Mrs Kemi Badenoch

They love to dish it out, Madam Deputy Speaker, but they cannot take it. [Interruption.] What was that from the Education Secretary? I am sorry, but I cannot hear her, because the rest of the class are making too much noise. Inflation is eating away at our standard of living. Labour’s friends in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have said that this could be the worst Parliament on record for living standards, but Labour has looked after its people. There have been plenty of pay rises for the unions. Benefits will go up. [Interruption.] It is true, there have been plenty of pay rises for Labour’s friends in the unions. Benefits will go up by inflation in April, but private sector wages this year are below inflation. People in the private sector are getting poorer. They can all feel it. Those on benefits are getting an increase, while those going out to work will not. That is not fair. The problem is that Labour is addicted to spending other people’s money and addicted to welfare. The welfare Secretary said it himself. Talking about Labour MPs, he said: “Every meeting I have is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’” Since the last Budget just 11 months ago, the equivalent of the entire city of York has signed on to disability benefits. And why would they not, when sickness benefits pay more than the minimum wage? Jobs have been destroyed by Labour, and this Government have made it easier than ever to claim. It is honestly like their policies are designed to get people off work and on welfare. Just because it is called universal credit does not mean that everyone in the universe should be on benefits. The issue is not just about cutting the benefits bill. This welfare burden is deeply unfair to those who are working hard and making ends meet—those people making tough decisions about whether they can move home or afford to have children. How do Members think they feel when they hear that working-age welfare is now costing every taxpayer £4,000 a year? Cutting welfare is not just about saving money. A million young people in this country wake up with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Unemployment among 20 to 24-year-olds is now higher in London than in Bulgaria, the second-poorest country in the EU. Labour is creating a lost generation, isolated and powerless over their futures. Britain is about to collapse under the weight of welfare. We have to start showing people some tough love. Deep down, the Chancellor knows that spending more money is not the answer. He talks about giving people breathing space, but the Government are the ones choking the economy. We have seen £70 billion of new taxes in just two years, and they have put them up again today. He said he would not be putting taxes on working people. That is what the last Chancellor said, too, but he has, because the Government are taxing everything that they can get their hands on. They have taxed jobs, pensions and cars. They have taxed the rental market today. They have taxed savings, investments and homes. He asked me whether I support the action that they are taking today. No, I do not support the action that they are taking today. The Chancellor also said that this is a Budget for business that will unleash enterprise. That must be why the entrepreneurship adviser quit this week. There is nothing for business here. He wants to charge them more for the union learning fund, was it? Business does not want these random new schemes. Let me tell him: business confidence is negative not just this quarter, and not just the last quarter, but for seven quarters in a row. That has never happened before. In case Labour MPs do not understand what that means, the last time business confidence was positive was when we were in charge. The Chancellor says that he is helping with the cost of doing business. Businesses need cheaper energy, flexible labour markets and lower taxes. They are getting none of those. Nearly half of businesses say that they have cut employment because of Labour’s jobs tax. There are now fewer vacancies in the economy than at any point in the last 12 years, outside the pandemic. Graduate vacancies are down by almost 50% this year. They were the worst on record last year, and under Labour they are again even worse—the worst on record this year. I was hoping that the Chancellor would do something on plan 2 student loans today, but he has not even done that. When was the last time any of them spoke to a graduate looking for a job? Parents are watching their children receive rejection after rejection. Companies report 140 applicants chasing every job. Unemployment has risen by a quarter of a million people since Labour came in: a quarter of a million people, under this lot. So let me tell them some home truths. They have made wages expensive with their jobs tax. They have made energy expensive with their net zero policies. They have made capital expensive by increasing the cost of borrowing. What happens when wages, energy and capital are expensive? Nothing gets built. That is why the economy is grinding to a halt. Labour said that it was going to build 1.5 million new homes. I remember when the Housing Secretary first started, and I told her that she had been stitched up. Do you know what she is saying now, Madam Deputy Speaker? She says that now there is a “slim chance” that Labour will build 1.5 million new homes. They are not going to build them. They are not even going to build as many as we did, despite their lofty ambitions. They promised to secure the future of Britain’s steel industry. Now taxpayers are spending £1.3 million a day propping up British Steel alone. They promised to create 650,000 clean energy jobs. Where are they? Nothing has been created except unemployment. Let me tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker, what has actually happened since last year’s Budget for “Benefits Street”. Inflation—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] Government spending—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] They can join in now on the Labour side, because they know the words—we heard them. Debt interest—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] Mortgage rates—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] Benefits claims—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] Unemployment—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] Welfare spending—[Hon. Members: “Up!”] The report card is not looking good. They are making the same mistake with banking that they made with oil and gas: tax one of Britain’s flagship industries until it packs up and leaves. The result? The country gets less money in tax. [Interruption.]