pay enough attention to underpinning growth and making sure that it was sustainable into the very long term.

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2. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   The right hon. Gentleman’s intervention was longer than my speech has been so far. When I find that I agree with every word that somebody is saying, I usually sit down and listen to a bit more of it rather than trying to challenge it. Perhaps the rest of my speech will answer the questions that he raises. In that decade, because of the predictability and certainty of growth, I think that growth policy was seen like any other policy. In other words, if there was a shelf with all the different policies of Government on it, growth would be one set of policies on that shelf. I know that there are a lot of analogies going around these days, and Liz Truss has blown a hole in analogy <span id="338" class="column-number" data-column-number="338"></span>use as well as in our economy, but it is my belief that we now need to have the mindset that growth is the shelf itself. We cannot have successful social policies delivered in the way that all of us in this Chamber would like unless we have a solid, predictably-growing economy into the long term that provides security and prosperity and from which we can share investment fairly around the country. We must on both sides of the House be as animated about economic growth as we are about creating prosperity, spending it and challenging the social ills in our society. We must care as much about economic growth as we do about rough sleeping, social care and international development—I say that as someone who spent my early life in international development. Tackling those issues depends on economic growth itself. Public services are incredibly important. They are enablers of growth. We cannot have growth if people are arriving late to work, are too sick to work or are stuck on a Tory waiting list for treatment. We need to have the right skills in the right places. All of those things are absolutely essential, but we should not kid ourselves that such growth is not built on by private enterprise. Thanks to the Prime Minister deciding that I could have some time over the summer, I was able to write an essay—now that Tony Blair has brought them back into fashion. I know that many Members will have already read it, making some of my words today obsolete, but let me refresh their minds about what I focused on. I confined the essay to my experience in Government and how we can configure Government more assiduously and dependably to unlock the economic growth that our country needs so much—focusing on what Government themselves can deliver. That experience comes from leading two Departments as Secretary of State. I saw in both those Departments that civil servants can deliver boldly when they have the authority to and when incentives align. I will use one example—the automotive sector—to illustrate to Members the challenges that the Government face to unlock growth. Delivering support for the automotive sector means aligning energy, trade, regulation and all these different areas of policy. All are held by more than one Government Department, and each of those Departments has its own priorities. As Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade, at times I was prioritising the automotive sector and recognising how important it can be for growth. Let us bear in mind, when Jaguar Land Rover suffered its cyber-attack, 0.2% was taken off our GDP. When it was up and running six weeks later, 0.2% was returned to our GDP. The importance of industry is still fundamental. When the Prime Minister and the Chancellor talk about reindustrialisation, hon. Members should not underestimate its ability to deliver growth for our overall economy. We have another asset when it comes to the automotive sector in our country. When we talk about frontier technology—I am looking for the Minister for Artificial Intelligence, who was in his place a moment ago—we think about the AI labs, most of which are in California, with some in China, but we have a frontier industry here in the UK in the automotive sector, and it is Formula 1, because 11 of the 12 teams do all their research and development and all the deployment of their vehicles right here in the UK. No other country in the world has <span id="339" class="column-number" data-column-number="339"></span>that asset, and that filters skills through our automotive sector. The ability to grow that sector is huge, but that needs Government to work in an aligned way. I discovered how different Departments with different priorities have oversight over things like automotive, and how sometimes they can slow down those priority areas. We need the structures and incentives in Government to be much better aligned, because we cannot have all these important sectors depending on Ministers’ ability to WhatsApp each other to sort out problems. We should have a system of Government that is already on the side of making pro-growth choices. I want to say a few brief words about defence, which has already been raised in the debate. I am grateful to the Chancellor for the statements he has made on this. We focus on the percentage of GDP allocated to defence, but the debate cannot just be about how big a share of our economy we spend on defence; it must also be about how big an economy we have. If we were to achieve five years of 3% annual growth, 3% of our national income on defence would deliver almost the same amount of money as moving to 3.5% in an economy of today’s size.

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3. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I will continue. That is the difference that growth can make to our national security: it does not remove the need for difficult spending decisions today, but it can give us greater strength to sustain our defence into tomorrow.

