Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
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Supported internships are an incredibly useful way of supporting young people who have an education, health and care plan along the pathway to work. They cost more and require significant investment, but are very cheap in comparison to seeing that young person living a life on benefits. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should be doing all we can to provide more supported internships, because that investment will make a long-term difference to getting people out of unemployment and into work?
<Question HRSContentId="{FCDE00F6-444C-4784-B597-43585AFFC35E}">5. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{23499511-BBF3-4261-8F32-44C5CA99A133}">What assessment she has made of trends in the level of new housing in Chesterfield.</QuestionText> </Question>
I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that good news. Chesterfield borough council is keen to assist the Government by achieving those housing targets, but in areas such as Chesterfield where there has been historical industrial blight and coalmining, it is more expensive to complete certain projects than it is in areas without those challenges. Our ability to achieve the housing targets in the east of our town was dependent on the creation of the Staveley bypass, and we were disappointed to hear recently that it would not go ahead at this stage. How is my hon. Friend working with other Departments to ensure that the industrial blight of the past does not make such projects too expensive to proceed with in future?
<Question HRSContentId="{C27E3406-2F9F-4548-BE1F-A74FF75772CB}">T2. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{3B237899-6AF6-4081-BB4E-7E76F663F769}"></QuestionText>In Chesterfield, we have already made good progress on building council homes; we have plans for 89 new homes over the next three years. However, the council tells me that it needs access to lower-cost, longer-term borrowing. Can my right hon. Friend tell me any ways that the Government can help the council to access lower-cost, longer-term borrowing?</Question>
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.
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.
Today’s decision is probably not a surprise to most people. It will make a relatively limited difference to energy security, and probably very little difference to pricing, but I very much welcome <span id="1123" class="column-number" data-column-number="1123"></span>what the Minister said about it being part of a transition, and about us not ripping up the policy commitment to no wider exploration. I agree with him that this decision is consistent with our manifesto pledge.
We need to move to heat pumps and electric vehicles, and to make other changes for industry, but does the Minister agree that the absolute priority is bringing down electricity prices and getting us off the fossil fuel rollercoaster? What else will he do, in this Budget and Budgets to come, to make sure that we achieve that?
The hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) is absolutely right to say that what is behind this is the deep unpopularity of President Milei; it is not anything actually that the UK has done. It is to the credit of this House that we are entirely united, whichever party we are from, in saying that the Falkland Islands are British and will remain so. Does my hon. Friend agree that those who try to make political points to separate us actually do those who oppose us a favour, and that what they should do is say that the UK Government, His Majesty’s Opposition and all of us in this House are entirely united on this subject?
In Chesterfield, there will be unmitigated despair at the statement we have heard today from my right hon. Friend. For the authorities for which she is doing a review—the 14 that thought they had got their decision in July—could she clarify the basis of that review? Is she still attempting to achieve what we were attempting to achieve previously in terms of the size of authorities, or is she relooking at the basis of what reorganisation should achieve? We were told in February, when the 2026 elections had been cancelled and then the cancellation was cancelled, that this reorganisation would definitely not happen in 2027. What has actually gone wrong? There is a real lack of confidence that what we are being told one day is the same thing that we will be told the next.