Surplus Target and Corporation Tax

Debate between David Rutley and George Osborne

Monday 4th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I am all for supporting small businesses, which is why we have a package of rates relief in the Budget. I am all for making the big transport investments, which this country has, frankly, not done for a generation. That is why I support High Speed 2 and indeed High Speed 3, as well as a new runway in the south-east of England.

The OBR has revised up its economic forecast for business investment when we have introduced corporation tax cuts, so it draws a link between the two. A study on the long-term impact of our corporation tax cuts so far suggests that they have seen an increase in our long-run GDP of 1.3%, which is the equivalent of £24 billion in today’s prices.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

Before the referendum, the Finance Bill set out the path to lower corporation tax, so I am pleased, following the result, that the Chancellor has set out further steps to reduce it and to invest much more in the northern powerhouse. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what conversations he has had with business leaders about his proactive approach, following the referendum result?

[Mr Osborne]

Over the past 10 days I have had numerous conversations with various business leaders and leaders of financial institutions, and tomorrow I will be meeting the heads of some of the major banks to discuss how we proceed. The overall, and very clear, message from the Prime Minister’s business council, which met on Thursday, was, “Let us send a message round the world that we are not closed for business, we are not turning our back on the world; we are open to business and we are reaching out to the world.” A good way of doing that is to further reduce corporation tax, and then we must make the most of our links not just with our European friends, but with countries such as China, India and the United States, where we should be seeking to strengthen our trading links.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Rutley and George Osborne

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I completely understand the hon. Lady’s interest in this subject, and the matter arouses a lot of interest across the House and the country. I am afraid she will have to be patient and wait for the Government’s response to that important report.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

T4. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on this autumn statement, which continues to make science a clear priority. Does he agree that the new Cheshire science corridor enterprise zone will play an invaluable role not only in the local economy, but nationally as well, and particularly for the northern powerhouse?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is right. Support for Cheshire science goes across the county, and it particularly supports the brilliant work being done in Macclesfield and Alderley Park not just by AstraZeneca but by many new companies that have come to that estate. It is something that I know he champions.

Spending Review and Autumn Statement

Debate between David Rutley and George Osborne

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Yes, absolutely. First, the Transport Department had set aside a number of contingency funds, which we do not have to use. We are also phasing out the resource grant for Transport for London, but Transport for London is getting a big capital settlement, which is a large part of the Transport Department’s resource budget, and that is where some of the savings come from.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

Protecting the science budget and electrifying the TransPennine line are vital tasks to help rebalance the economy. Will my right hon. Friend remind the House how long it has been since he set out the vision for the northern powerhouse, and what has been achieved since then?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour has been a big champion of investment in the north, not just in his constituency but in the north-west of England. My speech on the northern powerhouse, which I gave to an audience that included Labour metropolitan leaders, was last summer. Since then, working across party divisions, we have had agreement now in Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Tees Valley and in the north-east to have a big devolution of power from Whitehall to those areas and elected mayors. There is a huge commitment of transport capital. We have created Transport for the North, which did not exist a year ago, and funded it, and there is a big commitment to the cultural institutions in the north of England as well, so we are talking about a massive commitment. We have also made a big commitment to science institutions across the north, which is something close to his heart.

Greece

Debate between David Rutley and George Osborne

Monday 6th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

As I say, it is not for us to dictate to the Greek people or to the eurozone whether Greece should leave. I repeat: the elected Government of Greece say that they want to remain in the eurozone, so we should at least respect that intention, and we will see whether they can work with their partners to deliver it.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

I welcome the steps that my right hon. Friend is taking to secure UK economic interests in the current difficult circumstances. Given that one of the challenges of the situation is the lack of a clear and orderly exit mechanism from the eurozone, are there any plans within the eurozone to address this issue after the short-term challenges facing Greece have been solved?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend makes a good observation. There is no straightforward mechanism for a country to exit the eurozone; it is not provided for in the treaties. Of course, if the eurozone wanted to propose a change to the treaties, then we would be very willing to sit down and discuss it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Rutley and George Osborne

Wednesday 17th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We will have the proper environmental standards around the exploration of shale gas, but I think for this country to turn its back on one of these great natural resources, which other countries are using, would be to condemn our country to higher energy bills and not as many jobs. Frankly, I do not want to be part of a generation that says, “All the economic activity was happening somewhere else in the world, and was not happening in our country, and was not happening on our continent.” So we should get on with the safe, environmentally protected exploration of our shale gas resources.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

Q6. In recent months, Jodrell Bank successfully secured the future of the globally significant Square Kilometre Array telescope project at its site, and over £12 million in heritage lottery funding to highlight its unique science heritage. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is further evidence of the importance of science in his compelling vision of a northern powerhouse?

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the success that Manchester University and Jodrell Bank have had in securing the international headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array experiment. I visited Jodrell Bank in the middle of the election campaign—I dropped in to congratulate them on the achievement, which was achieved during the purdah period but under instructions issued by the previous Government. It is the world’s largest science experiment. It is an incredible collaboration across nations, and I am extremely proud that its headquarters are in the northern powerhouse.