Matt Western
MP for Warwick and Leamington · Labour · United Kingdom
“I congratulate the Chancellor for helping motorists, particularly business users, with the higher mileage rate increasing from 25p to 35p. That will make a significant difference. The average house price in my constituency 30 years ago was five times the average annual salary. Today, it is 10 times the average annual salary.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice), though I disagree with the vast majority, if not all, of what he said. As we have seen, growth is running at about 2.1%. We have not seen that economic performance for about 10 years, with the exception of 2022, as we emerged from the pandemic.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am delighted to see the Chancellor backing UK businesses by taking more of them out of paying business rates. The raising of the small business rate relief threshold means that 52% of all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will pay no business rates at all, and the real-terms business rates freeze for eligible businesses will be…”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It will give families the breathing room they need by extending the VAT on electricity bills this winter and spring into July next year, taking £50 off; cutting standing charges on gas bills, saving £45 for the average household; knocking green levies off bills; and providing a council tax rebate of £100 to help 20 million households with…”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne) about pensions, ISAs and encouraging greater investment in the United Kingdom, I believe that there is a lot of money in this country as liquid assets and we have to use much more of those assets, such as those in ISAs, to invest in the United Kingdom.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the measures in the Budget, particularly what has been done to help households through this incredibly tough time—a tough time brought on by external events, whether it be the war in Ukraine or the unnecessary war in Iran brought about by Trump and Netanyahu, which has seen energy prices spike dramatically during the past 10 mon…”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
The complete record
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“Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of Oasis fans were left angered by the notion of dynamic pricing—a concern that we are seeing across the wider economy. Does the Minister agree that we need an urgent review of such price gouging systems?”
House of Commons5 September 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Everyone agrees that steel is a crucial strategic foundational industry for this country, but it suffers from very narrow margins. It is one of the least profitable sectors of all. In this country, we suffer from a real cost disadvantage because of energy prices. Other countries, such as France and Germany, have much lower energy costs. They have a lot of nuclear, which meets net zero requirements. Does the Minister agree that underlines the importance of why this country urgently needs an energy strategy?”
House of Commons5 September 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T5. During the pandemic, my requests to the then Government to source personal protective equipment from local, UK manufacturers were largely ignored. Will the Minister insist that any covid corruption commissioner listens to companies such as Tecman and Comtest in my constituency about what happened at that time?”
House of Commons25 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is the end of the school year, and I wish to place on the record my thanks to all the teachers and governors, not just in Warwick and Leamington but across the country, for the work they have done in what has been a really tough year. At the beginning of the academic year, certain schools were hit by the issue of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which impacted greatly on the education provision for so many in our communities. May we have a debate on the impact of RAAC and asbestos on children’s education, and on what mitigations can be offered?”
