Bradley Thomas
MP for Bromsgrove · Conservative · United Kingdom
“Does my hon. Friend agree that is perhaps the most corrosive consequence of all? Businesses have all the pressure that is bearing down on them, and so many are telling me that it is just not worth it.”
“We know that higher-level apprenticeships are now out-earning the average degree, according to the Centre for Social Justice. The right qualification at the right time can alter the trajectory of an entire family for generations, but we must also be honest that warm words alone will not create a single apprenticeship place, and with level…”
“It would: scrap real interest rates on plan 2 student loans so that balances can no longer rise faster than inflation, saving graduates tens of thousands of pounds over the course of their careers; create 100,000 more apprenticeships for 18 to 21-year-olds by lifting funding caps and supporting employers with up to £5,000 for every Britis…”
“That aspiration is welcome, but aspiration without delivery does little for young people looking for an apprenticeship today or for the small business struggling to recruit for today and tomorrow.”
“That is why I am proud that the previous Conservative Government introduced T-levels, degree-level apprenticeships and the apprenticeship levy, and put English and maths at the heart of all vocational qualifications, helping people to climb up the ladder of opportunity and fortify their careers with the in-demand skills that businesses ne…”
“This is long overdue, and so I congratulate the Prime Minister on bringing this forward and for the tone in which he has delivered it. I would like to raise the case of Jenny and Scott, two constituents who I have been supporting in recent months. They have been fostering a child called Alfie for six years.”
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“The Minister has spoken about the importance of swift and fair justice, but I feel this decision will set a very dangerous precedent that the state will become addicted to. I sincerely hope the Government do not go down this path, but if they do, I urge the Minister to ensure that this measure is in place only for the duration required to clear the backlog and is then abandoned. It must not become a central tenet of the justice system.”
“Far too many children face eating development issues and conditions, and they often feel that they do not get the relevant support from the NHS. Parents feel stigmatised, are told that their children will grow out of it, and often feel that their parenting is being condemned by healthcare professionals. The Feeding Trust in my constituency is doing excellent work to raise awareness of this issue. Will the Leader of the House endorse the representations I have made to the Health Secretary asking that the matter be a front-and-centre priority for the NHS? The Government must ensure a joined-up approach with the Department for Education, schools and the curriculum.”
“Does my right hon. Friend agree that in a world where capital and labour are highly mobile, and one that is increasingly pressured as a result of energy costs, the best thing the Government could do is pare back the regulation that inhibits manufacturers’ ability to compete competitively and prevents the UK from being a very attractive destination for that capital and labour?”
“Inflation is up, with food inflation at nearly 5%, so families in my constituency are paying more for their weekly shop. Taxes are up, and the OBR has confirmed that the UK’s tax burden is at a record high. It is projected to reach 38.3% of GDP by 2030. Our constituents are working longer hours, only to see more of their pay taken away.”
“Yesterday the Chancellor attempted to present the Budget as a bold plan to rebuild Britain, but when we strip away the rhetoric, we see a Budget that is unsustainable, unfair and damaging to the very foundations of our economy. Most importantly, it is bad for all our constituents. Last year, the Chancellor raised taxes by £40 billion and promised that she would not be coming back for more. Yet here we are, one year on, with another £26 billion tax raid. Credibility matters. When promises are broken so quickly, trust evaporates, and my constituents feel that betrayal directly. Families who believed the Chancellor’s assurances will now find themselves paying more tax, with less money left at the end of each month. The first duty of any Budget is to foster growth, yet the indicators all point in the wrong direction.”
“All of our constituents deserve better than what we have seen in this Budget. They deserve a Government who will restore fiscal discipline, encourage enterprise and deliver fairness for everyone. Yesterday’s Budget is not a plan for the future, but a blueprint for decline. It ignores the public’s demand for spending cuts and for the Government to live within their means. It presides over the loss of further jobs, and it drives away wealth creation, leaving ordinary taxpayers to pick up the bill. It squeezes families, undermines businesses and will devastate farmers. This is not rebuilding Britain; this is dismantling Britain’s prosperity. Labour spends until it runs out of other people’s money, and my constituents cannot afford that any longer.”
“While Labour Members may scowl at and casually dismiss that, the reality is that the displacement of those individuals would require another half a million average earners paying tax to plug the gap of tax revenue lost. That is the scale of the hole that the Government have created. Who will fill that? All of our constituents will—ordinary families, ordinary workers and ordinary savers. Ambition without discipline is not a plan; it is a gamble. Labour’s Budget is a gamble with Britain’s future. Every £1 spent servicing debt is £1 not spent on public services, every broken promise erodes trust and every squeeze on families and businesses undermines the engine of our economy. Let us be clear: Labour spends until it runs out of other people’s money, and when the money runs out, our constituents pay the price.”
