Contributions
695 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFinance (No. 2) BillThese stealth taxes were started by the Conservatives and are being continued by Labour. When the Liberal Democrats were in government, we made sure to raise the income tax…12 Jan 2026HANSARDFinance (No. 2) BillI will speak to clauses 1 to 8 and schedules 1 and 2. Overall, the tax changes increase complexity, raise the tax burden on small businesses and savers, and raise the risk of…12 Jan 2026HANSARD VenezuelaPresident Trump’s actions are not about drugs; they are about oil. They are not about regional stability; they are about regional dominance. They are not about upholding the law;…05 Jan 2026HANSARDAgricultural Property Relief and Business Property ReliefHappy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to House staff and all Members in the Chamber. This policy was a disaster from the get-go. It came with no warning, no consultation and no…05 Jan 2026HANSARDPoint of OrderOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can you advise me on how I might elicit satisfactory responses to a series of written questions I have tabled to the Treasury on the…05 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillWill the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI wholeheartedly agree. It is so frustrating; in last year’s Budget and in this year’s Budget, the Government continue to say that they are pro-growth, and that growth remains…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI could not agree more. My right hon. Friend chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee—a Labour-majority Select Committee—and he has navigated that issue so well…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillIf this Finance Bill represents anything, I am sorry to say that it represents the fact that the Government know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. We Liberal…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy hon. Friend is spot on with that comment. We have all seen the statistics; while offices and warehouses face marginal percentage increases in tax, the increases faced by our…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I wholeheartedly agree that the Prime Minister should change direction. It is deeply disappointing that, having been grilled at…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. This will have unintended consequences, and we can see what those will be. We have spent a year warning the Government; they…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am incredibly grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point, because our pubs in particular, but hospitality more widely, are at the heart of our community. They provide so…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Conduct of the Chancellor of the ExchequerI agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the jobs tax has been damaging. I say to Treasury Ministers that the combination of the jobs tax and higher business rates bills will…10 Dec 2025HANSARD Conduct of the Chancellor of the ExchequerI am concerned about the impact of this Budget on businesses, and particularly about business rates. We have been very clear that we are trying to be a party of constructive…10 Dec 2025HANSARD Conduct of the Chancellor of the ExchequerI am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. I agree with him: transparency is critical. On transparency, we Liberal Democrats think that it is time to overhaul this…10 Dec 2025HANSARD Conduct of the Chancellor of the ExchequerIt is a real delight to speak in this debate, because I honestly thought that I would not get the chance. There was a risk, I thought, that the shadow Chancellor might even…10 Dec 2025HANSARDEU Exit: Economic GrowthThe botched Brexit deal has wrapped up British businesses in red tape and blown a hole in the public finances to the tune of £90 billion a year. The Chancellor insists that her…09 Dec 2025HANSARDHospitality Sector and SMEsHigh street hospitality businesses are on a knife edge—this is a disaster in the making. The Government say that they have rebalanced business rates, but that is not the case.…09 Dec 2025HANSARDOffice for Budget Responsibility ForecastsI understand that the Minister says he does not have all the answers to the questions about the incredibly serious security failings at the OBR, but has he requested or received…01 Dec 2025