Sammy Wilson
MP for East Antrim · Democratic Unionist Party · United Kingdom
“I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The Foreign Secretary has said that his concern is for the behaviour of some settlers on the west bank, and I think we all share that, but does he accept that the fear of losing votes to the Green party and the independent Members on the Bench behind me is also…”
“It is a sad state of affairs when ordinary people feel compelled to take direct action against illegal immigration into our country as a result of successive Governments failing to stop the invasion of our country by illegal immigrants, aided by criminal gangs.”
“The Chancellor has rightly identified trade frictions as a major impediment to economic growth. As a result of the Windsor framework, the internal market in the UK has been severely disrupted by EU-imposed restrictions on trade, which mean customs unions, mountains of paperwork and physical barriers. What steps does the right hon.”
“We would not need these regulations were it not for EU regulations having to apply to a certain part of the United Kingdom because it is regarded as part of the EU, regardless of the democratic vote of the British people to leave the EU. This is not about protecting biodiversity.”
“Because they are now subject to all these additional regulations. If they do not abide by those regulations—we have already seen this—those goods can be seized, destroyed, re-exported or detained by DAERA in Northern Ireland. That is not something which is just a maybe; it happens currently.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. The Minister outlined why these regulations were necessary and gave what, to most on the Committee, would be an acceptable argument: they are to protect biodiversity in Northern Ireland and to ensure that diseased plants are not accessing the Northern Ireland market.”
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“First, the Government said they will support industries where there is a national priority, but Northern Ireland remains under the EU single market rules. Any support that the Government are likely to give to businesses in Northern Ireland can be challenged—and will be challenged, I have no doubt—by the Government of the Irish Republic, businesses in the Irish Republic and the European Commission.”
“As we move from the pandemic and tackling covid to recovery, it is equally important that the Government recognise that if they are going to cement the Union, there must be clear evidence that in that recovery programme, in the levelling-up programme, all parts of the United Kingdom are given the attention that is required to ensure that that economic recovery is effective, and that the businesses that have been damaged by restrictions, the people who have lost jobs as a result of those restrictions, find themselves given opportunities. In Northern Ireland, the difficulty of course is that part of the programme that the Government outlined in the Queen’s Speech today will be faced with difficulties because of the Northern Ireland protocol.”
“It is a joy to follow the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), first because I agree with his point about the importance of developing the A75. Not only is it dangerous, but it is a vital link between GB and Northern Ireland. Secondly, I support his strong case for the Union, because of course just as Northern Ireland is better off within the Union, so Scotland is better off within the Union. The reaction to covid, and the resources that both countries got as a result of the decisions in this Parliament to combat covid, is an indication that neither could have survived, and neither could have come through this pandemic, without the support of the Government here at Westminster and without being part of the United Kingdom and having the resources of the United Kingdom.”
“But more than that, Minister, they deserve full and fair compensation and an inquiry that will properly hold to account those who the judge said were responsible for appalling “failures of investigation and disclosure”, which had made the prosecution of these honest people “an affront to the conscience of the court.” The real test will be: is that what the Minister will give them?”
“For over a decade now, hundreds of postmasters have lived with the ruination of their reputations, the loss of their businesses and homes, criminal convictions, in some cases imprisonment, and untold mental misery. In contrast, those who lied about the failures of the Horizon system, covered up its defects and withheld information from the courts have been rewarded with public honours, promotion and lucrative Government contracts. The postmasters who refused to give into the institutional power of the Post Office, which used its financial might to silence them, deserve to be congratulated.”
“Does the shadow Minister accept that the total take in income tax from individuals across the United Kingdom as a result of that one measure in one year will be £10 billion, and the total take over the next five years will increase by 25%? On the basis of the tax paid now, 25% more income tax will be paid collectively by individuals as a result of simply freezing thresholds.”
“While I think we all accept that the current level of debt cannot continue, does the hon. Gentleman accept that, first, by taking £10 billion from consumers in the next year as a result of these tax allowance freezes and, secondly, because we do not know what will happen to unemployment once the furlough scheme finishes, there is a risk that the freezes this year will impact on the short-term recovery of the economy? Are they not therefore inappropriate, and ought not the Government to wait to see what happens?”
