Dan Tomlinson

It is a pleasure to open this first day of Committee debate on the Finance (No. 2) Bill. This was set to be the biggest economic moment of the day, but my moment in the limelight has sadly been blown off course by the riveting news that the former Member for Stratford-on-Avon has defected to Reform UK. This star signing is clearly a great loss to the Conservative party. Conservative Members may hope that it will allow them to start to expunge the history of the Truss mini-Budget from the nation’s collective memory, although I cannot help but feel that it is a case of shutting the heated stable door after the horse has bolted. He said he wanted to join Reform UK to fix a broken system, but as with the Conservative party, no one will believe that he can do it. In fact, he ran the system, broke the system and left us all sorting out with the taxman how to pay for the mess he left behind. I return to the topic at hand. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at the Dispatch Box a few weeks ago. It was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country. Reflecting historical underperformance, the Office for Budget Responsibility has revised down its productivity forecast. In isolation, this reduces the amount of revenue that the OBR expects the Government to collect by around £16 billion in 2029-30. The Government are determined to outperform this forecast by continuing our plans to grow the economy, protecting public services and cutting borrowing, but it is right to plan on the independent forecaster’s judgments, meaning that despite Britain’s progress, the Government need to strengthen the public finances. The choice at the Budget was austerity and decline or investment and renewal, and this Labour Government have rejected austerity and repeating the mistakes of the Conservative party. All those who are quick to promise that they will cut taxes must set out where they would credibly raise that money, what they would cut or by how much they would increase borrowing, as they enjoyed doing so much in recent years. The Budget made fair and necessary choices that deliver on the public’s priorities and bring about the change that this Government promised. We have chosen to cut the cost of living by delivering £150 off energy bills and freezing train fares and prescription charges. The Government have chosen to focus on cutting waiting lists by delivering 5.2 million more appointments and opening 250 new neighbourhood health centres. All this would be threatened by the Conservatives, who do not support the taxes—including those we will debate in these clauses—that are needed to fund decent public services.