Autumn Budget 2024

Lord Hannett of Everton Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hannett of Everton (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak in this extremely important Budget debate. I start by congratulating the Chancellor and her Treasury team on facing what is an extremely difficult situation, having inherited some very difficult fiscal realities. That should not be denied by anybody in this House. Of course, a Budget is about choices, and for every decision that is made there will be many critics and many opponents. This is the first Labour Budget against, as I say, a very difficult background.

Growth and productivity are crucial. I listened to the opening remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Johnson, and I would have given them more credence if there had been a degree of humility and a degree of acknowledgment of the inherited situation we have on these Benches. But of course I understand that there are different views.

What is important to me, as well as economic competence, is what values run through any Government. It has to be both. I am not an economist, but I would like to say that I am a fair-minded individual and I understand that what the Chancellor has done, ably abetted by her team, is address some of the big issues. Not everything can be addressed in one Budget. Why would we expect it to be?

I look at some of the policies in this Budget and will say this about the exam question. The exam question is whether this Budget delivers. It cannot be answered in a Budget debate; it will be assessed over time and, I am sure, in future Budgets as well.

In my previous incarnation as a trade union official we also faced the issue of productivity, and the noble Lord, Lord Monks, made a very compelling argument about skills. Productivity cannot be done on a short-term basis. I have been opposite many progressive employers who understood that it is not just about pay, it is about improving the skills of the individuals who work for them, and also retaining them. If you do not win the hearts and minds of your staff, they will take a short-term view of the workplace.

One of my roles was at the Low Pay Commission for 11 years. It was a great policy introduced by a previous Labour Government. Many of those years I shared with my noble friend Lady O’Grady. That a was great example of compromise and reaching an outcome when there were sometimes many frustrations at the level of the settlement. I welcome the increase to the minimum wage in this Budget, because we have to value some of the lowest paid in society if we are about anything.

The increase for carers is another significant policy. I have heard speeches in this Chamber about how much we value them and now, rightly, the Labour Party has put some finance behind that good will. These are unsung heroes who deserve full recognition. I am conscious of time and repetition. I have learned over many years that, when you start repeating too much, you lose the audience. So, I am not going to go over things, but I could—I could do a longer speech than this one.

I have to say to my friends on the other Benches that the one thing you cannot say is that we came into this Budget in the best position. I suppose for any Chancellor it is a bit like dancing on the head of a pin, making the choices that you hope will carry you forward and benefit the people of this country. I am confident that we have made a good start, but I am confident that it cannot be fixed in one Budget. I make this appeal to any employers listening: if you really want to do as my noble friend Lord Monks said, upskill the workforce, train them and pay them well and you will get a benefit on productivity.