“This punishes aspiration. Farmers in my constituency are among the hardest hit, and the family farm tax remains largely intact. The changes to inheritance tax threaten the survival of the family farm, and rising input costs and inflation are compounding the pressure. Farming is not just an industry; it is the backbone of our food security, as my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) pointed out, and the backbone of rural life, yet Labour continues to undermine it. We are seeing an exodus of capital and labour in a world that is highly mobile. Over the last year, we have seen an exodus of high-net-worth individuals.”
“Last year, employer national insurance contributions were increased and business rates relief was cut, and businesses are struggling to survive. For savers, ISA allowances have been reduced, which undermines savings. Retail has lost over 100,000 jobs in the last year. With our high streets feeling the pain, shops are closing and livelihoods are being destroyed. The Budget offers no relief for small businesses in my constituency; it only offers more burdens. Labour claims that fairness is at the heart of the Budget, but fairness is not what families in my constituency are feeling. Income tax thresholds have been frozen, dragging more workers into higher tax bands, and savers have seen their allowances cut. Even electric car owners, who have been encouraged to go green and to do the right thing, are now being penalised.”
“My constituents see stagnation in wages, stagnation in opportunity and stagnation in hope. This is Labour’s economic scoreboard: inflation is up, taxes are up, unemployment is up, spending is up, borrowing is up, confidence is down and growth is down. That is not rebuilding Britain; it is dismantling Britain’s prosperity, and all our constituents are paying the price. Two thirds of the British public now say that they want to see spending cuts. My constituents are tightening their belts, and cutting back on holidays and meals out. Some are even cutting back on heating. They expect the Government to do the same and to live within their means, yet Labour’s Budget expands spending recklessly. Businesses in my constituency are being hit hard.”
“My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct. The Government have a duty, in every single thing that they do and in their entire approach, to ensure that they promote the interests of the UK and of the businesses and farms that strive to keep us fed and prosperous. Unemployment is up and redundancies are rising. In my constituency, local employers are cutting jobs, leaving families anxious about their future. Spending is up, and borrowing overshot forecasts by £9.9 billion this year. My constituents know that every pound borrowed today is a pound that they will repay tomorrow. Confidence is down, with business surveys showing stagnation, and local shopkeepers tell me that they are holding back investment because they see no stability. Growth is also down, with GDP growing by just 0.1% in Q3 of this year.”
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to justify the flawed formula used to calculate the local housing need for Bromsgrove District, reverse the planned reduction in Birmingham's housing target to ensure the burden is shared in a fair and proportionate way and only allow new houses to be built when the accompanying infrastructure is provided. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003130]”
“The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to justify the flawed formula used to calculate the local housing need for Bromsgrove District, reverse the planned reduction in Birmingham's housing target to ensure the burden is shared in a fair and proportionate way and only allow new houses to be built when the accompanying infrastructure is provided.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of Bromsgrove District, Declares that it is wrong for rural Bromsgrove District ’ s housing targets to be increased by 82% while neighbouring urban Birmingham's targets are reduced by 31%; while noting that Bromsgrove District is 89% green belt and 79% rural and that at least 140 hectares of brownfield land in the south of Birmingham are already available for development.”
“The Government’s housing targets are forcing a city template on to rural communities against the will of locals and with minimal consideration for infrastructure or environmental impact. That is why my “Save Our Greenbelt” petition has so far received 5,936 signatures. Bromsgrove and the villages, a 79% rural constituency composed of 89% green belt land, has been burdened by an 85% housing target increase, while our neighbouring city, Birmingham, has had its targets slashed by over 30%.”
“This whole sorry episode will have had a very corrosive effect on the confidence and trust that the Jewish community places in policing. What will the Government do to ensure that confidence is restored in the long term? Whether we are talking about this instance at Villa Park, or disorder following pro-Palestinian marches, can the Minister tell me and the House why, far too often, the Jewish community is made to feel that it is the problem?”
“I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing the debate. Does she agree that that depleted confidence comes against the backdrop of all the pressures that she has discussed, including the pressures from the Government to increase house building, and the opportunity that farmers see to replace arable or pastoral farming with a new cash crop in the form of solar, and that ultimately, depletion of morale is probably the worst affliction on the farming community, because, regardless of other considerations, there is a risk that there comes a point when most farmers say, “We just can’t do this any more”?”