House of Commons25 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T5. I congratulate the Secretary of State on his position. Yesterday’s NHS data showed that we have among the highest incidences of dementia in the world, with something like 500,000 cases just in England. I appreciate that this is early days, 16 days in, but does the Minister have any idea why that may be, and what can be done about it?”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have a lot of respect for the right hon. Gentleman, but he will know from his tenure as Home Secretary that those sorts of crimes—stabbings and shootings—are happening all across the country, and not just in cities; they are happening in towns such as Warwick and Leamington, where we have had someone shot dead through drug dealing, many people stabbed maliciously and some killed. The reality is that under his watch over the last 14 years we have seen a degradation of the numbers of police officers on our streets and rising knife crime. Does he not accept that?”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Higher education is so important, and universities are real dynamos—generators of wealth and prosperity—in our region through their scientific research, the development of new materials and research projects, and the new energy clusters. This is a new Government of energy, ambition and public service who will put country first, party second.”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The legislation to deliver GB Energy will be so important for transforming the energy mix in this country, doubling our onshore wind, trebling our solar energy production and quadrupling our offshore wind. The great grid upgrade, for which National Grid has been pushing for so long, will be so important. Critically, it will bring down bills by an average of £300 per household while addressing climate change at the same time. I believe that education is at the core of what we can bring, along with a modern industrial strategy. The work being done by the Education team is so important. What can our universities bring to this equation?”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I believe the legislation addressing pension schemes, unlocking the wealth that we have here, will be an important contribution to that. Something like less than 2% of the £2.5 trillion of pension fund assets run by 30,000 often very small schemes is invested in UK. That is such a small proportion. There will be benefits for the UK, but also for our wider economy. Above all, we will address and reform planning legislation and infrastructure, bringing more affordable housing to our towns and cities—particularly towns such as Warwick and Leamington, where we have relatively high property costs. The King’s high school site, right in the heart of Warwick, has lain dormant for five years because the developer has not got around to developing it.”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We see insecurity of tenure and the rise of no-fault evictions, which is why legislation for renters’ rights is so important, and the insecurity of leasehold, hence the importance of the legislation on leasehold and commonhold. We see the insecurity of work, the zero-hours contracts and the loss of rights in the workplace that people suffer. That is why the employment rights Bill will be so important. It is all down to the economy. What we can do with the economy, in addressing and repairing the corrosion wrought by austerity, is so important. I believe the means will now be at our disposal, through the establishing of a national wealth fund. We have seen sovereign wealth funds in many other countries and what they have done to transform those countries.”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“From halving violence against women and girls to the scrapping of the Rwanda proposals, from putting in place special measures against water companies to the football governance Bill, the list goes on. However, it is the legislation aimed at addressing the instability and insecurity in our country, while delivering prosperity, that I think is so important. That instability is felt by people, businesses and public authorities and is perhaps seen by other national Governments, and our economy experienced catastrophic consequences from the kamikaze Budget 18 months ago. I welcome the legislation that has been put forward to achieve that goal. That insecurity manifests itself in many different ways. We see 14 million people living in poverty, 4.3 million of them children, and 1 million, incredibly, living in destitution.”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I congratulate my hon. Friend the new Member for Coatbridge and Bellshill (Frank McNally) on a fantastic speech, and congratulate all those we have heard from today across the House. It is evident that this Parliament is going to be a vital and vibrant forum for debate, and it is refreshing to have not only so many new faces, but clearly so much ability here. They say that a week is a long time in politics, and perhaps the last fortnight feels like a lifetime. We have seen optimism surge across the country, palpably improved, because the public see a Government with purpose and acting at pace. We have seen 40 new Bills introduced through the King’s Gracious Speech. An electrifying pace has been adopted, and I commend both the Prime Minister and the whole Front-Bench team for the work they are doing.”
House of Commons23 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her appointment; she is making an excellent speech. Friday’s ONS report showed that public sector borrowing was 25% higher than forecast. Does she agree that that underlines why it was so important to have a fully costed and fully funded manifesto to restore confidence in the public finances, and that it was a surprise that certain other parties did not follow the same route?”
House of Commons22 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place and congratulate him, on behalf of my constituents in Warwick and Leamington, on giving priority to this issue. I commend him for today’s announcement. The restoration of funding to UNRWA is long overdue; as we have heard, many other nations did this many months ago. Given its importance in the supply of 60% of aid and 50% of food into Gaza, the 70 trucks a day we have heard about are way insufficient—an estimated 500 are needed. My right hon. Friend may be aware of the Oxfam report showing that the IDF has almost systematically weaponised water in Gaza; there has been a 94% reduction in the water supply, to just five litres per person per day. My right hon. Friend spoke about dysentery and polio. What does he believe the UK can do to assist the restoration of the water supply in Gaza?”