“Does the shadow Minister not accept, first, that large businesses are an important component of our economy and we need to increase productivity in those businesses as well as in small businesses, and secondly, that many large industries, such as the aviation industry, have been badly hit by the pandemic and would benefit from the kind of tax allowances proposed in the Bill?”
“Does the hon. Lady accept that many of our large companies will lead the way in our export growth as we seek to capitalise on the new markets that will open to us as a result of Brexit, and that to capitalise on that we need new, competitive products and to be productive and competitive on the world stage, which is why we need to encourage investment in firms both large and small?”
“Does the hon. Lady accept that, despite the impression being given tonight that we are going to tax firms less and take less money off them, the Red Book indicates that corporation tax take in the economy as a whole will escalate from £40 billion this year to £85 billion by the end of the Budget period? The result will be that we take more tax from firms. Hopefully, those firms will become more profitable and will therefore be paying more tax.”
“So far, no freeport has been designated in Northern Ireland, but one of the great fears is that because Northern Ireland remains within the single market rules of the EU, any such measures to set up a freeport could be contested by the EU and the Irish Government because they might give Belfast an advantage over Dublin, for example. How will that issue be resolved, given the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol?”
“It is significant that no freeport sites have been allocated in Northern Ireland. Will the Minister clarify whether all the measures that will be included in freeport status will be exempt from the state aid rules, which will still apply in Northern Ireland because of our association with the EU single market rules?”
“Furthermore, had the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) read the detail of the Bill, he would know that the super deduction is on new capital equipment, not on second-hand capital equipment. So even the manufacturing of equipment, provided it is made here in the United Kingdom, will generate jobs and income for firms here in the United Kingdom, which will then, as the hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Bim Afolami) pointed out, increase productivity in the firms that invest in the machinery.”
“Once furlough finishes, we do not know what the impact on the economy will be, what the redundancies will be like, and what that does. The proposals in this Finance Bill, I am afraid, do not give me any optimism that the right decisions are being made. Some support did need to continue to be given. In their desire to reduce the debt and bring in more revenue, the Government may well have made the wrong decisions that will stymie our recovery and have impacts on many areas, especially those that are most vulnerable to downturns in the economy, including regions such as Northern Ireland.”
“That is putting airports under severe strain, yet when we consider the proposals in the Finance Bill, we find that rather than there being any help for this industry, which has been particularly badly hit, the proposals in the Bill represent a huge cash take from that industry in the next year and over the next five years. For those reasons, although I commend what the Government have done regarding the particular problems caused by the economic decisions made to deal with covid, and I commend their long-term strategy in considering how to make the economy more sustainable in future, there is a big gap regarding what impact the Bill will have on the immediate recovery. We are going to have a difficult period.”
“Air passenger duty is going up, and over the next year, the take from that duty will increase by 50%. According to Red Book figures, over the five years of this Budget it will go up by 300%. This industry is currently in the doldrums. It has no prospects, because we do not know when international travel will be allowed again. It has already had a considerable drain on it, and there has been no specific strategy for it as there was for the hospitality industry. In many areas of the United Kingdom, especially areas such as Northern Ireland where we rely almost totally on air connectivity, there has been an impact from the reduction in flights. I came here yesterday. There was one flight from Belfast City airport.”
“That is a considerable burden on businesses that are coming out of a difficult period, that have not built up cash reserves, and that still do not know exactly how the economy and the demand for their services will increase. Corporation tax has been mentioned, and on one hand—I have some sympathy for this—those companies that invest will get the super allowances. However, because of the increase in corporation tax and so on, over the next five years covered by this Budget, corporation tax take will go up by 112%, or 20% over the next year. If we are looking at how to stimulate recovery, we must ask whether taking that amount of money from consumers, businesses, and the hospitality industry will reduce the impact of the Budget and make it more difficult for the economy to recover. My final point is about air passenger duty.”