“Does the hon. Lady regret that the Liberal Democrat manifesto said that the Liberal Democrats want to build even more houses than the Labour party?”
“I want to give the Minister an opportunity to answer a question that I have asked several Ministers in the main Chamber. My constituents and I do not dispute the need for more housing in the country, nor do we dispute that it needs to be located in areas where people want to live, but what would she say to my constituents living across Bromsgrove and the villages—an area that is 89% green belt and 79% rural—when I tell her that, as a result of choices made by this Government, our housing target has increased by 85% while the housing target in adjacent Birmingham has decreased by more than 30%? Every area has to take its fair share, but does she agree that that is a grossly unfair imbalance?”
“The oil refining industry employs tens of thousands of people and is crucial to our energy security. It is also a key part of the ministerial brief. The sector is under immense pressure, so can the Minister tell the House when he will meet industry representatives directly?”
“T7. With the Government looking to impose visa sanctions to tackle illegal migration, why did they vote against including such measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, and if Labour MPs will not swallow these plans, what will the Home Secretary do as a back-up?”
“I think we are probably all agreed that illegal fly-tipping is a scourge on many of our constituencies. I praise Bromsgrove district council for its work to clear up illegal fly-tips. I am particularly concerned about the impact of cross-border crime. My constituency is adjacent to the west midlands, which is in a different police authority. What assurance can the Minister give me and my constituents—particularly those in villages on the northern fringe of the constituency, from Romsley to Wythall—that the Government are doing every single thing they can to empower all authorities to get to the bottom of the issue, and to put illegal fly-tipping to an end, once and for all?”
“These steps are definitely a move in the right direction, and I am pleased that the Home Secretary has rejected the Liberal Democrats’ proposal to allow those who arrive in the UK illegally to work, which would, I think, be a ludicrous magnet that would attract more illegal migrants. However, she will be aware that the vast majority of removals from the country are voluntary rather than enforced. What is she planning to do to ramp up enforced removals from the UK, in respect of visa sanctions, and why did the Government vote against their inclusion in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill?”
“Can the hon. Gentleman clarify the bundle of contradictions that we have heard over the last year from Labour Members? I recall that, in July 2024, we heard from the former Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell), that Labour had to abolish winter fuel payments for older people because there would be a run on the pound, and then they were reinstated because the economy had allegedly stabilised. We are hearing from the Chancellor and from Ministers that the economy is in a state that requires additional taxation and additional spending. We are hearing all these noises from the Labour party around the need to—”
“I am not sure that I heard an answer to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp). Does the hon. Member support a two-child cap, or would he like it removed?”
“On a very brief point of clarification, is the hon. Gentleman saying to this House that he would like this Labour Government to not increase taxes and therefore stick by their manifesto?”
“I wonder if the hon. Gentleman could tell the House whether he would be content if income tax, national insurance or VAT were to rise in the Budget in two weeks’ time.”
“4. What steps his Department is taking to help support the Probation Service to manage repeat offenders who cross jurisdictional boundaries to avoid supervision.”
“Residents living in villages across north Worcestershire in my constituency of Bromsgrove are often victims of crime that originates from urban areas, including Birmingham. What message would the Minister send to my constituents who want a reassurance that the Probation Service is being strengthened in order that repeat offenders who evade supervision by crossing jurisdictions do not fall through the cracks as a result of the police not sharing data?”
“Can the Justice Secretary tell the House whether in the last 16 months any prisoners have been accidentally released from Hewell Grange prison in Worcestershire and, if so, how many?”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government present an illusion of choice? I will give him a very brief example. Two weeks ago, I met the owners of a business in my constituency—a young couple who own a hospitality business. They have two young children; one is three weeks old. They are buying a new house, and have said to me that because of the pressures bearing down on them as a result of choices made by this Government, they fear for the future of their business, which may have to close next year. Is it not the case that the Government are giving people an illusion of a choice, when in reality they are stifling the economy?”
“An August 2025 UKHospitality survey revealed that 42% of people nationwide believed that their high street was worse than it was a year ago, with that statistic rising to 55% in suburban areas. High streets are the cornerstone of British history. Their decline is not just economic; it is cultural. Their disappearance is a stark signal that the identity of many communities is also changing and, in many cases, eroding. In 2024, an average of 38 shops or stores closed every single day, with independent retailers accounting for 85% of those closures. We are allowing our proudly owned family-run shops and ambitious independents to be replaced by a sea of cheap e-vape outlets, barbers, charity shops and unregulated aesthetic clinics, many of which are linked to the black market.”
