Middle East: Economic Update

Debate between Baggy Shanker and Rachel Reeves

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

We published the strategic defence review earlier this year, and in the spending review last year, the biggest uplifts in spending were at the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health and Social Care. The previous Government said that they would get to 2.5% at the end of the next Parliament. We will get to 2.6% by April next year, and that money is already being spent. The right hon. Gentleman does not need to worry about that.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

My constituents in Derby will be worried about the devastation that they see across the middle east, and they will agree that de-escalation must remain a priority. They are also worried, though, about the impact on their weekly shopping bills, petrol prices and energy bills. Does the Chancellor agree that stability for our businesses and local people is vital, given the volatility we are seeing internationally?

[Rachel Reeves]

I am pleased that since I became Chancellor, the Bank of England has cut interest rates six times, and we have been able to take £150 off energy bills and freeze prescription charges and rail fares. My hon. Friend’s constituency contains Rolls-Royce, which will benefit from small modular reactors and also from the increased defence spending that is already going in.

Spring Forecast

Debate between Baggy Shanker and Rachel Reeves

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

The best thing we can do to support our high streets and small businesses is ensure that more people have more of their money in their pockets to spend not on the essentials but on the things that they want to do—for instance, in local shops in the hon. Lady’s constituency. That is why we are taking £150 off people’s energy bills, have frozen prescription charges, and are freezing rail fares.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. Whether by delivering a record-breaking fair funding settlement for our council or backing Team Derby, this Government are definitely turning the page on years of brutal Tory austerity. However, many in our city still feel left out and left behind because of the depth of those austerity cuts. Will the Chancellor work to give every neighbourhood the tools that it needs, so that every place is decent to live in?

[Rachel Reeves]

My hon. Friend’s question goes to the heart of the issue. We have done an awful lot in the last year and a half to bring down interest rates and ensure that people have more of their own money in their pockets—and there is more of that to come, with the two-child limit going from April, the £150 off energy bills from April, and last weekend’s changes in rail fares. But all that is against a backdrop of 14 years of people being made worse off by the choices of the Conservative party. I do not expect people to feel all the benefits of the changes we have made straightaway, but I believe that the changes that will come in the next few months will start to be felt in the pockets of people in Derby and across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baggy Shanker and Rachel Reeves

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

Although I will not get into detailed discussions about one individual company, last year the Government set out the £2.5 billion steel fund in the Budget to preserve and grow steel manufacturing in the UK. In the trade deals we have secured with the US and with the EU in the last couple of weeks, we have reduced tariffs on steel exports, which will be good for the British steel industry.

[Baggy Shanker]

Shockingly, in Derby South 62% of adults in the community are financially vulnerable, which is far above the national average of 38%. To lift people out of this vicious cycle, we need a growing economy, but for those who are worried about how they will make it to the next payday, dreading an unexpected bill or struggling to feed their family, the benefits of growth can feel miles out of reach. Will the Chancellor outline how her plan for growth will put money in people’s pockets and deliver change for those in our struggling communities?

[Rachel Reeves]

We will shortly publish a financial inclusion strategy, as well as extending the household support fund to support some of the most vulnerable. There are huge opportunities in Derby, as my hon. Friend knows. I was at Rolls Royce in Derby just last week. What we are doing on trade deals, particularly with the US, hugely supports our aerospace sector, along with the increased spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP, which helps to invest in Great British firms and, indeed, in Great British steel.