Contribution
Two years ago when I was shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, I labelled the then new Labour Government’s first Budget as the most “anti-business” Budget this country had ever had, and I said that the then Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Leeds West and Pudsey (Rachel Reeves), would go down in history as the “destroyer of jobs”. Some 225,000 job losses later, I am sad to say that I was right. I take no joy in saying that, because it is my constituents, and those across the country, who have paid the price. When Labour Members increased national insurance on jobs, they knew that it would increase unemployment. When they increased business rates, they knew that it would increase unemployment. When they introduced the farcically named employment Bill, they knew that it would increase unemployment. This country has paid a high price for Labour dogma.
Two years on, with a new Chancellor and a new Prime Minister, Labour Members had a golden opportunity to turn things around. But they have not. This Budget has not backed Britain, and it has not backed British business. Despite all the noise and all the promises of hope—the precise theme of today’s debate—there is very little to be positive, never mind hopeful, about in the Budget. It is just more debt, more taxes, and more unemployment. Vital decisions on welfare and defence spending have been kicked into the long grass. Dithering comes at a cost.
The Chancellor included the phrase “breathing space” in the title of this Budget and he mentioned it 13 times during his speech. That meant breathing space for the Government, not for my constituents. And speaking of my constituents, the Chancellor also said that the Budget would unlock growth “in every postcode”. Really? Not in WR9, WR11 or WR12—not in Worcestershire. There were loads of new promises, with lots of new spending and powers for cities and mayoral authorities, but sadly—as always—rural communities like mine in Worcestershire were ignored yet again. Labour could not make its disdain for rural communities any clearer.
What I found particularly grating were the constant references in the Budget statement to the supposed generosity of this Labour Government. Well, it is very easy to be generous with other people’s money. There were comments by the Chancellor about the “difficult decisions” that the Government are making. What a load of nonsense! Putting up taxes—dipping into other people’s pockets—is not a difficult decision. That is the easiest and lazy thing for any Government to do. The difficult thing is restraining spending and cutting taxes. When oh when is this Government going to recognise that there is no such thing as Government money? It is taxpayers’ money, and Government Members need to show the same level of respect for taxpayers’ hard-earned cash as they do when making spending decisions within their own household budget. They cannot even bother to tackle the out-of-control welfare spending, which will rise by another £19 billion this year to £353 billion—a sum almost identical to that raised by all income tax. The situation is farcical.
Defence spending has been kicked into the long grass. The Chancellor did not announce defence spending. He said that he would set a “target date” for 3% in 2030. A target date is not a policy or a commitment; it is just noise. Bizarrely, at the same time, Britain will end up with the highest tax burden in our history. It is forecast to increase to 37.9% of GDP next year, and to continue to rise until 2031-32. Labour’s answer? You guessed it: more taxes. The Budget confirmed a new tax on the tourism industry. Only the bizarre mindset of a Labour Minister could believe that the way to help an industry is by imposing more taxes on it. As has often been said, “If socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be socialists.”
There are so many missed opportunities in the Budget. Retail, hospitality and leisure were crying out for support. As has been mentioned, we had proposals—which we would have been happy for the Labour party to copy—that would have taken 250,000 businesses out of paying business rates altogether, permanently. Labour’s solution was to take 70,000 businesses out temporarily, only giving back a fraction of what they had already taken away. This was a Budget of missed opportunities, and what alarms me most is the inability of Labour Members to recognise the damage they have already done, because that means they do not know how to get out of it. There is an alternative—a pro-business Conservative alternative—so bring on the election because we are looking forward to implementing that alternative at the earliest opportunity.