“When will pubs have people sitting inside? While still social distancing many will be operating with lessened capacity, and if they cannot do that, their profitability will be affected. Yet even before all the restrictions are lifted—they will be lifted at different rates in different parts of the country, and in Northern Ireland we do not even have a date for restaurants and pubs being allowed to open—we find that some of that support will be removed. My third point is about business rates. Again, if we look at the impact of business rates over the next five years, the impact of the Budget means that in money terms, the business rates take across the economy will go up by 50%. In the next year it will go up by 20%.”
“Yes, I welcome the rate for the hospitality industry being held until September, and then there will be a reduced rate until March 2022, but I speak to businesses in the hospitality industry who have already expended considerable amounts of money converting their premises to make them safe and, even though they have had support over the last year, many have still had to dip into their reserves because not all their costs were covered. One hotelier in my area told me that in the last year he has spent £3 million of his own money paying those bills that still come in and for which he was not given any support, and no support was available. Businesses will therefore find themselves in a perilous position and we do not know how quickly they will be able to operate fully. When will restaurants be able to have people sitting inside?”
“If we are relying on consumer spending to aid our recovery—do not forget that 80% of our GDP is consumer spending—even though there may be some pent-up unspent money and demand, when we nevertheless consider that as a result of the proposals over the next five years we will take 25% more in income tax from people in the economy, and 10% more in the next year, we must ask: will that dampen the immediate increase in GDP and the immediate demand we require to get businesses going again? Let us look at VAT.”
“Spending on apprenticeships and training will increase the skills of our workforce and prepare those who need to move into new industries with the skills they will need, again increasing productivity and competitiveness. There has been some debate about the value of freeports, but they, too, will help to deal with the long-term sustainability of the economy. My main concerns are on the aspect that concerns most people in the immediate period: does the Finance Bill deal with the issues that must be addressed to get us back from where we are at present and help us to start growing the economy? I will look at the figures given in four areas. Let us take the income tax proposals and the freezing of allowances. I understand that the Government have not increased tax rates, but the freezing of allowances will increase the tax burden.”
“On that aspect, the Government have made the right choices and those clamouring for independence, even if they have no emotional ties to the United Kingdom, ought to remember the economic benefits of being part of the United Kingdom. At the other end of the scale, looking to the future and having a sustainable economy, the Finance Bill deals with many of those issues. We have already had a discussion today on the tax allowances, which have been maligned by the Labour party, but they are designed to ensure that businesses across the United Kingdom have an incentive to use their profits to invest to increase productivity and competitiveness and to benefit from the opportunities that Brexit will bring us in doing deals across the world.”
“When they decided that they were going to close down the economy, they could not abandon workers, firms, businesses and so on, so huge amounts of money—over £400 billion—have been spent on support. As a Unionist, I keep on reminding people in Northern Ireland that the support that businesses have had, as well as furlough payments that workers are still getting, self-employed payments and so on, are owed to the fact that we are part of the fifth biggest nation in the world and, without the support of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom, we would not have been able to find a way through. Of course, the health service has also benefited from the vaccine programme.”
“I was speaking to a firm today, and on average—and it does not even matter what the size of the order is—the cost of customs declarations, supplementary declarations, frontier declarations and the guarantee management system arrangements adds £20 to an order. When the firm ordered a specialist screw that cost 35p, there was a £20 surcharge on it because of the arrangements under the protocol. I was hoping the Finance Bill would deal with some of those issues, but it has not, and I think the Government will have to come back to them. Let me come to the issues the Chancellor had to deal with. I do not think anyone can deny that the Government took the right course of action. They had no option in my view.”
“I would just point out to Members that one of the major landmarks in London is the Shard, and the steel for the Shard was cut, packaged and sent in sections from Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and is now part of one of the iconic buildings here in GB. Many engineering firms of course export heavy machinery, and the steel tariff would have been extremely onerous on them. I am disappointed, however, about other issues that we were told would be dealt with in the Finance Bill, such as the customs regime that has caused huge costs in Northern Ireland. Customs declarations for even the simplest thing now have to be made for goods coming from this part of the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland, which has added considerably to costs.”
