Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

The hon. Lady is very keen, and I give way to her enthusiasm.

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that former Chancellor Alistair Darling told a meeting this morni...

I did not realise that the hon. Lady was a conduit for the former Labour Chancellor of the Excheq...

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I will give way to the very eager Conservative Members in a moment, but I want to make a little p...

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Let me pick who I want to give way to. I give way to the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate.

Alistair Darling used a very simple set of words. He said:

“Labour is in disarray”

an...

I have not used those words. The hon. Gentleman is reporting words that have apparently been said...

Order. I am desperate to hear what Mr Leslie is going to tell us. Keep shouting and you will not ...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Many parts of the Budget were suggested by Labour in recent m...

May I say how much I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement that Labour welcomes the Government’s ann...

My right hon. Friend is right that we should be thoughtful about the Government’s proposals. It i...

Does the shadow Chancellor agree that the Government are absolutely right to work towards a situa...

The hon. Gentleman was doing so well until the little barb at the end of his intervention. Of cou...

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I want to make some progress, but I will give way again in a minute. [Interruption.] I will give ...

My hon. Friend will understand the dismay of many across Greater Manchester and the wider norther...

It has been said many times, but the powerhouse has become a power cut. As time goes on, many—not...

I have spoken to leading businesses in Taunton Deane this morning and the Chancellor’s Budget has...

I am astonished: a Conservative Member of Parliament reports positive feedback on the Chancellor’...

The shadow Chancellor may remember that during the Scottish referendum debate last year I describ...

I have not read the comments by the former Chancellor, although I keep hearing about them from Me...

Is not one of the reasons for that the fact that the Government are creating lots and lots of low...

Government Members will not be interested in scrutinising the compositional issues that are arisi...

Having worked in retail for 30 years before coming to this place, I regularly saw good, hard-work...

Hold on. Let us just pause to scrutinise that. I think the hon. Gentleman just said that people s...

If only what the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) said was true and there was an i...

That is very much our critique of the Government today. Of course we want a higher-wage environme...

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I would like to make a little progress if I may, because a lot of Members want to get in. In part...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, not yet.

There was no mention of science or research and development in the Budget spee...

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I shall give way in a moment; I just want to talk about the other deficit: the current account de...

The hon. Gentleman has said several times that he is willing to support sensible measures to redu...

Is the hon. Gentleman talking about the imminent leadership elections in the Conservative party o...

The shadow Chancellor mentioned the election campaign. In that campaign, the Opposition suggested...

I think the hon. Gentleman will find that we said in the election that we wanted to focus in part...

Order. There is far too much noise. In the end, I want to hear, I will hear, and I am sure that y...

We felt at the election that it was more important to prioritise support for businesses through b...

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I will not give way because Conservative Members are not being reasonable and letting me make pro...

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Is the Secretary of State going to punch the air? [Interruption.] There we go.

May I just take the hon. Gentleman up on the case that he set out? I want to get the figures righ...

I will give way to the right hon. Gentleman again if he will confirm that the childcare promise, ...

Order on both sides, I cannot hear!

The Secretary of State has shot himself in the foot. He should read the small print of the Chance...

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I have not finished. [Interruption.]

Order. The Whip needs to relax a little, and we cannot have two people standing at the Dispatch B...

It is quite entertaining to see the Secretary of State struggle in this way.

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Wait for it. Can the Secretary of State confirm—

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for the shadow Chancellor to say that he w...

Order. As a constitutional expert in this House, the hon. Gentleman knows that that is not a poin...

I relish giving way to the Secretary of State, but he has to answer this question. We have given ...

I remind the hon. Gentleman that the figures I gave were for 2016-17 and they included the childc...

Ah!

So the Secretary of State is saying that the childcare change will come in at the beginning of th...

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I have given way quite generously to Government Members and I would like to make some progress, i...

Does my hon. Friend agree that these measures will further divide communities in high-value const...

I do not think that was a very polite reaction from Conservative Members. My hon. Friend worked v...

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I will give way one final time. It is a very difficult choice, but the hon. Member for Havant (Al...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Will he confirm that if a Labour Government were ever to ret...

When we are writing our manifesto for the 2020 election, I shall give the hon. Gentleman a call. ...

I welcome—[Interruption.] I must be more statesman-like.

I welcome yesterday’s Budget state...

Does the Secretary of State agree that there are two sides to the welfare coin—the people who rec...

Indeed. I shall shortly come to how these imbalances created disparities for people in work and t...

One of the lowest-paid sectors is the care sector, and it is right that it should get a pay incre...

We have the spending review to address such issues. In my Department here in London I took on con...

Is there an economic imperative and also—perhaps more importantly—a moral imperative that, in the...

I agree that the principle behind the tax credit system has instituted a non-progression period f...

As someone who has long campaigned for an increased uptake of the living wage—not least by leadin...

The answer is that the incomes of 2.5 million people will increase, but it is not me who introduc...

I am not “right honourable”.

I apologise. That is a matter for his leader but—what can I say? Labour has no leader at the mome...

