Rachel Reeves

I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution, particularly the theme about helping people into work and fixing our national health service. I totally agree with her about the immense damage that the Tory mini-Budget did, particularly in pushing up mortgage costs for so many of our constituents. The hon. Lady asks about industrial strategy. My right hon. Friend the Business and Trade Secretary will be setting out more details of the modern industrial strategy, which will enable us to work in partnership with business to exploit the big opportunities that the country and the economy have for growth and prosperity in all parts of the UK. The hon. Lady asks about health and social care. She is absolutely right to highlight the huge challenge of the waiting list—it was at 7.6 million when the Conservatives left office. I welcome the deal to get junior doctors back to work, and I am sure the whole country will, because it will mean that people can get operations and treatment when they need. After last year’s industrial action cost our economy £1.7 billion and caused 1.4 million appointments to be missed, the deal will be welcomed by people on NHS waiting lists. Of course, this Government have made a commitment to provide 40,000 additional appointments every single week. That is why we will crack down on tax avoidance and ensure that, finally, non-doms who make their home in Britain pay their fair share of tax here. My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will meet constituents who are affected by the previous Government’s betrayal on building 40 new hospitals, because we recognise, as the hon. Lady says, the importance of ensuring that all our constituents have the health services they deserve. I could not agree more with her that it should not be working people who pick up the tab for the Conservative party’s failure. That is why I have restated our commitment not to increase taxes on working people—there will be no increases in income tax, national insurance or VAT. That is the commitment on which we campaigned in this election, and I stand by that commitment.