House of Commons19 July 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Up and down the country, hundreds of thousands of young people are about to take their summer exams. Unfortunately, there will not be a level playing field, because thousands of pupils—including hundreds in my constituency—have been impacted significantly by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and asbestos, having lost several months of face-to-face teaching. The Department for Education and the exam boards do not seem interested in providing an uplift to those young people to ensure that they get fair examinations. May we have a debate in Government time on the impact of RAAC and asbestos on the learning and opportunity of young people, and on the need for fair and equal examinations this summer?”
House of Commons9 May 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Whether it be the transmission pylons and lines needed to upgrade our power grid as demanded by the Winser report, or the prospect of building steel-based offshore wind platforms, the Welsh steel industry can and should be central to our transition to a net zero nation. When historic investments in green steel are being made by European competitors, does the Secretary of State recognise that the Government’s lack of ambition for Britain has let thousands of skilled workers down?”
House of Commons8 May 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Having promised that Rafah would provide safe sanctuary, they now demand that the Palestinians must leave. Having frustrated humanitarian aid, they have now seized and closed the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. Having killed 100 journalists, they have now seized and closed down al-Jazeera in Gaza. On Israel’s Government, the former US middle east envoy, Dennis Ross, stated today: “At a certain point, Netanyahu needs to choose Biden over Ben-Gvir, he needs to choose the hostages over Smotrich.” Do the Government agree with him that we are at that moment?”
House of Commons7 May 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Minister to his place; it is good to see him in his new role. Of course, we miss the former Minister, the right hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon). As my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) put it so eloquently, we are in real danger of dissuading and disenfranchising so many young people from getting into the sorts of careers in which they are interested, and particularly into roles such as nursing. I reiterate that point, because we have seen a 7.3% decline in the numbers of applications for nursing. At a time when we desperately need more in our health service, what is the Minister doing? Does he really think this system, which was introduced ahead of his joining the education team, is a fair one?”
House of Commons29 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Two months ago, the House passed Labour’s motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. We believe that Hamas must immediately release their hostages, but Israel must also look at releasing its prisoners. There has to be an immediate and unimpeded supply of aid into Gaza, but I am really concerned about UK forces getting involved. We should rely absolutely on aid being delivered by the charities and voluntary organisations on the ground. What is the Defence Secretary doing with our allies and regional partners to secure an immediate ceasefire?”
House of Commons29 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Q3. In today’s Northern Echo, Boro chairman Steve Gibson describes the Mayor of Tees Valley as having given away the future of the region’s children. He was referring to the 40% of Teesworks, with a forecast worth of £500 million, gifted by Lord Houchen in a deal to two local business mates. Mr Gibson, who helped establish the local development corporation, describes that deal as “unforgiveable”. Will the Government finally admit that Lord Houchen and the Conservatives have sold Teesside taxpayers down the river?”
House of Commons24 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Funding cuts are adding to the clear pressures on local government around the country. One such example is developers who come armed with substantial funds and resources to contest their planning applications. Locally, Warwick District Council had an application just last week that the planning committee was essentially advised to allow because of a fear of not having the financial resources to contest it. I have written to the Secretary of State about this issue. Should we be extremely concerned about it nationally?”
House of Commons22 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Arts venues are vital to our local culture and our communities, but they are also hotbeds for new talent to display or perform their latest works, which is critical to the UK’s creative sector. Pubs are increasingly used for showing artworks as much as they are for performing music—think of pubs such as the Crown Inn back in the day, or the Hope and Anchor in Islington. That is why it is so important that we save pubs such as the Punch Bowl in Warwick, which a developer wants to convert into a house. Last year was the worst year for the closure of music venues. What is the Minister doing to stop that rate of closure?”
House of Commons18 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Even in Warwick, my little local district council has built more than Andy Street. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for council housing, I ask for a debate in Government time on the importance of delivering social rent housing.”
