Direction of Government

Debate between Lord Redwood and Baroness Smith of Basildon

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

The Prime Minister is good on hope and optimism, and I like to think that the Prime Minister may follow in my footsteps. I was reflecting earlier that it was 10 years ago that I gave a lecture on the benefit of hope and optimism in politics; perhaps it had some impact—perhaps not. The whole purpose of having optimism and growth is because, if people are optimistic about the future, if they believe their lives will get better and believe their children’s lives will be better than their lives, that galvanises them into an energy that the country benefits from. Part of that is economic growth, but part of it is the democratisation issues that the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, referred to. It is people feeling they have some control over their lives and their future and can have an impact on decisions about how they live and how they work. It is not just an abstract concept.

I was interested in what the noble Lord, Lord True, said, because, on the one hand, he said there was nothing different and then he talked about all the new initiatives that had come forth from the new Prime Minister; both cannot be true. But when the Prime Minister is talking about these initiatives, he is talking about concrete change to let people know that they can have a greater say in their lives—in how they work, how they live and where they live. That will help our economy to grow and bring the economic growth needed if we are going to deliver on these changes.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

Why do the Government not rule out any tax rises in the next Budget, given the disaster of the previous two Budgets when speculation about tax rises and actual tax rises destroyed jobs, drove up unemployment, closed businesses, undermined confidence and abolished hope?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

I am always intrigued when the party opposite talks about disastrous Budgets, because I remember one very pertinent one. But I think the noble Lord is on to something with one of the things he said, and a very interesting debate on the economy this morning on Radio 4 raised it. He talked about the speculation and the discussion before the Budget. Part of the radio debate was that it does not happen to the same extent in other countries at all; it is something very peculiar to the UK. It does have an impact and, as much as it would be very nice to be able to give him an answer and say I can rule this in and rule that out, it adds to the fuel of speculation. One of the reasons the Government have brought the Budget forward to 28 October is to try to limit that time for speculation, so that you get a complete answer. I hear calls from the party opposite, “Can you rule this in, can you rule that out, can you say this, will you commit to that?” No, but there will be a Budget, and everything will become clearer.

G7 Summit

Debate between Lord Redwood and Baroness Smith of Basildon

Tuesday 23rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to raise a number of issues around resilience. He said he hoped that whoever takes over from the Prime Minister will continue that work. The Prime Minister has pledged to ensure that there is a smooth transition, and he will give his support in that regard as well to ensure that the work he has been undertaking and has prioritised continues. We have seen an increase in sanctions, and that will continue.

We have some plans in the making on how we increase public awareness, but I think that is incumbent not just on the Government but on all of us. We have talked in this House before about a national conversation, and I know my noble friend Lord Coaker is looking at this and doing some work on it. I do not think the public really understand the scale and type of threats the country faces today. Of course, weather resilience is another issue, but I do not think people are aware that a single cyber attack could have a major impact on all kinds of infrastructure, including banking or transport. So a lot of work is being undertaken to try to get the public to engage on that. But it is not just the responsibility of government: the whole House, civil society, local authorities and public agencies, and companies important to national security need to understand what they need to do to keep their companies safe and banking safe because of the impact that has on all of us as well.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

As the Government have decommissioned the last minesweeper and the last frigate we had in the Gulf, what assistance can we practically offer in the very important task of clearing the mines and safeguarding shipping, assuming the ceasefire holds?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

The noble Lord is probably aware that clearing mines is something we are working on as part of a broad coalition, particularly with the French. We are engaged in that and working with them at present.

Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address

Debate between Lord Redwood and Baroness Smith of Basildon

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My noble friend is right. It is an important process. Our international relations with countries across the world where we have diplomats and where they have provided information in the UK’s national interests may at times be sensitive. The humble Address is quite clear that, where there are issues of national security or international relations, those documents and that information will be passed to the ISC for it to make a judgment. To come back to my noble friend’s point about whether it was intended to be embarrassing, the truth may be embarrassing at times but if it leads to justice and a better outcome then it is the right thing to do. The Government have no problems complying fully with the humble Address.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

I welcome the Government’s decision to take this very seriously and to publish in tranches. Given that many days have now elapsed, will the Government publish a tranche tomorrow to show good faith, so that the proper process of scrutiny can begin?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

I do not know whether the noble Lord heard my earlier answer. We will not be publishing documents tomorrow but as soon as possible. I imagine that it will be in the next couple of weeks.