Contributions
1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMiddle East: Economic UpdateI thank the right hon. Lady for advance sight of her statement. The UK has some of the highest energy prices in the world. That is crippling our economy and pushing up the cost of…21 Apr 2026HANSARDMiddle East: Economic UpdateI thank the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement. The right hon. Lady comes to the House with an economy in tatters. She would have us believe that she has delivered the…24 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsGiven the rapidly rising cost of oil and gas, why does the right hon. Lady believe that it is better to import it than to extract it from the North sea?10 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsFor every single year of the last Conservative Government, we froze fuel duty, and we did so to stand up for hard-working families. Given that petrol prices are surging at the…10 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle East: Economic UpdateI thank the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement and add the Opposition’s firm support for our armed forces. As the Chancellor has made clear, these are very serious and…09 Mar 2026HANSARDSpring ForecastThank you, Mr Speaker. The right hon. Lady says the cost of borrowing is coming down, but does she not know that the cost of borrowing in this country has been the highest in the…03 Mar 2026HANSARDSpring ForecastNo, they do not like it, Mr Speaker; they do not like the truth. This is not a spring statement. It is a surrender statement. The Chancellor has the temerity to suggest that she…03 Mar 2026HANSARDSpring ForecastThank you, Mr Speaker; they just do not like the truth—that is the truth of it. As our economy bleeds out, what does the right hon. Lady do? She comes to this House with nothing…03 Mar 2026HANSARDSpring ForecastIs that it? What utter complacency—a Chancellor in denial. She speaks of stability, but what planet is she on? She has lurched from putting up taxes to destroying growth and…03 Mar 2026HANSARDSpring ForecastOur borrowing is even higher than Greece’s. Indeed, if debt were a Department, it would be the third largest spending Department in Whitehall. That is money not going on the…03 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsThey just do not get it. Of course, it is not just pubs; the whole high street—shops, restaurants and hotels—is seeing massive increases in business rates, some well over 100%.…27 Jan 2026HANSARD Business RatesLast orders.27 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMr Speaker, I begin by associating Conservative Members with the Chancellor’s comments about your leg—we wish it well. We are waiting with interest to hear the details of the…27 Jan 2026HANSARD Business RatesThat is much appreciated, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, was that it? After all this time, and weeks of telling our local pubs that help was on the way, this is all they get—a temporary…27 Jan 2026HANSARD Business RatesMr Speaker, I think the mood of the House is that 10 minutes from the hon. Gentleman is more than enough, although I am grateful to him for having given me advance sight of his…27 Jan 2026HANSARDBusiness Rates: Retail, Hospitality and LeisureThat was a complete non-response. The Minister says he will make a statement in future in the usual way; we can only assume that that will be via the media, not this House. Of all…19 Jan 2026HANSARDBusiness Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will make a statement on the planned changes to business rates for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.19 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillSadly, I think the gravediggers are still alive and well under this Government. We are seeing that in the destruction of jobs, businesses, farms and livelihoods up and down this…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. What businesses, including farms, need to succeed is lower taxes and not to be spending most of their time worrying about how they will…16 Dec 2025HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI would not naturally defer to the results of a Lib Dem survey over the work of His Majesty’s Treasury. However, I get the gist of what the hon. Lady is saying—perhaps a bar chart…16 Dec 2025