“For decades, high streets have been more than a place to shop. They are a barometer of the economic and social vitality of the country and of the communities where they are located. They are a gauge of whether we are prospering or declining. They are the sweet spot on the Venn diagram of societal indicators and policy areas including economic confidence, aspiration, entrepreneurship, crime and confidence in policing, the prominence of institutions, the quality of the public realm and changing social habits. Today, however, high streets across the country face existential threats from unaffordable costs, dwindling footfall, surging illicit activity and a loss of purpose. I know that that sentiment is not just mine; it is shared by many.”
“I am conscious of time, but I would like to touch on one other point that has not yet been mentioned, relating to the role that local councils can play. Local councils are great at kickstarting local economic activity, but for them to be empowered to act as catalysts in their local areas, we need to address the elephant in the room that is adult social care. While the Government focus on local government reorganisation, I implore them to think about that. The hon. Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) shakes his head, but the reality is—”
“One of this Government’s first acts last year was to abandon the need for beautiful design as part of the national planning policy framework and to close the Office for Place. That is important, because if the quality of the public realm decays, our town centres will not be as attractive as they might otherwise be for private sector investment. With the closure of prominent banks on the high street, large historic buildings, which are often anchor points, fall into disarray and it is much harder to get occupants. That is why I am pleased to support the Conservative proposal to abolish business rates for pubs, shops and hospitality. That would be a real shot in the arm for high streets up and down the country.”
“To put that into perspective, if a couple go to a pub and spend £80 on dinner and drinks, that pub would have to serve an extra 25 such bookings each month just to cover those additional costs. That is staggering. I speak to so many publicans and hospitality operators in my patch who tell me that next year is the critical year when they will have to decide whether to close their doors for good. They are literally on the brink and questioning their own survival. There are other points that I want the Government to focus on and the Minister to address, particularly around the public realm. I would like the Government to focus acutely on how we can revitalise the quality of our public realm. That includes design codes, which should be mandatory for all local authorities.”
“Employers have to pay thousands of pounds more just to recruit people compared with a year and a half ago, and hospitality has seen job losses at the expense of some of the lowest paid in society, who have been unable to get a foot on the employment ladder. We know the economy is underperforming, and there were tax hikes of £40 billion in the Budget last year. The Chancellor promised that last year’s Budget was a one-off hit of a kind that would not be replicated again in this Parliament, yet the Government are facing the reality of their own choices, and their economic naiveté plays out once again. A typical pub in my constituency pays £2,000 per month in additional costs, including hiked business rates, employment costs and, crucially, energy costs compared with this time last year.”
“I agree with the hon. Member. Earlier, the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) made the point that because the losses in retail are dispersed thinly across the country, this erosion takes place in plain sight, but if the same thing were happening in an industry with a collective centre in one location, it would probably be viewed differently. Our town centres need essential services such as banking hubs to compensate for the decrease in bank branches between 2010 and 2023, so that people of all generations can manage their finances. We need the heart of our cities, towns and villages to be restored and to thrive once again. Let us look at the environment in which businesses are operating. National insurance changes hit sectors hard last year, and those that provide accessible careers, including hospitality, were hit hardest.”
“That is a bit of a cheap jibe. If the hon. Member takes a look through Hansard , he will realise that I have taken an interest in social care for some time. The reality is that councils across the country spend circa £7 out of every £10 on social care. It is important that society spends money on social care, but while the Government focus on local government reorganisation and social care continues to be a huge financial obligation for local authorities, less money can be spent on the public realm. We have to address that. We must address the long-term positioning of social care, where it is funded, and from which pot, in order to support councils and give them the best possible foundation for addressing the economic needs of their areas.”
“My hon. Friend is making a good point. As I often point out to my constituents when talking about the future of the high street—the situation will be similar in other constituencies—there are approximately 50,000 households in my constituency, and if each one of those spends £5 per week supporting a local business, that is £1 million per month that stays in the local economy. If we multiply that, it becomes quite powerful support for local businesses, and helps their long-term vitality.”
“At the minute, an estimated 13 million households in this country—just over 50% of all households—are net recipients from the state, rather than net contributors to it. What would the Minister expect that figure to be by the end of this Parliament?”