“My party drew this to the Chancellor’s attention, when others were of course trying to pooh-pooh the impact of the protocol; they supported it, so they did not want to know its bad effects, although now they cannot ignore it. As the Chairman of the Treasury Committee, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride), has said, when the issue was drawn to the Government’s attention, it was dealt with, and I welcome clause 97, which tackles it. It ensures that engineering firms in Northern Ireland, which do have considerable global markets, but would have found those global markets affected by the 25% tariff, are now exempted from that.”
“At the same time, we did not want to be sending out the signal that we are careless about the debt we have incurred, otherwise the signals to the financial markets may cause us a bit of difficulty. So no one envies the Chancellor the job he had to do. Before I say anything about the objectives the Chancellor has set out, I want to make some comments about specific Northern Ireland parts of the Finance Bill. As has been discussed time and again in this House, the Northern Ireland protocol has placed considerable burdens on the Northern Ireland economy already. One of the areas affected has been the steel industry, or industries that use steel in Northern Ireland. Because of the quota system and the taxes where steel is consumed out of quota, they faced 25% increases in the cost of steel.”
“First, I think everyone recognises that the Chancellor had a very difficult job when bringing forward the Budget and the subsequent Finance Bill. There are many things pulling in different directions. On the one hand, as the Financial Secretary said at the very start, we have to make sure that we have dealt with the impact of the restrictions on the economy and the difficulties that was causing for businesses. Secondly, we have to look at the recovery: how to recover from GDP falling by 10% and unemployment going up by 700,000—indeed, there may be other factors to come—and then, of course, we must look at the long-term sustainability of the economy.”
“Can the Minister assure the House that, although under the Northern Ireland protocol we are still subject to EU state aid rules and interference in how the Government can spend money, the Northern Ireland protocol will not interrupt the Government’s ability to spend money to level up the economic disparities between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom?”
“I welcome the Minister to his place. I assure him that I am looking not for a pudding or a slap-up meal, but simply to ensure that Northern Ireland receives its fair share of the levelling-up cake. He will be aware that Northern Ireland is still one of the poorest regions of the United Kingdom, and that our economic advantage has been deteriorating. The Northern Ireland protocol has disrupted trade, which has added to costs and created uncertainty. In what practical ways will the levelling-up fund benefit Northern Ireland?”
“Wodehouse, but we do not need a Jeeves to sort this issue out; there are alternatives that the Government already know and that have been put forward to them. May we have a debate in Government time to discuss those alternatives as a means of replacing the damaging Northern Ireland protocol?”
“At the weekend, the Leader of the House kindly proffered some advice to Unionists as to how, in four years’ time, they might get rid of the Northern Ireland protocol. He knows, of course, that in those four years the EU will impose new laws on Northern Ireland, that the Northern Ireland Assembly will have no ability to decide whether or not to implement them, and that, if they do not implement them, the UK Government will be taken to the European Court of Justice. While we welcome the actions taken by the Government yesterday—we trust that they will not deviate from the short-term measures that they have taken to protect Northern Ireland from the protocol—really, the answer is a long-term solution. I know that the Leader of the House is a fan of P. G.”
“Even with the grace periods in place, which give exemptions from many of the EU checks that will eventually be required in Northern Ireland, there has been massive disruption of trade as a result of the implementation of the protocol. Does the Secretary of State accept that if the Prime Minister’s promise and the protocol’s assurance that there will be unfettered trade between GB and Northern Ireland are to be delivered, something more than an extension of the grace periods is required? Really, there needs to be a reset or a rethinking of the agreement so that we have an alternative arrangement, such as the mutual enforcement of regulations, that would exempt Northern Ireland from being subject to EU laws and from the European Court of Justice making judgments about this part of the United Kingdom.”
“Some of that will be as a result of the 3% increase in employment, but much of it will be through a stealth increase. As thresholds are not moved up, there are inflationary increases on wages, and people pay more. Like the last speaker, the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis), I am worried about the impact of the corporation tax increases. While the Chancellor has indicated that they will not come in immediately, over the period for which we have figures the corporation tax take will increase by 112%. That will have an impact on investment, although we hope that the allowances that have been granted will ensure that some of the profits will be ploughed back.”