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4. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I agree. I realise that in seeking to make an intervention we stop listening to what is being said, but I did say before I gave way to the hon. Member that that would not be instead. I am not proposing that we look to start investing five years down the line after five years of 3% growth—of course, we must move towards those NATO targets, just as the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have promised—but if the debate is about getting cash into defence, this illustrates how there is more than one way of doing that. Immediately, yes, it is about increasing the percentage, but in the long term, on the back of economic growth of 3% and above, we could do so sustainably, and that would unleash enormous amounts of resource in addition to the reprioritisation that might need to happen. Of course, the difference is that when the spending comes from growth, other Government Departments’ budgets can grow as well, and working people right across the country will be feeling it in their pockets. That is why growth is one of the driving social justice issues of our time.<span id="340" class="column-number" data-column-number="340"></span> It is my belief that government needs to become organised around growth, and that growth needs to become the organising principle of government. In the essay that I published, I give some practical suggestions based on my time in government for what I would do if I had the opportunity. First, the Government need to adopt a taskforce mentality when it comes to growth. The Prime Minister should back a 90-day plan to unblock investment. Of course, we need Cabinet accountability, but we have these great boards in government—experts on the Board of Trade and non-executives on Departments’ boards—and all sorts of different specialist groups and outside experts coming in and sitting on boards across Government. We should pick from those boards those people who are best placed because of their understanding of Government from the work they are already doing, and jump to a taskforce-based approach to looking at different Government Departments and the opportunities we have to act fast in Departments. They should identify areas that need legislative change, and for that we can introduce a growth Bill, if that were appropriate. I believe that it is.

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5. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   Well, we should certainly legislate to remove the barriers to growth, because some barriers require legislation. Let me illustrate that with one point. When I was Secretary of State, I visited a fantastic company called Ocean Infinity down in Southampton, which is building and deploying globally—it is a global leader—autonomous marine vehicles. I was taken to see one of its vehicles, which was 36 metres long, being built. These are huge investments, with these vehicles doing extraordinary work autonomously for marine biology and drilling, going to remote marine places on Earth. I was taken one deck below on an autonomous vehicle and shown one room. I was asked, “What do you notice in there?” There was a washing machine and a tumble dryer—in an autonomous boat. Why? Because the law requires any boat more than 34 metres long to have a washing machine and a tumble dryer for its crew. Conservative Members may laugh at my suggestion of a growth Bill, but there are some things that need to change in the law to unlock the stupidity out there in how we regulate certain sectors simply because of the passage of time. I say to all hon. Members who worry deeply about deregulation or the modernisation of the regulatory landscape that there are absurdities out there that are holding businesses back. If we aggregate that one example of a tumble dryer and a washing machine across our economy, we can start to see the need for real positive action.

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6. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I am grateful for that constructive intervention. I am certainly in favour of looking at mechanisms for when we discover absurdities in the regulatory system. We know how long it takes to get legislation through the House or even introduced to the House as there are <span id="341" class="column-number" data-column-number="341"></span>so many priorities, so we need to be able to act in the interim. We should look at that, and the House should give those powers where needed in such circumstances. Of course, national security is the No. 1 priority of any Government at any moment in time—it certainly should be.

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7. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Kyle

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   I will make some progress. We also need a tax growth test, with outside experts reviewing all investment, hiring, innovation, revenue and incentives from HM Treasury and judging those against a growth test. That does not mean we would not still redistribute, invest and use tax in ways that are not always conducive to growth, but we do need to know in aggregate form exactly how the incentive landscape and the policy landscape in HMT align with the need for growth. I am pleased that the Chancellor has made a lot of statements and some good progress on procurement. We should really be using that far more effectively to champion British innovation and support British scale-up companies. In procuring products and services, they have access to over £400 billion of spending, which eclipses investment we can make through Innovate UK, the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund or UK Research and Innovation. I could not understand this as Secretary of State, and I still cannot when looking on. We went through a period, with my encouragement, of taking equity stakes in scale-up companies as part of our scale-up plan. There was all the due diligence that goes into making those decisions and which lead to the British Business Bank, through the independent and thorough work of its investment committee, taking an equity stake. Yet once that is done, there is no preferential access to any other part of Government. That should change. The Regulatory Innovation Office should be upscaled and there should be local rewards for businesses that are growing fast. I have spoken—I will not speak in any more detail—about my frustration that this economy and the continent of Europe have never produced a $1 trillion company. Some of the wealth from those companies, when it is fairly distributed among their workforces and the communities in which they are sited, is an astonishing vehicle for levelling up. We need to ensure that we understand the reasons why our economy seems to have some kind of glass ceiling. It is a continental European challenge. Taiwan can produce a $1 trillion company that produces the wealth and power that goes alongside it, but there is nothing that Taiwan has that we do not have here in Britain. Social justice and growth are intertwined. I started by saying that we are on a motorway going in the right direction, but at 30 mph. Fairly distributed growth delivers security, freedom and prosperity. If that is what the destination looks like, why would we not we put our foot down and try and get there faster?

