Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

It is falling.

The truth is—I say this to the Chief Secretary—the Government borrowed over £200 billion more tha...

The hon. Gentleman bemoans rushed asset sales. Does that include the significant sale of our gold...

Oh dear; I think I will move on.

Why does all this matter? It matters because reducing the ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the minimum wage increase cannot replace children’s tax credits? I...

That is quite right. The problem with Conservative Members is that they just lump everyone into t...

rose—

Although perhaps it will not be lost on the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully). Let u...

The hon. Gentleman mentioned welfare changes. Does he agree with his interim leader that Labour s...

We are very clear that, in principle, we accept the benefit cap. In respect of the overall change...

Going back to the question of tax credits, does my hon. Friend agree that they gave a boost to em...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point.

I want to comment on each element of the rebalancin...

It has always been generally accepted that, at a time of economic downturn, we should train peopl...

That is a good question, but in fairness I do not believe that there was consensus among employer...

I have worked in manufacturing, unlike the Secretary of State, who had a crack earlier about visi...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. While I am on the subject of apprenticeships, it is worth...

Does my hon. Friend agree that cuts to further education of up to 24% could undermine the good id...

That is a good point. The cuts that the Government are making in FE are already having a hugely n...

The Secretary of State said that the Government were working on a one-nation basis. Young people ...

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the assault on the aspirations of young people all t...

rose—

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Lady.

Order. Before the hon. Gentleman gives way any more times, I should draw his attention and that o...

I think my generosity in taking interventions perhaps got the better of me, Madam Deputy Speaker....

It is a privilege to be called to speak in this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker, and a pleasure to f...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point about debt. Does he agree that a graduate in social care fr...

It is clear that university graduates’ earning power is raised. It is hardly fair to ask people w...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I would like to make some progress. As you said, Madam Deputy Speaker, many people wish to speak....

I beg to move an amendment, after “importation”, insert

“other than in relation to Police S...

On productivity in the economy, my hon. Friend may be aware that since 2008 and until about 2014,...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and I thank the House of Commons Library for some ex...

Given what the hon. Lady said about financial services in this country and how they should be fun...

We know that at its heart the sell-off of RBS is an attempt to balance the books, but the issue t...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to make my maiden speech in this important debat...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech in such an important deb...

Order. The hon. Lady has just made an excellent speech—particularly her reference to William Wall...

It is a great privilege to stand before you today to make my maiden speech in a such an important...

It falls to me to comment on the excellent maiden speeches that we have just listened to. The hon...

Clearly we would all like to see even higher growth rates, but does the right hon. Gentleman not ...

I would like to ask the hon. Gentleman—although I am not inviting him to come back in—how he woul...

Would that be the same Alistair Darling who said that we should halve the deficit between 2010 an...

My hon. Friend makes a good point, and I will come on to comparing what the Government have achie...

rose—

If we aim for speeches of up to 10 minutes, everybody should get the same amount of time.

3...

I congratulate colleagues on the excellent maiden speeches we have heard this afternoon. My hon. ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to find ways to help our high street retailers to adopt on...

Order. When the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall) gives way, he should sit down unti...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I absolutely agree that we should do everything we can to sup...

I should start by saying a few words about the three maiden speeches that I have recently heard. ...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that in many communities across the United Kingdom the food b...

The hon. Gentleman is probably right. In some areas, a food bank has an enormous impact. It is so...

rose—

I will give way to my hon. Friend and then I will press on, because I know, Mr Deputy Speaker, th...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that Conservative Members would probably say that going to a food...

I do not mind interventions, but I want to ensure that speeches come in below 10 minutes.

I shall try my best, Mr Deputy Speaker.

My hon. Friend is right; of course it is not a life...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in today’s Budget debate, particularly...

It is a pleasure to speak in this vital debate. I commend the three Members who have given their ...

Does my hon. Friend accept that the 2% on defence spending has been reached only as a result of i...

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution. We made the decision in the Defence Committee just t...

According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics in 2014, there are 4,155 bus...

Does my hon. Friend agree that what the Chancellor has done is help set businesses free from regu...

As is often the case, I am in considerable agreement with my hon. Friend, who I know shares my pa...

Renfrewshire is in another country.

That would be a big constituency.

I also wish to put on record my huge admiration for the h...

Does my hon. Friend agree that small businesses are often not just the backbone of the local econ...

The word “community” is key, because businesses are as much a part of any geographical community ...

I feel the need to defend my hon. Friend the shadow Business Secretary, who is being unfairly att...

Order. We must have briefer interventions.

I will take it that the hon. Lady misheard the opening of my speech. I did not say that the shado...

The broader point my hon. Friend makes is absolutely right: in the run-up to the election the Lab...

Order. The hon. Gentleman has made his speech; I do not need to hear a repeat of it.

It does not matter what my hon. Friend or I think, or what Labour Members think; what matters is ...

rose—

I am running short of time and have been very generous in taking interventions, so if the hon. La...

When?

I am not a member of the Government. The hon. Lady needs to take that up with a member of the Gov...

I congratulate the people who have made their maiden speech today. I particularly commend the ver...

Is that not the flaw in the argument that we move the burden of wages from the taxpayer to the em...

It is absolutely clear that that is the case and that this was nothing other than a political rus...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I certainly will, even though the hon. Gentleman has only been here for five minutes.

Order. I think that I am the judge of how long people have been here. We have already had one int...

I promise that my intervention will not last five minutes. Who are the dead millionaires that the...

The people who die leaving property worth £1 million. In the past, some of that would have been t...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Yes, because I am going to mention the hon. Gentleman in a minute.