House of Commons18 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last summer, I was a lone voice among the Warwickshire MPs in calling for Warwickshire not to be subsumed into the West Midlands Combined Authority under Andy Street. Thank goodness I did. It is forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers to be the worst-performing economic region in the country. Andy’s trams are not running. We now understand that in eight years he has built only 46 social rent houses—that is six a year—despite 64,000 people being on the waiting list. Last night at a hustings, he said that he did not realise that it was his responsibility, or that there was a need for that housing. By comparison, Mayor Khan started 11,000 council homes in 2022-23, and the Labour candidate for the west midlands mayoralty, Richard Parker, has promised 2,000 social rent homes a year.”
House of Commons18 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last week, Samantha Power of the US Agency for International Development told Congress that they it was witnessing famine in northern Gaza. Let us be honest—to the wider global population, it appears that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, whether through the supply into the country or by intimidating the workers who should be distributing it. Does the Minister share the US assessment of the situation, and will he commit to supporting and restoring the funding of UNRWA?”
House of Commons17 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have already raised the issue of the special forces and those who might now be stuck in Pakistan, but there is also the matter of those working in local government who may have been magistrates and others. Afghan family members in my constituency suggest that the way that this has been handled could cause long-term reputational damage to the UK. What is the Minister’s assessment?”
House of Commons17 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“National grid infrastructure is critical to the delivery and connection of these solar farms, as it is for onshore and offshore wind. The importance and urgency of that was stressed by the Winser review of August last year. The Government have got until 2030 to deliver this policy. Will the Minister update us on the transmission acceleration action plan?”
House of Commons16 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The threat of imminent famine hangs over the people of Gaza; aid urgently needs to get into the country and to be safely distributed. With the deaths of those three UK charity workers, working for World Central Kitchen, will the Prime Minister confirm whether he has received a written apology from the Prime Minister of Israel?”
House of Commons15 April 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to require that Warwickshire Police publish the contents of the protocol. And the petitioners remain etc. ] [P002945]”
House of Commons25 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to require that Warwickshire Police publish the contents of the protocol.” Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of residents of Warwickshire, Declares that on Wednesday December 14th 2022, Warwickshire Police issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN) to the Warwickshire Hunt Limited after repeated anti-social use of public roads in Warwickshire; notes that the hunt put in an appeal meaning the CPN was unenforceable until the appeal had been heard; further notes that the CPN would have been a sensible and reasonable solution to keep the community safe on the roads; further notes that days before it was due in court, Warwickshire Police dropped the CPN, replacing it with a non-legally binding ‘protocol’; further notes that Warwickshire Police are refusing to publish the contents of this secret agreement they now have with the Warwickshire Hunt; further notes that it has been reported that Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is a membership of Countryside Alliance which campaigns for fox hunting; and further declares that it would be in the best interests of the public and police to bring full transparency to this issue and make the protocol public.”
House of Commons25 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Warwickshire. Locally, there has been a separate petition signed by some 2,000 residents related to this same issue: the matter of Warwickshire police and the Warwickshire hunt agreeing a secret protocol, following an alleged crime by the Warwickshire hunt in December 2022. Residents have raised their concerns over the relationship between Warwickshire police and the police and crime commissioner, who is understood to be a member of the Countryside Alliance—an organisation that campaigns for foxhunting.”
House of Commons25 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The tram system in the west midlands is not going according to plan unfortunately, and the rail line between Moor Street, Snowhill and Marylebone—the Chiltern line, as it is known—is underperforming and has become highly unreliable. The air quality in our area, including in Warwick and Leamington, Snowhill and elsewhere, is very poor because the service is diesel-run. Other countries, such as India, have electrified their main networks. Will the Minister electrify the Chiltern route using the budget freed up from HS2?”
House of Commons21 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Following the catastrophic kamikaze Budget of 16 months ago, the public are extremely concerned about the promise trailed by the Government about cuts to national insurance, with a £46 billion implication. Will the Leader of the House either allow a debate or tell us now whether that will be done by increasing income tax, by further cuts to our public services or by increasing Government debt?”
