Autumn Budget 2025

Lord Leigh of Hurley Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Hollick. Much of what he said, but not all, I agreed with. It is also a pleasure to congratulate the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Portsmouth on his excellent maiden speech.

There is much to criticise in this Budget, which manages to increase tax rates, tax take and debt all at the same time, as my noble friend Lord Lamont so eloquently explained. However, let me try to bring out two positive areas in the Budget and look at how we may be able to improve them further.

The first relates to the EIS and VCTs, and I declare an interest as an investor. A small group of us met James Murray when he was Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and I am pleased to see that the Government have listened to concerns raised and have lifted some of the size restrictions on those investments. This is essential because there are real difficulties for UK companies trying to raise capital from UK investors right now. I hope that it is a subject on which we spend more time on another occasion.

I am sure the Minister will be the first to recognise and appreciate that these changes are possible only because of Brexit. We have left the EU and are no longer restricted by the EU state aid laws, other than, of course, in Northern Ireland. So, because there have been changes only to the rates but not to other restrictions, I urge the Minister to have a look at restrictions, such as the seven-year rule and the family restrictions on investing in companies to obtain EIS rates. This can now be done. As a result of the changes to the VCTs, one would hope that more people will go into the EIS directly; however, it is not clear that it will happen. A survey conducted by the Wealth Club on 1 December reveals that 85% of investors will invest less, and of that, 42% no longer invest in VCTs. Only 13% will go into the—admittedly riskier—EIS, which is, of course, what the Government wanted. So 85% of these investors believe that as a result of the move on VCTs—the restrictions—they will decrease their investment.

Another area I want to highlight are the changes to the low-value import customs duty relief, which the Minister will remember we debated in my Oral Question on 14 July 2025. Many congratulations to the Government on listening and acting. Unfortunately, it comes in only in March 2029. Why is that? I suspect the reason given by HMRC is that it is all too complicated and difficult, but that is not acceptable. I urge the Minister to get stuck in again and go back to HMRC to see whether we can bring this legislation forward, because this is having a damaging effect on small retailers up and down the country.

Finally—and not to disappoint the noble Lord, Lord Razzall—I add my name to the calls for the Chancellor to reflect on what she has done. She did mislead the public deliberately—these are not my words but those of Chris Mason of the BBC. This is not behaviour becoming of her or any public figure; as a result, it will be very difficult for her to be believed at any future press conference she gives. That is not a sustainable position for our country. I do not expect the Minister to agree with me publicly, but I hope that he will use his position of power and responsibility to deal with this unsustainable position.