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8. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Dowd

   Causing Death by Dangerous or Careless Driving: Sentencing

   I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. There are 4,154 people still on the road who have 12-plus points on their licence but who are not disqualified, on the grounds that it would cause disproportionate suffering to a third party. But what about the disproportionate suffering to families? Does my hon. Friend agree that that get-out needs reviewing?

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9. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Patricia Ferguson

   Devolution

   It is estimated that decisions by the Scottish Government cost my city of Glasgow some £347 million last year. Does the Secretary of State agree that devolution should not just stop at Holyrood but should be pushed down to local government, cities and towns across Scotland, that it should be accompanied by money from the record settlement given by this Government to the Scottish Government, and that until that happens devolution in Scotland will not be complete?

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10. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pamela Nash

    Steel Industry

    <Question HRSContentId="{BB1483E0-CB00-4907-825D-3BF3F850FB27}">8. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{A3FF2BFA-0C24-400E-9466-FD8D80948E15}">What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the steel industry in Scotland.</QuestionText> </Question>

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11. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pamela Nash

    Steel Industry

    I congratulate the Minister on a great performance at her first Scottish questions. She will know that yet again Dalzell’s staff in Motherwell were not paid on time this month by Liberty, despite pulling out all the stops to get the plant rolling steel again. It is <span id="290" class="column-number" data-column-number="290"></span>simply intolerable for the team to live in this situation. They have been forced to find job security elsewhere, leaving a vital and unique piece of UK infrastructure in a potentially unsalvageable position. Will the Scotland Office work with me and colleagues to ensure that our Government take action imminently to ensure that the workforce are not left in this position again next month and to secure the future of the Dalzell plate mill permanently?

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12. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pam Cox

    Higher Education Funding

    I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for securing this debate. I declare an interest as a member of the University and College Union and the all-party parliamentary university group. Everybody in this debate wants to see young people and lifelong learners succeed in their chosen path in life. Most would agree that the Government have done a great deal to invest in education and skills since 2024, and I want to pay tribute to that. We have seen that uplift in schools, special educational needs and disabilities provision, youth hubs, colleges and apprenticeships. This debate, however, is focused on the situation in higher education. My discussions with those who work in and represent that sector give me cause for concern, as I know is the case for other hon. Members present. Other south Essex MPs and I have spoken in this Chamber and elsewhere about the very significant challenges that my former colleagues at the University of Essex have faced over the past year. The university closed its Southend campus and made large numbers of staff redundant there and at its main Colchester campus. The University of Essex is not alone, as we have heard, in facing these painful challenges: many universities are closing departments and issuing redundancies. At least two other universities are considering campus withdrawals or closures. The University of Buckingham has withdrawn from its Crewe campus, to be replaced as <span id="145WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="145WH"></span>the main operator by Apollo Education. The University of Brighton is closing its Eastbourne campus and is considering closing its Falmer campus. Other institutions are merging: the University of Kent with the University of Greenwich; City, University of London with St George’s; and King’s College London with Cranfield University. These new arrangements are the start of a new era in higher education. They raise the very thorny issue of how universities that were brought into being by the Privy Council via royal charters merge with those that were brought into being as companies limited by a guarantee. I suspect that this is a policy rug nobody really wants to lift. Other universities are being bought out or privatised. Lincoln Bishop University, for example, is now operated by Global University Systems, a global body with millions of students around the world. This new era of campus closures, redundancies, mergers and buy-outs comes at a time when many in the sector face huge financial challenges. The Education Committee has already been referenced. It recently reported: “The higher education sector in England is facing a financial crisis that now poses a real risk of institutional insolvency.” This situation requires our close attention. We need our universities to thrive in our rich research and teaching ecosystem—they are part of an ecosystem. Our industrial strategy depends on that, as does our ability to create sovereign innovations in every sector. Universities are very ready to adapt, and have adapted over the years, but they need us in this place to have more open conversations about how they can best do that. I ask the Minister to continue to champion our universities, but to support them by enabling more open conversations like this one about the scale of the challenges that they face.

