Economic and Taxation Policies: Jobs, Growth and Prosperity

Viscount Chandos Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Chandos (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell, for securing and introducing this debate, even if its timing in peak Budget purdah means that its scope is necessarily either backward-looking or about broad principles. In responding to the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, on Monday, my noble friend the Minister displayed the mastery of Stonewall Jackson or Geoffrey Boycott in avoiding breaching that purdah. I suspect that he may need to draw on those skills again this afternoon.

In looking back briefly, I do not propose to get into a battle of statistics. Sixteen months into the Labour Government’s period of office, of course we would all like to see stronger growth already coming through, but 16 months is but a twinkling of an eye in relation to the long-term investment that will drive the achievement of those growth targets, as my noble friend Lord Eatwell set out.

I was fortunate to attend, in a non-parliamentary capacity, last month’s regional investment summit in Birmingham, attended by, among others, my noble friend the Minister and superbly hosted by the West Midlands mayor and his team at the combined authority. The summit was a powerful showcase for the underlying talent and potential in the UK, the confidence of companies’ investors, domestic and international—despite the impact of Brexit, referred to by my noble friend Lord Eatwell—and the Government’s consistent and vital work in creating the environment for this to deliver growth, jobs and prosperity. This was the first investment summit to be held outside London, and it vividly demonstrated the depth and breadth of opportunities throughout the country. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm that future investment summits will follow that important precedent?

My right honourable friend the Chancellor and the whole of the Government have set out to balance fiscal discipline, a necessary condition for achieving all other objectives, growth and fairness. In considering the challenge of restoring financial discipline, it is impossible to ignore the legacy of the last Government. I will not explain the significance of the number of £22 billion. The Minister is now more expert on the subject of black holes than the Astronomer Royal. I will, however, again quote the evidence given to the Economic Affairs Committee by Richard Hughes, chair of the OBR, about the last Government’s submission to the OBR:

“Some people have referred to that as a work of fiction. That is probably generous, given that someone has bothered to write a work of fiction, whereas the”


Conservative

“Government have not even bothered to write down their departmental spending plans”.

It is because this Government, in contrast, have brought rigour and responsibility to budget planning that commentators have had so much data about which to speculate. I do not envy my right honourable friend in having to strike the balance between fiscal discipline and growth measures, though I have great confidence in her ability to do so.

I will end with a few words about fairness. Janan Ganesh of the FT, the biographer of the architect of austerity, George Osborne, wrote in 2015:

“A country’s tax code is not just a mesh of rules and rates—it is a secular bible of moral signals”.


There is clear evidence that people’s attitude to their own tax payments is significantly influenced by their perception of fairness. When the Chancellor announces budget measures in two weeks’ time, if there are any adjustments to taxes on higher earners or asset owners, they should not be seen as vindictive or anti-entrepreneur or anti-business. They will represent a considered judgment to rebuild public trust in the fairness of the tax system and, indeed, in our democratic society.