Michael Payne

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, the businesses did a grand job of telling the Minister their views directly. I do not think that they need any lectures from him on how to run their businesses. While café, pubs and shops fought to stay open, the Conservatives were too busy fighting among themselves to help small businesses. This Labour Government are turning the page. Through our plan for small and medium-sized businesses, Gedling employers are getting the support that they need to recover, grow and thrive, and we are already seeing the results. The Opposition talk about job losses, but the facts is that employment has risen by more than 625,000, and economic inactivity has fallen by 338,000. That is not rhetoric; it is progress under this Labour Government. The previous Conservative Government wrecked the economy, left inflation spiralling and turned their back on the high street. In Gedling, the damage is clear for my constituents to see: vacant units on the high street; council cuts that have left our town centres less clean; and, yes, crumbling pavements and roads in and around our high streets. In just over a year, under this Prime Minister and the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), Labour is turning things around. It is backing small businesses, especially in hospitality; getting people back into work; delivering a new deal for working people; and, yes—although the Conservatives do not like the facts—growing the economy faster than any other G7 nation. That is what we get with a Labour Government, and by gosh, after 14 years of Conservative neglect, it cannot come fast enough for my constituents, and for businesses in Gedling.