It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I would like to start by speaking directly to people who run businesses and work in businesses in my constituency, because there is absolutely no doubt that they have struggled hugely over the past two years. They have had an incredibly difficult time and they have shown the most incredible creativity and resilience in that process. I thank them. When I am out and about in the constituency, I know that they know that this Government have been there to support them, because they thank me and ask me to pass on their thanks to this Government. That is incredibly important, because I listen to them and I know what they are saying to me as well. The support has been unprecedented and unparalleled. The figures are eye-watering—£407 billion, with £1 billion just for hospitality before Christmas—but every penny means saved jobs. Every penny has meant that businesses continue to employ people to produce services and goods that they would not have been able to had it not been for this Government’s support. So even to suggest that this Government are not supporting business does not stack up: I will not have it, and I do not think many businesses in my constituency will have it either.
The role of Government—I have used this analogy before and I probably will again—is to be the groundsman. The economy is the pitch and our job is to create the conditions on which our batsmen and bowlers can play to their best strengths so that we can win the match, and that is what this Government are doing. Looking at skills, or initiatives to increase investment such as the super-deduction, it is all with that aim in mind. I could go on to the G7 growth league—the jobs market is booming—and what we are doing in the venture capital sector and the life skills sector, which is also important. We see what Labour does when it is in power. In Wales, as has been said, people are coming over the border to do things because of restrictions. Frankly, Labour likes lockdown so much that it is not even pro-parkrun, let alone pro-business.
5.57 pm