Budget Resolutions

Andrew Lewin Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

This Budget comes at a crucial time for the country and this Government. I say that because I am not blind to the public mood. It is a mood that calls for more change and, fundamentally, I think that only the Labour party can deliver the change that we need.

To understand the decisions we made in the Budget, Members must bear in mind what we inherited. The economy was a cupboard left not only bare by Liz Truss, but with broken hinges and no remaining shelves because of the decade and a half of austerity that preceded her. This Labour Government were not elected because the last lot had done a good job; we were elected because there was a mess. Throughout our whole electoral mandate at the last election was the message that we should make things better: we should improve the cost of living, support poorer children, and fix our public services, from roads to the health service. Changing Government takes time. I am one of the many alumni of local government in this place, and I never thought I would dream of the speed of action and the immediacy of decision making that we can get in a townhall.

I will speak briefly about supporting businesses such as those in Calder Valley, and lifting children out of poverty. I welcome the Government’s work to transform business rates relief and protect our high streets. Retail, hospitality and leisure are central to our communities in Calder Valley. In Calderdale, 3,200 businesses will benefit from lower rates. When we talk about this change, we are talking about the clothes shop in Brighouse, the café in Hebden Bridge, the pub in Todmorden and the curry house in Elland. They are places that keep our towns alive and bring people together.

Just as our high streets are vital to our community life, our manufacturing is vital to so much else in our nation and our national security. In Calder Valley we are proud of our manufacturing—we are known to some across the country as “valve valley”, and I promise I will make that name stick in this place. Those businesses are ready to contribute to Britain’s national interest and security. The Chancellor’s commitment to changing procurement laws, so that when national security is at stake we support skilled jobs in our country, is common sense.

SMEs in Calder Valley also welcome the fact that apprenticeships will now be free, which will help them to secure the next generation of British manufacturing. However, apprenticeships are not just jobs; they are opportunities and a sense of pride for so many families.

I have talked about business, but I will also talk about the heart of the Budget. I thank the Chancellor for removing the two-child benefit cap. I know from my time working at the Child Poverty Action Group, at Oxfam on UK poverty, and at Church Action on Poverty that this change is one of the most significant steps we can take to reduce child poverty. Measures in this Budget will lift half a million children out of poverty. Children growing up poor are less likely to succeed at school, twice as likely to be obese, and more likely to suffer from poor health throughout their life. As adults, they earn less. The vandalism of the rapacious rise in child poverty under the last Government will echo through generations. This country had the largest rise in child poverty among high-income countries between 2013 and 2023, with deep poverty rising by 67%. That is the legacy of Conservative Members.

The need could not be clearer. In Calder Valley, 5,624 children were living in poverty in 2023-24, compared with 4,317 in 2014-15. That is a rise of more than 1,000 on the Tories’ watch, and behind every one of those numbers is a kid who deserves a fair chance, and a parent fighting to get it for them. Nearly 2,000 children in Calder Valley will have their lives made better because of this Budget, but it is not just one measure; it is a strategy—free breakfast clubs in schools, the expansion of subsidised childcare, and a higher minimum wage. That will make our country stronger into the future, but there is more work ahead. Families need certainty that support will continue, and businesses need confidence that investment in British industry will be matched by action, skills and infrastructure.

This Budget is a turning point, and a signal that Britain is ready to move beyond austerity and neglect towards fairness, opportunity and prosperity. Above all, it is about trust—trust that the Government will stand for families when times are hard, trust that investment in British industry will mean real opportunities for towns such as mine, and trust that fairness, not austerity, will guide our decisions. That will build confidence in our system, our Government, and in our country as a place to live, invest and prosper.

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

rose—

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am sure the best is yet to come.

I am pleased to address the House on a day with bond yields falling, growth figures for the year revised upwards, and an opportunity to reflect on the announcements made yesterday and what they mean for people in Welwyn Hatfield. I want to try to address two of the macro trends that shape the UK economy today, and which would frame the choices available to any Chancellor, irrespective of their party allegiance.

The first trend is the happy reality that people in the UK are living longer than ever before. Millions of Brits are living longer and healthier lives, staying active, spending more time with grandchildren, playing sport, music, doing charitable work and enjoying holidays. That is unquestionably and unequivocally good news, but inequality among older people is stark and real. Lifespans vary hugely by postcode, and this Government’s focus on the NHS is essential if we are to close that gap. However, one challenge is perhaps even more profound, because the ratio between the working-age population and those who are retired has been transformed. Since the creation of the welfare state there has been almost a doubling of what is called the “dependency ratio”, and we see that vividly in how it impacts Government spending.

By 2030-31, welfare spending supporting pensioners will have increased to £195 billion per year. Welfare spending supporting families with child benefit, including the changes announced yesterday, will be £14 billion per year. Welfare spending is going up

disproportionately to support pensioners. That reflects the happy truth that people are living longer, but when we discuss the future of welfare in this House, let us always be mindful of the facts.

I am afraid that the second theme relates to the biggest act of economic self-harm in a generation. The Brexit deal put up trade barriers with our closest and largest trading partners. We have 16,000 fewer businesses in the UK exporting to the European Union, a surge in food prices, bureaucracy at the border, and a hit to our economy of at least £100 billion. We must repair the damage. It is critical that the Government continue to drive forward the UK-EU reset, and do so at pace, with a sanitary and phytosanitary deal that could reduce food prices, and a youth mobility deal that will be good for growth and for cultural connections. UK-EU relations were on the floor thanks to the last Government. We are rebuilding the relationship, and I will continue to advocate that my colleagues in Government do that at pace, with urgency, and with increasing ambition, because it is so fundamental to all our growth prospects for the future.

I commend the Chancellor on increasing the headroom on her stability rule. The markets were looking for reaffirmation that the Government are serious about meeting their targets, and they got their answer. Bond yields fell yesterday, meaning the cost of borrowing fell too. Coupled with the inflation figures last week, the case for another cut in interest rates looks stronger than ever. If the story of this Parliament is interest rates falling and lower mortgage repayments, then the story of yesterday’s Budget was one that coupled stability with fairness.

Removing the two-child limit was morally and economically the right choice. I spoke a moment ago about the relatively small cost of this measure to the Exchequer in the context of welfare spending, but in practice we are talking about £17.25, a very modest amount to many people, but a sum that will be transformative to the families currently living below the poverty line.

On the cost of living, the Budget set out a series of decisions that will help the day-to-day lives of ordinary people in Welwyn Hatfield and across the country: the bus cap maintained, train fares frozen for the first time in 30 years, prescription charges held steady, and a major intervention on energy bills that will see them fall universally by around £150 next year, in addition to the warm homes payment this winter, which will benefit at least 10,000 people in Welwyn Hatfield and 2.7 million across the country.

The economic fundamentals are challenging. In these circumstances, it is an even more significant achievement by this Labour Government to meet the fiscal rules, to calm the gilt markets, to provide extra support on the cost of living and to drive down child poverty. This Budget is responsible and fair, and it sets a foundation on which to build in the future.