If the hon. Gentleman is so proud of his party’s credentials in relation to working people, perha...

Order. It might help if I remind people that this is a Budget debate, not an election debate.

Actually, less than a quarter of the people of this country voted for the Tory party, and the vas...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr Anderson), who gave us a more than ade...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the Chancellor has tried to imitate one of our policies by tr...

I will come back to the national living wage.

The platitudes on the Ed stone were in stark ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the doubling of the workforce at Jaguar Land Rover from 3,000 to 6...

Absolutely. I could not have said it better. The number of jobs that we have created and the amou...

This is a pertinent question. For the edification of the House, does my hon. Friend have any idea...

No. I believe it was in a London warehouse, but your guess is as good as mine. I think it may be ...

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that small businesses up and down the country, especially those ...

Order. If the hon. Gentleman has such a long list, he ought to do it in two bites, not all at onc...

The combination of measures—paying the lowest paid more and softening the cost to employers with ...

I am obliged to my hon. Friend, who is being generous in giving way. Of course, the Labour party ...

Order. Mr Pincher, you should have applied to make a speech, rather than making these long interv...

Regulation is a key issue for businesses.

I will conclude with the welcome news about the c...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech in this most important of d...

I am delighted to follow the maiden speech of the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray)....

Did my hon. Friend spot that when the Chancellor said that the nation needs a pay rise, that did ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and other colleagues have made that point forcefully in this ...

The hon. Gentleman mentions zero-hours contracts. Would he care to tell the House the percentage ...

I will tell the hon. Gentleman that too many people are employed on zero-hours contracts, and I c...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not at this stage, simply because other Members want to speak and I am conscious of time.<...

Would the hon. Gentleman concede that when tube drivers, for example, go on strike, the people wh...

It is absolutely true that when people go on strike, everybody gets hit, including those on strik...

Don’t take it then.

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman can explain how people can choose not to take a tax break.

The h...

On that point, will my hon. Friend allow me to intervene?

I will not because of time—I am sorry.

On the question of the care sector, will the Governm...

rose—

We now have a maiden speech. I call Martyn Day.

4.59 pm

I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech as the newly elected Member for Linlit...

I congratulate the hon. Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Mhairi Black), for Airdrie an...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Chancellor also appeared to miss the geographical distribu...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. The Government, and sometimes previous Governments, have governe...

I am listening intently to my hon. Friend, but there is another side to it: the UK is being flood...

I am sure you will remember, Mr Deputy Speaker, that when we were on the Trade and Industry Selec...

rose—

Order. The hon. Gentleman needs to hear a lot more of Mr Cunningham.

indicated dissent.

Have you been sat there all along?

indicated assent.

I apologise. In that case, by all means come in.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, but you have now put me off my stride.

Given that we have had...

The hon. Gentleman is entitled to his opinions. I do not think tax credits are endemic. Most peop...

This was a shambolic, shameful, pitiful Budget, more interested in grabbing headlines, trying to ...

Does my hon. Friend suspect that the Chancellor has deliberately renamed this “the living wage” s...

Absolutely. That could well be one of the motives behind it: it is certainly not about giving a g...

Order. Will the hon. Gentleman speed up a bit? I shall have to impose a limit on speeches if he d...

I thought it important to put that point on the record, Mr Deputy Speaker. As you will have noted...

rose—

I do not think that I have much more. If Members aim for eight minutes from now on, everyone will...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Did you say 10 minutes?

I said eight.

In that case, let me very briefly congratulate those who have made their maiden speeches today, b...

Ahem.

I am sorry, Mr Speaker, are you suggesting that I should finish? I thought I was allowed eight mi...

Yes, eight minutes.

In conclusion, then—

Order. There is not a formal limit at this stage, but colleagues are being encouraged to stick to...

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Very briefly, tax credits are extremely important for those who work...

The Budget we have just seen was a masterclass in presentation, but a poor one for facing up to t...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not give way, because of the direction from the Chair. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will...

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the passion and wit of the new Members who spoke today. Such sp...

Over the past few days there has been a great deal of debate and analysis of the Budget. Some who...

The Chancellor’s Budget, far from fixing the roof while the sun is shining, will send roof tiles ...

I thought that I would use my time in this debate to speak about the real victims of last week’s ...

It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddi...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not. There is a time limit, and it is not really worth the air.

The overall welf...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies). I congrat...

Does the hon. Lady welcome the 75% reduction in unemployment in York since 2010, and the 45% redu...

I do not accept that those are the high-quality, highly skilled jobs that are so important for gr...

rose—

Order. The Front Bench wind-up speeches will start at 6.40 pm and there are two colleagues who ha...

The political presentation of the Chancellor’s Budgets has improved year on year. Sadly, we canno...

I wish to raise two points, the first being the impact on my constituency of the £40,000 househol...

Some on the Opposition Benches crow that we have stolen some of their policies, but surely, with ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I do not have time.

I welcome this Budget, but I also welcome the fact that its aspirat...

We have had a good debate—today and over the last few sitting days. It is a pleasure to close our...

Does the hon. Lady agree with her leader when she said that she should accept the changes to welf...

That was hardly worth the wait. I have to say that the hon. Gentleman should have been paying att...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not give way for another Whip’s question. I must make some progress.

Productivity ha...

I am very pleased to be closing the debate on this historic Budget as the first Conservative Chie...

Is not this a Sheriff of Nottingham Budget? Is not the Chief Secretary to the Treasury robbing th...

There you have it, Madam Deputy Speaker. The hon. Gentleman’s remarks epitomise everything that w...