Let me be clear: we are glad to see an increase in the minimum wage, but the problem emerges with...

No, there is a clear question that needs to be answered. The hon. Gentleman has been asked it but...

I cannot be much clearer in my opposition to the work penalty to the tax credit system. I do not ...

I notice that the hon. Gentleman said “at this time” when talking about tax credits. We can take ...

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way. He always tells the House that his politi...

I do understand that, and I am coming on to speak about tax credits. For some time I have believe...

This Budget creates clear dividing lines between this Government who help people into work, and t...

The answer to my hon. Friend’s question, which I wanted to come to, is that that is the perverse ...

Was that not one of the cruellest aspects of Gordon Brown’s system? In my constituency surgery, I...

I agree with my hon. Friend.

That is ancient history.

It is not ancient history; it was the legacy of a Labour Government who were obsessed with a movi...

I am very pleased that the Secretary of State has given way. It is ancient history for those of u...

Order. Interventions cannot be used to make speeches. We must have short interventions. There are...

There are impact assessments in the Red Book. There will be relevant impact assessments before Se...

Families set up their lives around the 16-hour week limitation and businesses had to react to tha...

I do. As my hon. Friend makes clear, if people can afford to work only 16 hours, businesses will ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

No. I gave way to the hon. Lady. She did not succeed then; she is not going to get another chance...

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No, no. Honestly, I am not that kind.

Despite the doomsday predictions that the hon. Lady a...

Research from Oxford university predicts that the number of people going to food banks, as a resu...

I must say that that would have to be pretty quick work. If they have done that much work in a ma...

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way; he is being very generous today.

Wi...

I just do not agree with that, I am afraid. We have set out to protect disability living allowanc...

In my constituency, people would say that the £20,000 benefits cap is not only morally right but ...

We have presented today a package for working people that will incentivise those who can work to ...

Will the Secretary of State confirm that when he first entered office, we were spending more on w...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The other point that has not come up but which my right hon. ...

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No, I have given way twice to the hon. Lady; I am going to make some progress.

We remain re...

Unemployment in Cannock Chase fell dramatically in the last Parliament. Does my right hon. Friend...

As I said earlier, and as my hon. Friend says, in all these areas, we inherited a country riven b...

Hooray!

More. More.

Order. I might be able to help. Both Front-Bench speakers have taken over an hour already. If oth...

If hon. Members want, we can go back over the figures one more time. I am enjoying myself, even i...

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The Opposition do not like being reminded of the fact that the last Labour Government left the ec...

Order. The two Cheshire Members need to take their seats. They cannot remain standing. It is a lo...

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans). I know he wants me t...

Opposition Members never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to apologise for wrecking the...

Order. Mr Evans, you will be making your speech very shortly. The danger is you will have nothing...

I thought it was altogether too brief. My hon. Friend was just getting into his stride. I feel we...

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I have to say to my hon. Friends that I really have to make some progress, because lots of Member...

indicated dissent.

It is not delayed.

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No, it is not. I am telling the hon. Gentleman it is not, so he can sit down.

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is important that the record is correct. I think the S...

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Order. First, it is a point of order, so the Secretary of State should sit down until I have hear...

In that case, to clarify, the 30 hours of free childcare for working parents with three and four-...

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No, no; the hon. Gentleman had his chance.

About five in 10 families with children will sti...

When the Chancellor delivered his Budget speech yesterday, he made the oft-repeated claim that th...

Housing and childcare matters are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, so does the hon. Lady agre...

I am sure that the hon. Lady is well aware that Scotland’s childcare offer is significantly bette...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not give way at the moment.

Amid all the rhetoric and the hyperbole of Budget day, i...

Does the hon. Lady want Scotland to be a high wage, low benefits, low tax economy? Does she agree...

Scotland has already shown the progress we are making towards a high-skill economy. I was interes...

Does the hon. Lady not agree that it is absolutely right for those on benefits to make the same c...

The point I am trying to make is how important it is for us to have children. If our birth rate s...

I will make sure that the hon. Lady’s questions are answered in the winding-up speeches, but ther...

The key point is that a falling birth rate is not good for anybody in whatever decile. Even those...

Does my hon. Friend agree that these circumstances could stigmatise the child and run contrary to...

My hon. Friend raises a very pertinent point—we should not be stigmatising children whatever thei...

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Order. If Members can restrict themselves to up to 10 minutes and no more than 10 minutes, includ...

As the City’s MP, it would be remiss of me not to touch on the issue of the bank levy. When it wa...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me; we are under a strict time constraint.

I...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that these proposals will result in young people from deprive...

May I just offer a little help to new Members? You cannot just walk into a debate and intervene s...

In fairness, Mr Deputy Speaker, I took the intervention, but I accept what you say.

There i...

I understand some of the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns and I appreciate that we live in two dif...

The even greater irony is that I was the Government Chief Whip when we put through the minimum wa...

In the north-east, there will be a huge Hitachi factory development, which will create 730 new jo...

When I was the regional Minister in the previous Labour Government, I met representatives of Hita...

I rise today to congratulate the Chancellor on his Budget. His amazing job yesterday is warmly we...