House of Commons21 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“One million people face the imminent prospect of famine. Matthew Hollingworth, the country director of the United Nations World Food Programme has confirmed that the situation is reversible. In fact, in January, the Foreign Secretary—the Minister’s boss—confirmed that Israel has a legal obligation as the occupying power to provide food and water to the Gazans. Does the Minister agree that the Israeli Government must allow the full reopening of land bridges into Gaza, and that they should recommence the issuing of new visas for humanitarian workers? Finally, will he confirm whether his Government are in lockstep with Chuck Schumer and President Biden, or with Prime Minister Netanyahu?”
House of Commons19 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Following last year’s 2.8% increase, the Government have announced a paltry 2.5% increase in maintenance loans this September. With a compound inflation rate of 15%, that amounts to a massive real-terms cut. Meanwhile, the Welsh Government have announced a 3.7% increase. Even in Scotland, there will be a £2,500 special support loan for all students. Across the country, students are being forced into working multiple jobs to try to make ends meet. What have this Government got against students?”
House of Commons11 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Looking at the figures for resource and capital departmental expenditure limits, it looks like there is a 7%—£2.5 billion —cut for this coming year. The Office for Budget Responsibility says that defence spending will be flat as a share of GDP. With Russia’s expenditure on its military at 40% of its total economy, why did the Secretary of State accept the reduction from the Chancellor and the Prime Minister?”
House of Commons11 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For the sake of the great British people, let us have a general election, and may it be on 2 May.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is all very well, but the Government’s decision to defer the banning of petrol and diesel vehicles until 2035 has led to huge uncertainty among consumers and investors, as the Minister well knows. Compared with other countries, it seems that the Government lack ambition when it comes to investment in electric vehicle infrastructure. France, for example, will have something like 400,000 installations by 2030—50% more than the UK. What plans does the Minister have to ensure that the UK’s investment keeps up with our competitors and meets the growing demand for electric vehicles?”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. It saddens me greatly that Warwickshire should have the worst conviction record for rape and serious sexual offences. Philip Seccombe, our police and crime commissioner, was one of the few to cut domestic abuse units and closed the rape and serious sexual offences unit in Warwickshire. Can we have a debate in Government time on the accountability and scrutiny of police and crime commissioners?”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that not enough appropriate sheltered housing has been built over the past 14 years? Given the ageing population, surely we should be making greater provision.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On a more serious note, reports allege that, ahead of that mini-Budget, the then Chancellor briefed certain hedge fund managers and they made significant financial gains off the back of it. Surely there should be some comeback on that”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will, because I was trying to intervene a few moments ago, as the hon. Gentleman will hopefully recall. My point was simply going to be that during the mid-2010s, there was a fantastic opportunity to invest in our infrastructure—repairing our schools and so on—when interest rates were at a record long-term low, and that opportunity was missed. Does the hon. Gentleman not regret that?”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The public will see through the Government’s attempt to steal Labour’s clothes; evidently, they do not quite fit the Prime Minister. First, they borrowed our suggestion for a furlough scheme. Then it was our NHS workforce plan, followed by a watered-down version of our windfall tax. Now, they are hijacking our non-dom tax. However, they remain silent on climate change and the need for a green new deal. We need a plan, a project and an ambition. Let us look to what Biden is doing in the US, and the growth that the US is enjoying of 5%; it is right up there with China and India. Where are we? Flatlining at 0%. The Government have had more resets than my broadband router, and are even more unreliable. The public are disconnected and tuned out. They do not want to wait a minute longer.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They have lost confidence in the Conservatives and they look to Labour—a changed party—to bring stability, strategy and sense to the governance of this country. The country is scarred by 14 years of failure that have spawned a decade of decay. Labour will reduce NHS waiting times and introduce emergency dental appointments and free breakfast clubs. It will establish GB Energy for cheaper, cleaner renewable energy, an industrial strategy council and a national wealth fund, and it will close the energy windfall tax loopholes. That is what the country needs and the public want. They want to see their doctor. They want an NHS dentist in their community. They want their schools to be fully open, and they want their roads resurfaced.