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13. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

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14. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    Would the right hon. Member care to ask that business owner about the potential impact of the reduction in business rates for nearly 70,000 small businesses?

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15. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

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16. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words, but does he appreciate that, in the south-west at least, 56% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will be lifted out of the business rates system entirely? Is that welcome news to him? I hope he has some welcome news in his own patch as well.

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17. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    When the hon. Gentleman talks about debt to GDP ratios, does he not recognise that the significant mountain of debt built up under his Government, and that the debt to GDP ratio has remained relatively stable under this Government?

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18. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Noah Law

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    The right hon. Member says that nothing has been done to reverse the so-called assault on the return on risk. How about incentivising the risk takers—the founders—who will now benefit from very targeted, fiscally responsible benefits on capital gains?

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19. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Higher Education Funding

    It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) on securing this timely debate. My constituency does not have a university, but many of my constituents study and work at the two nearby universities in Bournemouth. However, my interest in this subject comes from the fact that when I was a regional official for Unison, I was head of the HE section in the south-east. That experience taught me a lot about the way in which the sector is financed. Today, a growing number of institutions are forecasting deficits, and many have introduced or will soon be introducing the cost-cutting measures that hon. Members have mentioned, including redundancies among academic and support staff. For years, there has been a financial over-reliance on international students. We saw that decline greatly during covid, when I was working as a trade union official, and it has not yet been able to come back. Coupled with changes to visa restrictions, international students are being put off from coming to the UK. There are also rising operational costs—energy costs, pensions and national insurance rises; those have all had an impact on large campuses—and a tuition fee funding model that has failed to keep pace with those rising costs, but the real reason for the state of HE funding is the marketisation of the sector. Pitching one <span id="146WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="146WH"></span>university against another to compete for students has driven an arms race to build the shiniest buildings they can, often at the expense of the teaching and student experience. At any time, many of our campuses look more like a building site than a university. The financial risks, however, are not evenly spread across the sector. Institutions with smaller reserves, limited international recruitment and weaker balance sheets are particularly exposed. The most invidious result of these financial pressures is the move to make staff pay for the failure of the system. At a number of universities, including those with whom I used to negotiate, we are seeing the creation of subsidiary companies to transfer staff out of direct university employment. That removes them from either the local government pension scheme or the teachers’ pension scheme. Staff who refuse to transfer often face the threat of redundancy. Despite the Government’s best efforts, this looks remarkably to me like fire and rehire. The Government cannot secure the future of the HE sector simply through further fee increases for students. I believe we need an immediate cap on student numbers for each institution, rather than allowing the larger institutions to hoover up all the available students in an area. We need financial support for those universities facing immediate financial pressure, and we need to put a halt to the redundancies and wholesale course closures that are taking place across many of those institutions. The Prime Minister has made it clear that his growth agenda is based on a triple helix model of business, Government and universities working together. For that to succeed, we need a healthy HE sector, and to achieve that, we need greater Government intervention and support.

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20. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Support for Coastal Communities

    I rise to present a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents, which calls for urgent action to ease the cost of living pressures that many families face and for greater support for the many local businesses that make Poole the place it is. Ahead of the Budget, I shared these proposals directly with the Chancellor, because I believe we need to recognise the distinct challenges facing coastal areas. The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement a strategy for coastal communities that supports affordable housing, coastal economies, lower household energy costs, cleaner waterways and stronger representation for coastal communities within Government.” <em>Following is the full text of the petition:</em> <em>[The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,</em> <em>Declares that a budget for coastal communities would address their unique challenges, boost living standards, and support local economies; recognises that in Poole, above average housing costs collide with low wages while seasonal work leaves services stretched in summer and workers and businesses struggling through the winter; that families need immediate action to control rents and a long-term plan to deliver affordable housing, alongside supporting small businesses with a funded strategy for domestic tourism; that action is needed to cushion rising energy costs caused by Trump’s war with Iran together with sustained investment in renewables; that public ownership of failing water firms is essential cleaning up the water that defines coastal areas; and that a dedicated Minister for Coastal Communities should be appointed to coordinate this plan.</em> <em>The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement a strategy for coastal communities that supports affordable housing, coastal economies, lower household energy costs, cleaner waterways and stronger representation for coastal communities within Government.</em> <em>And the petitioners remain, etc.]</em> [P003254]