“I represent a rural constituency, and many of my constituents were concerned about the impact that an increase in fuel duty would have on the cost of living, so I am glad to see that duty has again been frozen. Many businesses looking at their overheads wanted to ensure that they would not be subjected to rates again; the business rates relief is important for them. However, there are many challenges as to how we pay off the debt, and the Chancellor was upfront about that. He made it clear that some painful choices would have to be made. The Budget papers illustrate how painful some of those choices will be. For example, by freezing the thresholds for income tax, over the next five years the amount of money taken from people across the United Kingdom in income tax will go up by 25%.”
“For anyone listening, this debate serves as a good reminder that being part of the fifth largest economy in the world has economic benefits, and they are economic benefits which cannot be replaced through any other arrangement. The second thing I want to say is that I welcome many of the measures in the Budget. It is a difficult time for the Chancellor to present a Budget, but I am glad that many of the measures that we as a party had written and spoken to him about have been reflected in the Budget. The hospitality industry, which is very important in Northern Ireland, lobbied heavily for the 5% VAT rate to be maintained, and I am glad to see that it is being maintained, albeit not for the whole year.”
“First, may I welcome the Budget, and welcome the reminder that the Chancellor gave at the very end of his speech that this Budget, and indeed the actions taken by the Government over the past year, demonstrate the value of the Union? We can look at the details in the Budget paper: in Northern Ireland, over a quarter of a million people are having their wages paid through the furlough scheme; 200,000 self-employed people are having their income supported as a result of the scheme; £1.5 billion in loans has been made available to businesses in Northern Ireland; and the Northern Ireland Executive have benefited by over £3 billion in Barnett consequentials, which has enabled them to put in place bespoke schemes in Northern Ireland.”
“I believe that there are important opportunities that the Chancellor needs to take. I am disappointed that, even with the announcement of additional inspections for tax fraud, the amount is so small. We do not just need new inspectors; we need new policies, and we should be getting on with that. But all in all, I think that many people in Northern Ireland will recognise this as a good Budget for the Union, a good Budget for individuals and a good Budget for recovery.”
“If the Chancellor is really aware of the difficulties being faced by the aviation industry, he needs to look again at the whole area of air passenger duty and at how we improve connectivity and improve, sustain and support that industry, which has been one of the hardest hit, after hospitality, by the coronavirus restrictions. A point I want to make in conclusion is that there are opportunities for tax increases that will not actually hurt businesses or individuals in the United Kingdom. As a result of Brexit, we now have the opportunity to tackle those people who have been avoiding taxes wholesale. I am thinking of the Amazons and the Googles, who use the Irish Republic as a place where they can locate and take all their profits to. They load all their costs into GB and the United Kingdom and then avoid our taxes.”
“That is a real worry. We have had promises that we will become the Singapore of Europe. If we are going to become the Singapore of Europe, it is important that we become a most attractive place for investment, and I believe that low corporation taxes are one of the ways of doing that. I am also concerned about aviation, which is an important industry for Northern Ireland because of our limited links with the rest of the UK and the importance of international links for Northern Ireland, which is an exporting area. There was no specific mention of the aviation industry today, but I note that, even in the midst of the crisis the aviation industry is facing, the take from air passenger duty is going to go up by 50% over the next year, and by 300% over the period of the Budget figures.”
“It is now clear that the policy of phasing out the production of petrol and diesel cars will have an impact on employment in some areas of the United Kingdom where we have higher than average unemployment. What impact assessment have the Government done on the effect of this policy on revenue from fuel duty? What impact assessment have they done on the environmental impact of the mining of earth metals, one of the dirtiest industries in the world? What impact assessment have they done on the impact on poor families who will now face higher capital costs when it comes to purchasing cars? Would it not be a far more Conservative policy to allow manufacturers and consumers to make the choice as to which cars they make and which cars they drive?”
“The grace period ends in April, and what will happen after that—we have not yet even seen the impact of EU legislation being imposed undemocratically on Northern Ireland—is unthinkable. Will the Leader of the House consider a half-day Opposition day debate on those issues, which are of fundamental importance to the people of Northern Ireland, to the Union and to the integrity of the UK market, given that the Democratic Unionist party has not had an Opposition day debate in this Session?”