The hon. Lady completely misrepresents what I actually said and what the record will show I said....

I recognise that most people getting tax credits are in work, but I still do not believe that peo...

One of the things that we hear about in the Budget is the importance given to increasing producti...

Order. I certainly think that we have got the message. Can we have short interventions? I have a ...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I will ignore what the hon. Gentleman said because, again, it...

When it comes to the relationship between the individual and the Government, it is healthier not ...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, and that is exactly what the Government are trying to esc...

The hon. Lady rightly talks about the need for honesty in politics. Obviously, she believes profo...

As the hon. Gentleman knows, we did not know what the result of the election would be. We did not...

We have created 2 million more jobs in the past five years, and we intend to create 1 million mor...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the ways in which we will do that, hardly mentioned by...

I represent a south-west London suburban constituency, not an area normally associated with high ...

Is my hon. Friend as worried as I am about the amount of ex-local authority housing bought by buy...

I totally agree, but may I make it clear that I am a big supporter of the right to buy? I believe...

If the hon. Lady is such a strong supporter of the right to buy, does she welcome, as we do, the ...

My problem with the current plans is what they will do to the security and continuing support tha...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech. It is a ...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Warwickshir...

It is a great privilege to follow the hon. Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins)—a fine cons...

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has seen the analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Stud...

I have to confess that I have not seen those figures, but the Government’s overall mantra is “A h...

I want to add to what my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) said. The IFS...

I am most grateful to the hon. Lady. I will indeed look into those figures. I hold surgeries ever...

My hon. Friend will recognise, as those of us on the Government Benches do, that we will still be...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Working-age benefits are something we have to tackle so th...

I extend my congratulations to the hon. Member for North Warwickshire (Craig Tracey) and my hon. ...

It is a great pleasure to follow the maiden speech by the hon. Member for St Helens South and Whi...

I support the hon. Gentleman’s comments about mental health. I hope that some of the extra fundin...

I thank the hon. Lady; she makes a very good point. The Conservative party manifesto had a commit...

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Order. The speeches are getting a little long, but I do not want to impose a time limit, especial...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this m...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Calum Kerr). I...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the Budget debate....

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Order. Before I call the next speaker, we are getting tight on time and now that the maiden speec...

It is an honour to speak after the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Calum Kerr...

The hon. Lady and many others on the Government Benches have referred to the cut in corporation t...

In a global economy, where companies can invest in any country they choose and base their operati...

Does my hon. Friend, like me, welcome the OBR’s confirmation that business investment grew by 8% ...

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. Investment in our country is growing, ...

I pay tribute to those who have made maiden speeches. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland a...

It is a delight to follow those who have already spoken, including the hon. Members for Caithness...

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point, and many Labour Members agree with him on this iss...

I would not necessarily agree with the right hon. Gentleman. There were issues involving local li...

I should like to start by congratulating all those who have made their maiden speeches this after...

I congratulate all those who have made their maiden speeches today, including the hon. Members fo...

Yesterday, the Chancellor trumpeted one nation. If one nation means anything, it is that Britain ...

Does the hon. Gentleman acknowledge that the midlands engine and the devolution we are undertakin...

On this issue, we are at one. We are working together in the west midlands to construct the midla...

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that there has been a further att...

The hon. Gentleman and I both come from a trade union background. I feel for public servants such...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey), and we have a...

Of course, the Chancellor actually announced that he was postponing achieving a surplus for a yea...

I am delighted that the Chancellor set out a clear, smooth plan that will get us to a surplus of ...

First, may I congratulate all the Members who have made their maiden speeches today? It has been ...

I congratulate all those who have made their maiden speeches today. I remember making mine only a...

I congratulate Members who have made their maiden speeches today. I will not list them all, as so...

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Order. I am reluctant to introduce a formal time limit at this stage, but if all Members take six...

I congratulate all those who have made their wonderful maiden speeches today. I received a tweet ...

Order. I must interrupt the hon. Lady because although she is new to the House at the moment, she...

Apologies, Madam Deputy Speaker. I think that at the time he was not the Prime Minister, but I ap...

Order.

Sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I was hoping the hon. Lady would voluntarily bring her remarks to a close.

4.18 pm

It is a privilege to be able to speak in the Budget debate. It would be remiss of me not to accep...

I have heard a lot of self-congratulation and hubris and I have even seen some fist-pumping from ...

I shall keep my remarks brief, to allow time for other speakers.

I fully agree with what my...

I shall tackle three areas and be brief. First, student finance has clearly been a controversial ...

Let me begin, as others have, by congratulating all those who have made their maiden speech durin...

Before I call the Minister, the House should note that several Members who have taken part in the...

This has been a lively debate on a summer Budget that puts the country’s security first—economic ...

How does the hon. Lady deal with the comments from the IFS? Does she dismiss them, or is she sayi...

The IFS figures do not include, for example, the full impact of the increased offer of free child...

Given the shadow Chancellor’s and Opposition Front Benchers’ unwillingness throughout the day to ...

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. Even when we announce elements of policies they wer...