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It concerns me that they may believe that. We have suffered 14 years of them putting their party first and our country second. We have suffered 24 tax rises, while ordinary people struggle to pay their mortgage, put food on the table, get GP appointments and register with non-existent NHS dentists. They are struggling in Rishi’s recession—a Prime Minister who floats loftily above us in his chopper, burning up taxpayers’ money, contactless with the people below. I am afraid that the public view this Government as out of touch, out of ideas and in denial about how they have let our economy go into recession, our schools, hospitals, universities and infrastructure crumble, and our people suffer. They do not feel the cost of that failure, but the rest of us do. The people want change.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor’s increase in the threshold at which small businesses have to register for VAT does not compensate for the seven years for which the threshold has been frozen. Again, it is not enough. Business investment is faltering. Interest rates are sticky, at a base of 5.25%, although they are likely to fall, just marginally, later this year. That ensures that the UK’s already woeful productivity remains worse than that of all our major competitors. For years, successive Conservative Governments have rejected the need for an industrial strategy. Although I welcome the Chancellor’s investment in life sciences yesterday, the Government are failing to harness the extraordinary power and innovation of our higher education sector. Labour will do better. Despite all that, the Conservatives still claim that they have done a good job.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“More parochially, I was interested to hear that Warwickshire County Council will receive a devolution deal, though no detail was provided on what that means for the leadership of our area. That is of concern, because the county council is already unable to fulfil its obligations. I will follow that proposal closely. Elsewhere in his speech, the Chancellor claimed that the Government are doing a great deal for small businesses, yet last year the Office for National Statistics reported that more than 27,000 more businesses closed than opened in the UK. The Federation of Small Businesses’ latest quarterly survey shows that a greater proportion of small businesses expect their performance to worsen over the coming year than expect it to improve.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government are weak on finding long-term solutions to these issues. Overnight we learned that the Chancellor has offered £46 billion of unfunded tax cuts. Once again, the Conservatives are gambling with the public finances and economic stability. They cannot make these promises lightly; we saw the impact of that 15 or 16 months ago. The Government are weak on supporting the needs of motorists. A paltry £50 a year in potential saved fuel duty pales in comparison with the Government’s insurance premium tax take, based on the astronomic increases in insurance premiums. The insurance premium tax was another tax introduced by a Conservative Government. Meanwhile, 23,000 car drivers a year are making insurance claims for damage from Government potholes.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am afraid that the Government are not doing enough. The Budget was weak on the housing system, which is broken. The Chancellor offered nothing for those on low incomes in the shape of social rent properties, which are so needed in areas such as Warwick, Leamington, Whitnash and the villages in my constituency. The Government are yet to meet their target to build 300,000 new homes in England. Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s solution was to scrap tax breaks for owners of holiday let properties. I agree with that, but it is not enough. Despite the OBR forecasting that real household disposable income per head will fall by 1.5% in 2024, the Chancellor has offered an extension of just six months to the household support fund. That is not enough. The private rental sector is breaking, and people are broken.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Meanwhile, unprotected Departments such as the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and DLUHC—local government—will, by 2028-29, face a real per capita spending cut of around 18%. Likewise, the Ministry of Defence will face major cuts. The Government must be honest about their mistakes. They have to be realistic about the state our country is in, and they must address these issues with long-term solutions. Instead, what they presented us with yesterday was, to put it simply, weak. It was weak on energy prices, which continue to dominate household bills. The Chancellor’s extension of the windfall tax to 2029 fails to address the fact that 6.5 million households, including tens of thousands in my constituency, were living in fuel poverty in October 2023. Meanwhile, British Gas’s profits increased tenfold to £750 million last year.”
House of Commons7 March 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