“By any objective assessment, the promises made to the people of Northern Ireland—that, as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol, their citizenship of the UK would not be diminished and their access to the GB market would not be disrupted—have been totally discredited. Tens of thousands of people cannot buy online from GB; horticultural supplies to gardeners and garden centres have almost stopped; businesses have found that they cannot get supplies, which has put in jeopardy their production; and petty EU rules have seen goods turned away at ports because they were not loaded on pallets acceptable to the EU, or machinery had soil residue on their tyres. All that is before full implementation of the protocol.”
“If it has no implications, how do the Government intend to distinguish goods that are coming through the Republic into Northern Ireland from goods that are going purely from Northern Ireland to GB? I implore the Minister to take this message back: as far as the protocol is concerned, we can have this continual tinkering, but it will not deal with its underlying, systemic and fundamental problems—that Northern Ireland is still subject to a large amount of law that originates outside its own country, which eats into the very heart of economic activity and undermines its constitutional position within the United Kingdom.”
“What are the administrative implications for them? What are the implications for those businesses bringing in supplies from GB, for which VAT will have to be paid and then reclaimed at some later date? What exemptions can be made where it is quite clear that the goods are not going into the EU or that the materials are going into something that will never be VAT-able anyhow? How can we overcome that issue? If the Government are going to close Northern Ireland as a back door into GB for those products from the European Union that are being routed through Northern Ireland to avoid UK taxes, what implications, if any, does that have for suppliers in Northern Ireland?”
“The protocol is not some advantage or gift, as the Scottish National party would seek to try to present it to the people of Northern Ireland; it is poison to the people of Northern Ireland. It has poisoned relationships. In my constituency, we are finding that workers are under threat at the ports, such is the frustration and anger. That was never taken into consideration when the Unionist population of Northern Ireland was cynically set aside to get a quick deal with the EU on the basis that the important border was the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, rather than the relationship that Northern Ireland has with its own country. What are the implications for people who build their own houses in claiming VAT? They are bringing supplies in from, presumably, mostly the Irish Republic.”
“In relation to how HMRC has handled this issue, all the information I have from the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland is that businesses are still confused. They do not know what is required of them. They do not know what paperwork will be required, how they claim exemptions and so on. There is a huge piece of work to be done. I come to the point that, despite what the Scottish National party spokesperson has said, we cannot hang on to this protocol. It is damaging relations within Northern Ireland, damaging the Northern Ireland economy and adding substantially to the requirements for businesses. This legislation shows that there will be additional requirements on businesses in Northern Ireland, which make trading more expensive.”
“The Minister is right that we have to close the loophole between Northern Ireland and GB for those who would seek to use Northern Ireland as a back door to escape paying VAT on goods that may be zero-rated in the United Kingdom. Again, what will that mean in terms of checks on goods coming through Northern Ireland ports to GB? How will it be determined that those goods have not originated in the Republic, as opposed to Northern Ireland? Will all Northern Ireland suppliers of goods into GB have to go through a process to show that the goods were made in Northern Ireland and are therefore exempt from VAT, or had had UK VAT rates applied to them? What additional checks and administrative burdens will that cause for businesses?”
“When that aluminium goes into aircraft parts, the parts do not have any VAT on them, but until it goes into the parts and the parts are sold, those people are obliged to pay out the VAT on it. That, of course, can be quite a substantial amount of money. It causes cash flow problems and leads to additional administration. I am not so sure that what is provided for in this legislation deals with that problem, because until those people can show either that the aluminium has been incorporated into the parts or that those parts are not going somewhere where they are eligible for European taxes, they have to make the payments.”
“What clarification will there be for people in such situations about what information they need to gather and the way in which it should be gathered? The second issue is the supply of goods into Northern Ireland—the VAT that is required to be paid on them if they are moving on into the EU, and the fact that VAT can be refunded where the goods are staying in Northern Ireland although they might have been VAT-able. I think of another example that was brought to me this week, by people involved in the aerospace industry in Northern Ireland. When they bring in aluminium from GB, they have to pay the VAT on it because, under the protocol, it is now coming into a part of the United Kingdom that is deemed to be subject to the EU VAT regime.”