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21. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Julie Minns

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    I regard this Budget through two lenses. First, as the Labour Member of Parliament for Carlisle, I am asking what the Budget means for the people, families and businesses that I represent. Secondly, as a member of the Treasury Committee, I am examining whether these measures will strengthen our economy over the long term. I judge the Budget against four tests. Does is it improve the lives of working people? Does it strengthen the British economy? Does it make the UK a more attractive destination for inward investment? Does it help the north? When assessing any Budget, economic stability must come first. Before entering Parliament—contrary to the view held by some Opposition Members—I worked for businesses that were backed by one of the UK’s largest inward investors. What investors look for is not political knockabout, the likes of which we have sadly heard from those Opposition Members this afternoon, but stability, credibility, infrastructure, skills and a credible long-term plan. On that test, the Budget passes. Despite global instability, Britain recorded the joint fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year, while business investment has risen by 7.5% since the start of this Parliament. The Government continue to meet their fiscal rules, maintain a buffer against future shocks and put borrowing on a downward path. That matters because without stability there can be no sustained investment, no lasting growth and no durable improvements in living standards. My second test is whether the Budget strengthens Britain’s attractiveness as a place to invest. This Budget backs investment in innovation, skills, infrastructure and artificial intelligence while continuing to support businesses with lower regulatory burdens and greater certainty. Those are exactly the ingredients that international investors look for when deciding where to place their capital. My third test is whether the Budget improves the lives of working people. Ultimately, growth is not a statistic. It is about whether people feel more secure and have greater opportunity. That is why I welcome the extension of the fuel duty freeze and the 5p cut, which will help motorists and businesses across rural constituencies such as mine. I welcome the permanent increase in tax-free mileage rates, which will help care workers, community nurses and tradespeople who rely on their vehicles every single day. I welcome the expansion of parental pay, including to self-employed fathers and partners.<span id="385" class="column-number" data-column-number="385"></span> My final test is whether the Budget helps the north. Economic success cannot be measured solely by what happens in London. It must be measured by whether places like Carlisle share in that success. That is why I particularly welcome the Government’s commitment to devolution and look forward to electing Cumbria’s first mayor next year. I trust that they will be a Labour mayor. We have in Carlisle ambitious businesses, skilled workers, a strategic location and enormous potential. We have a high street already on the up—one that will be further strengthened by the cuts to business rates. We have great local independent breweries. I welcome not only the £10 million boost in small producer relief but the introduction of a guest beer agreement in England that will ensure that the local breweries in my constituency are able to get their local product into our local pubs. The Government’s approach to devolution, alongside good growth funds and greater local control, offers an opportunity for communities such as mine to play a greater role in the country’s success. This is a Budget that provides support for households today while laying the foundations for long-term growth. It recognises that when places like Carlisle succeed, the north succeeds—and when the north succeeds, Britain succeeds.

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22. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Toby Perkins

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    So is the right hon. Gentleman’s main criticism of this Budget that it is too popular? <em>[Interruption.]</em>

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23. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Toby Perkins

