Contributions
1,122 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyWell, I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for confirming once again that he is against the India trade deal, against the deal with the US and against the deal with the European…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI say gently to the hon. Lady that the current rate of inflation is an awful lot lower than the 11% it rose to under her party. I was a bit surprised that there was nothing in the…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI would never criticise you.21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyThose assessments were published in the Red Book at the time of the Budget. The right hon. Gentleman can do his own research and look those figures up. Turning back to the…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyWith due respect to the hon. Lady, it is not one or the other: a pro-worker economy is a pro-business economy. That sentiment has been echoed by experts such as Simon Deakin, a…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyOh, go on then.21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we are always talking to businesses in the hospitality sector and across the economy. I say gently to him, though, that we had to take…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyWith due respect to the hon. Gentleman, he needs to track these things over a period of time. The Bank of England has revised the growth numbers up for this year, as a result of…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyThe ONS numbers on employment show an extra 200,000 jobs in the economy since the general election, so I gently encourage the hon. Gentleman to look at a slightly wider range of…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyAs I understand it, the hon. Lady actually supports the investment that those tax changes are delivering—she supports every penny of that investment coming into our economy. I…21 May 2025HANSARDNational Investigation Service: Transition of Services to the Insolvency ServiceUnder the previous Government, a contract was entered into with Thurrock council’s national investigation service in 2020, to investigate covid-19 bounce back loan fraud. After…15 May 2025HANSARD Venture Capital: AccessI will begin in the usual way by congratulating the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) on securing this debate. I also acknowledge the contribution of the hon. Member for…13 May 2025HANSARD Venture Capital: AccessI am completely with the hon. Lady on that point and recognise that is exactly where Government can play a useful role in getting behind industry-led initiatives. We have…13 May 2025HANSARDExports: Small BusinessesI had thought that one of the first contributions from the Opposition Front Benchers today would be to celebrate the £1 billion investment by IKEA in the UK. It is opening its…01 May 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryHospitality businesses are vital to our communities and to economic growth in the UK, which is why we plan to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and…01 May 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryI gently remind the hon. Gentleman of the dismal record of the Conservatives when it came to support for the hospitality sector; 10,000 pubs closed between 2010 and 2024. The…01 May 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryI certainly take the hon. Member’s broader point about the significance of business rates to the hospitality sector, particularly pubs. I have heard strong representations from…01 May 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryI completely agree with my hon. Friend about the significance of pubs across the UK, particularly in rural communities such as those he represents. It is one reason why we are in…01 May 2025HANSARDHospitality IndustryI wondered whether the shadow Secretary of State might finally use this set of questions to take the opportunity to apologise for helping to write the Liz Truss Budget, which…01 May 2025HANSARDHigh Street BusinessesWe are reforming business rates, rolling out banking hubs, stamping out late payments, empowering communities to bring vacant properties on the high street back into use and…01 May 2025