Government Political Priorities and Legislative Agenda

Baroness Gill Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gill (Lab)]

My congratulations to my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on securing this debate. This Government’s agenda marks a fundamental shift in how power and capital are distributed across the United Kingdom, positioning my old European constituency of the West Midlands and the second city of Birmingham as central drivers of national growth. By sweeping away decades of bureaucratic inertia and empowering the West Midlands to control its own wealth, transport and housing, the Government are unleashing the true potential of Britain’s industrial heartland.

I welcome that this Government are implementing a structural strategy to rewire the state through radical fiscal devolution and targeted regional investment through a multi-year £2.5 billion integrated settlement, and a committed 10-year retention of local business rates valued at £45 million annually. The Government are also granting the West Midlands Combined Authority and the mayor unprecedented financial autonomy. This will allow the region to manage its infrastructure independently, shifting funding away from rigid competitive bidding systems. This autonomy is already driving visible outcomes in local infrastructure, such as backing a rapid transition to bring the West Midlands bus network back under local public control, supported by a £35 million bus service improvement plan grant, which will work alongside the nationwide £2 single fare cap to lower commuting costs and link residents directly to employment plans, as my noble friend Lord Hunt outlined earlier.

I turn now to a subject closer to my heart: the regional housing crisis. The Government have injected a landmark £1.7 billion into West Midlands social housing. This funding scales up the region’s existing affordable housing framework, which has already surpassed targets by delivering 7,237 new homes in its first localised phase. However, to solve this housing crisis, we must look at the entire life cycle of a home, and I urge the Government and the Minister here today to help older homeowners, the empty nesters, to downsize and free 15 million surplus bedrooms. Therefore, I urge the Minister to consider a targeted exemption of stamp duty. On a household level, the abolition of the 5% VAT rate on domestic electricity bills offers immediate financial breathing room to families across the West Midlands.

Crucially, the economic strategy focuses on high-value industrial revival. The newly formed Midlands defence growth deal integrates local academic institutions, advanced manufacturing firms and regional government into a single ecosystem. This initiative aims to inject billions into local supply chains and create 38,000 highly skilled engineering and technology jobs across the region. To sustain this growth, the Government are introducing the West Midlands Works initiative, a comprehensive, 10-year employment plan designed to train and place 93,000 residents into stable, high-quality jobs. This is supported by an educational shift that grants 14 year-olds early access to technical qualification pipelines and direct employment needs. This agenda is a 10-year blueprint for economic resilience. It is a sharp break from the managed decline of the past, a definitive blueprint to ensure that the engine room of the UK economy is finally fired up, self-sustaining and built to win.