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    The Budget will continue to make Britain more resilient, by supporting people and businesses in the current moment and investing in the future. In an increasingly uncertain and changing world, this Government are steadying the ship. The Budget will help families with the pressures they face now and invest in the long term to bring down the cost of living, making life easier and better for working people. I welcome much of what has been announced. However, while members of the mineworkers’ pension scheme in my constituency are much better off as a result of the measures taken by this Government two years ago—and have seen further improvements with the position that the Chancellor has taken today—there will still be disappointment that the Government have not decided to return all the surpluses from the scheme to its members. Mineworkers paid a large health price for their commitment to keeping the lights on over many decades, and each day of delay means that more mineworkers die without receiving the full fruits of their industry and community’s commitment to our nation. Turning to the positive news announced today, we have the second fastest growth in the G7, our growth forecast has been upgraded once again by the IMF and, as was generously acknowledged by the former Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt), the FTSE has risen modestly. I remember being on the Opposition Benches when Kwasi Kwarteng was delivering his Budget and seeing hundreds of thousands of pounds—millions, even—crashing off the value of the stock market. It is important to acknowledge that those who have an independent view of this, outside of the political sphere, have welcomed this Budget, which is a sure sign that this Government are on the right track. At every single Budget under this Government, the Conservatives have predicted catastrophe, and yet every time the economic figures have come out, they have been more positive than their predictions. We have seen measures today meaning that 43,800 Chesterfield households will receive £100 towards their energy bills this winter; a £50 reduction because of the changes in VAT; fewer pensioners being brought into paying tax; positive support for self-employed partners; a welcome increase in the threshold for small business rate relief up <span id="361" class="column-number" data-column-number="361"></span>to £18,000, meaning that 54% of businesses in the east midlands will now pay no business rates; and no rises for the next two years on business rates. The Government have made that economic progress at the same time as building huge amounts of home-grown renewable energy capacity; holding failing water companies to account; reviving council house building; bringing down national health service waiting times; introducing record increases in the national minimum wage; bringing more people into work than ever before; making record investments in our national health service; and bringing half a million children out of poverty. That is the difference that a Labour Government have made. Possibly the greatest endorsement of this Budget is how weak the Opposition have been on it. When Opposition Members get to their feet to say, “Well, I think you could have been a bit more ambitious,” we know that they do not really have a line to attack us on. That is a very strong endorsement of this Budget. Of course, there is much more to be done. I should say that while the Leader of the Opposition was making what we all know to be a difficult speech—apparently some facts were redacted in the copy she received—which is why her critique was so weak, but at least she turned up to make that speech. The leader of the Reform party did not even bother turning up to the Budget. It is extraordinary.

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24. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Toby Perkins

    Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

    I was under the impression that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) was still the leader of the Reform party. Why did he bother seeking re-election? He never turns up to this place. He is mystifying. There is so much more to be done. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s ill-advised war on Iran have driven up fuel prices, energy prices and the cost of fertiliser, creating a cost of living crisis across the globe to which we are not immune. In that context, I welcome the Chancellor’s priorities of boosting Britain’s resilience and bringing down energy costs for good. Climate change and biodiversity loss continue to be clear and present threats to Britain’s security and prosperity, with droughts at home and across the globe reducing crop yields and driving up food prices. The Climate Change Committee has been absolutely clear that climate impacts could cost the UK economy £10.7 billion over the next year in lower tax revenue alone because of lower productivity due to extreme heat or disruptions from flooding. Every independent analysis tells us that, because of the cost it will have on our economy, taking action on climate change is far cheaper than not acting. Just a few weeks after a summer of wildfires and drought, when extreme heat caused more than 3,000 excess deaths in the United Kingdom in May and June alone, we need to be really cautious about anything that can lead to higher emissions. While I welcome the Chancellor’s desire to see data centres here in the UK, we need to be very careful that we do that in a way that does not damage our climate commitment. Land managers and farmers are central to preparing the UK for the impacts of climate change. Investing in UK farming will also help to protect farmers from global events, in turn helping to shield consumers from <span id="362" class="column-number" data-column-number="362"></span>rising food costs. Yet just a few weeks ago, the window for applications on the sustainable farming incentive was open for just six hours before it was fully subscribed. It is great that this Government are getting that money out the door and to farmers. It also shows the immense appetite for this funding and for nature-friendly farming. It is important that the Government take every step that they can to provide more support for farmers who are doing things the right way. In conclusion, this is a Budget of stability and of hope for working people and small businesses. It is a Budget that supports entrepreneurs. It was extraordinary to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that this Budget does nothing for business when it specifically supports entrepreneurs and risk-takers in our economy. This Budget is progressive—it has the most value for those with the lowest income—and it takes the serious decisions to address the collapse in our economy caused by the Conservatives. It continues to deliver growth while reducing, over several years, the debt-to-GDP ratio of our country. For all those reasons, it is a Budget that I am very pleased to support.

    Hansard source
25. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Luke Charters

    Engagements

    <Question HRSContentId="{0C800EF7-CED9-4F74-A79F-2A1E9D005FF5}">Q1. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{6FE92474-4194-4C94-A188-92F320F7A2F5}">If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 28 October.</QuestionText></Question>

    Hansard source
26. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Luke Charters

    Engagements

    Last week I saw sewage pouring into the river Ouse, all while doing a BBC interview on pollution! I have worked out that during the average length of a Budget statement, the equivalent of four Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water will have leaked across the network. If only Yorkshire Water guarded its assets as closely as the Yorkshire Chancellor guards the HP sauce in his Red Box. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time for stronger public control of our region’s water?

