Antony Higginbotham
Main Page: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)Department Debates - View all Antony Higginbotham's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 year, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kwasi Kwarteng
I did not mention anything on workers’ rights in my statement and I have always been very focused on broader workers’ rights—[Interruption.] On the right to strike, the minimum service levels are crucial to ensure that the public are protected from militant trade union action. That is entirely fair, it is what happens in Europe and we are 100% committed to that.
Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s focus on growth, which will allow businesses in Burnley and Padiham to grow, and allow people to keep more of the money they earn. Following on from my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe), in east Lancashire we stand ready to lead this country in aerospace, cyber and small modular reactors. So I urge the Chancellor to look sympathetically on a bid from east Lancashire. Will he meet me, and other east Lancashire colleagues and the leader of Lancashire County Council, to talk about what an east Lancashire investment zone might look like?
Kwasi Kwarteng
Just to remind my hon. Friend, investment zone conversations are very much being led by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who I am sure will be engaging with the relevant councils. I would be happy also to talk to my hon. Friend about the opportunities that investment zones represent.