“The Minister is in no position to lecture on reducing the size of the state, given that when Labour attempted to reduce the welfare bill, it marched all of its MPs up the hill, only to march them down again, when it buckled under the pressure from its own Back Benchers.”
“I call on the hon. Gentleman to reflect on the fact that, regardless of our political differences, it is the Conservative party that has delivered three female Prime Ministers and the first Prime Minister from an ethnic minority background, while his has not managed to present any other leader than a white man.”
“Does the hon. Member accept that over the last 30 years, the four years with the highest levels of new housing delivery occurred since 2018, under Conservative Governments? She is trying to make the point that stamp duty abolition is a tax cut dressed up as an intervention in the housing market. What on earth is wrong with giving a tax cut to aspirational people who work hard and want to move up the housing ladder?”
“It is a fact of life that some in society will always have more wealth than others—the scale is always relative—but even if those at the upper end of the wealth scale benefit from the abolition of stamp duty, those further down the chain will also benefit. The great reality of this proposal is that it is universal in its application, so everyone will benefit. This is fundamentally about unlocking mobility and the aspirations of so many. It applies not just to first-time buyers and those wanting to move up the ladder, but to those who want to downsize, whom we have heard so much about today. There are plenty of constituents across Bromsgrove and the villages who are asset-rich but cash-poor, and who are trapped in larger houses but would like to downsize, should the fiscal incentive be there for them to do so.”
“What strikes me about this argument between the two sides of the House—and, in fact, between Opposition parties as well—is that many make the case that if we removed stamp duty, it would cause house prices to rise. If it was removed as a temporary measure, there would be a chance of that happening, but if it was removed in perpetuity, the housing market would regularise without a huge increase in prices. That is the key to unlocking the aspiration that so many have for themselves and their family. I do not believe that Labour Members have particularly nefarious intent; I can only conclude that their position really does demonstrate the politics of envy.”
“We have heard a lot in this debate about first-time buyers, and it is right that we focus on them; it is particularly shameful that one of the first acts of this Labour Government was to lower the threshold at which stamp duty was imposed on those first-time buyers. But once a first-time buyer has been in their home for a few years and had a child, and maybe a second, and wants to move up the property ladder into a house that will better meet their needs, that is when this tax really starts to bite. Constituents have approached me to say that they are able to afford a mortgage on their next home, and have even identified one that they want to move into, but the stamp duty prevents them from moving.”
“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on this important topic, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is one that I am passionate about. I got involved in politics to make people’s lives better, and to be on the side of those who work hard, do the right thing and aspire for themselves and their family. That is the fundamental point at the core of this argument. My hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) made a great point when he said that this is a moral mission. It is a moral mission to be on the side of those who are aspirational, and to unlock the hopes and dreams of a generation who want a tangible stake in society but have great fears that they will never have it. Stamp duty, for many, is a tax on that dream home, on that bridge between where they are today and where they want to go tomorrow, particularly for their family.”
“There is something that the Government could do to make the bitter pill of more housing easier to swallow, but they abandoned the idea on day one: make high-quality design a central tenet in the planning system. The previous Government opened the Office for Place, which is an advisory body that advises the Secretary of State on the quality of the built environment. Every single Government, regardless of political colour, should embrace the principles of good design, because they lead not just to good houses, but to better communities. If the Government can convey to communities that new housing is not going to impose red-brick monotony that erodes their sense of identity and character, there will be much more openness from communities to the house building agenda.”
“It is 89% green belt, yet our housing target has increased by a staggering 85%, whereas the housing target in adjacent Birmingham has decreased by over 30%. I have given various Ministers various opportunities to address this point of the Floor of the House, but no one has been able to do so yet, so I can only assume that, in the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox), the Government are “fiddling” the figures for political reasons. I would welcome it if the Minister could address the disproportionate burden that the Government’s housing targets are putting on rural areas, including Bromsgrove and the villages.”
“One of the fundamental ideologies that have emanated from Labour Members is a denial of capitalism and the role that it plays in driving up prosperity. My right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) made this point eloquently: capitalism is not something that we should be afraid of; it is the biggest driver of prosperity that the western world has known. Labour Members should embrace it with a little bit more vigour. A point that I have to touch on, because it affects my constituency so profoundly, is the Government’s increase in housing targets. We Conservative Members are not anti-house building, but we believe that house building has to be proportionate. Bromsgrove and the villages is a 79% rural constituency. It really is the green buffer between Worcestershire and the urban sprawl of Birmingham.”