    Hansard source
27. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Devolution

    The UK Government are committed to deepening devolution across Scotland, working in partnership with the Scottish Government to push power out from Holyrood and into the hands of local communities. The Prime Minister has made an open and genuine offer to the Scottish Government, to work together collaboratively to design a new model of regional economic empowerment that is right for Scotland.

    Hansard source
28. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Devolution

    The Prime Minister on these Benches was making a very basic and clear comparison, which is that there is no consensus in favour of a border poll in Northern Ireland, and there is certainly no consensus in favour of a referendum in Scotland.

    Hansard source
29. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Devolution

    I know how closely my hon. Friend worked with the late great Donald Dewar, Scotland’s first First Minister. He always anticipated that power would not stop at Holyrood’s door but would be pushed out to communities, yet we have ended up with the quite bizarre situation where Scotland is the most devolved nation in the United Kingdom, but still one of the most centralised nations in Europe. We believe that should change.

    Hansard source
30. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Devolution

    There is a certain irony in being told how devolution operates by a Conservative party that was deeply resistant to devolution when we established it; and I voted for the Scotland Act 1998. In reality, if people take the trouble to read the Prime Minister’s speech, and it bears reading, he was very clear that deeper devolution in the context of Scotland does not simply involve the transfer of power from one Parliament to another, but instead involves the decentralised agenda that is being driven right across the United Kingdom.

    Hansard source
31. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    As shown by our decision last week to approve the Jackdaw gasfield, the United Kingdom Government are committed to a pragmatic approach to the North sea. We recognise that domestic oil and gas will continue to play an important part in our energy mix for decades to come.

    Hansard source
32. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    Conservative Members are experts in dither and delay, and over the decade preceding July 2024 and the election of the Labour Government, alas 70,000 jobs were lost. Of course, we hit peak production in the North sea more than 20 years ago. That is why we need a credible plan for transition, and that is what we are putting in place.

    Hansard source
33. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    There is a certain irony in the Conservative party lecturing the Government on deindustrialisation in Scotland. In reality, it left an energy system in 2024 that was less secure, more exposed to international shocks, and slower to invest. The hon. Lady’s question might have more credibility had we not agreed Jackdaw just last week.

    Hansard source
34. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    The Conservative party’s policy towards the North sea was a study in incompetence. The reason we took the decision on Jackdaw last week was that the Conservative Government so messed up the process that we ended up in court.

    Hansard source
35. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    The point that my hon. Friend makes is well taken. The supply chain supporting oil and gas, and the energy sector more generally, is not limited to the north-east but stretches right across Scotland, including in his Stirling constituency. I hope that he will listen with interest to the words of the Chancellor in just a few minutes’ time.

    Hansard source
36. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    The SNP-led Government in Edinburgh are not short of opinions on anything, apart from their view on the Jackdaw decision that we reached last week. The First Minister opposed the decision in recent months and the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that she wanted the “fastest possible just transition” away from oil and gas in the North sea—the SNP seems to have more positions than she has coffee machines.

    Hansard source
37. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    My hon. Friend speaks with great authority because a number of North sea workers are based in the Western Isles. For many years, people have argued for the establishment of an energy wealth fund. Alas, we did not get much gratitude from the party in power in Edinburgh that failed to deliver a publicly owned energy company, and we have now delivered this energy wealth fund.

    Hansard source
38. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    The shadow Ministers are like the Bourbons: they have forgotten nothing and learned nothing. The reason we took the decision about Jackdaw last week and the reason that I am appropriately cautious in relation to Rosebank, is that there is a process that needs to be followed, following the evidence and reaching a determination. Alas, that was not a process that the Conservatives chose to follow.

    Hansard source
39. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    Oil and Gas Sector: Jobs

    I get the impression that that question was drafted before the Jackdaw decision was issued just last week.

    Hansard source
40. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mr Douglas Alexander

    UK Energy Independence

    Scotland remains at the very heart of the UK’s energy system. Just last week, I was at St Fergus alongside the Energy Secretary to approve the Jackdaw gasfield, paving the way for domestic gas to flow ashore <span id="288" class="column-number" data-column-number="288"></span>in the coming weeks. Over the course of 2025, nearly two thirds of Britain’s electricity came from clean sources, creating skilled jobs across Scotland, meeting our climate obligations and strengthening our energy independence.

    Hansard source