Lord Storey (LD)

My Lords, I am sure we all wish Andy Burnham well in his new job as our Prime Minister. He is able to connect with people, is a good communicator and he listens. He has certainly said the right things and spoken honestly and with sincerity about the major issues that we face. But speaking about issues is the easy part; carrying out the actions and holding his and his Government’s nerve when the going gets tough is a very different matter. He was right to say that Brexit has had a devastating effect on our economy. It may be a bit of an understatement. I would also remind him, supportively, that if Labour at the time of Brexit had fully engaged with the remain campaign, rather than its then leader’s pipsqueak response, we would still be in and at the heart of Europe. As a result, GDP in the UK is 6% to 8% smaller than it should have been, and we have lost £90 billion a year in tax revenues. I look forward to the Government moving much closer to Europe on so many fronts and laying firm foundations to our eventually reapplying to join the EU. The Prime Minister is committed to properly funded social care provision and has reached out to other parties to work with him. How refreshing is this? My party, which has also championed this issue, will certainly do so. I remember when local authorities had the financial resources to open care homes for the elderly. We have seen how private equity companies have moved in on children’s homes. I do not want to see care homes being run by multinational companies; my hope instead is that they be run by LAs, charities and not-for-profit providers, which are part of the community. The duty of any Government is to protect its people and ensure that the economy is on a firm footing. Paying debt charges—borrowing charges—of between £300 million and £337 million every single day is mad. Just think what that money could be spent on. In financial education we teach children the dangers of interest charges. A “live now, pay later” economy is not what we should be having. To get the economy on an even keel will require nerves of steel, and tough decisions and tough choices will have to be made. Welfare spending is forecast to exceed £400 billion a year by the early 2030s. UK borrowing costs have risen sharply, with the 10-year gilt yield reaching 5.23% and the 30-year yield reaching 5.87%. We are being warned that we have halved the roughly £24 billion of fiscal headroom, while public spending is forecast to reach 44.9%. The world is a very dangerous place, and who would have thought there would be a war on our own doorstep. Putin’s Russia is pushing the boundaries all the time, whether through proxy agents or misinformation. As a nation we need to make sure that if, God forbid, there is armed conflict, we can protect ourselves and support others. In recent years our military has been hollowed out, leaving the Army and the Navy the smallest since the Napoleonic wars. We need to be able to commit to our contribution of 3.5% not by promises but by having identified the money upfront. My party suggested war bonds as a means of raising finance. I hope the Government will explore that option. Finally, I want to say how disgraceful it is that we are heading towards 1 million people not in school, training or a job. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, on this. We cannot wait for Alan Milburn’s report: we must do something now.