Taxes

Caroline Nokes Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I must inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected any amendment.

I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

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[Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)]

Given all the extraordinary and wonderful things that the right hon. Gentleman is setting out, is it not equally extraordinary that the British people thought you were a shower and needed to get rid of you—and they did? That is why you are on the Opposition Benches and we are over here.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. I am not sure that the British people were seeking to get rid of me.

[Sir Mel Stride]

I think what the hon. Gentleman said was a gross impertinence, Madam Deputy Speaker. He also referred to you as an absolute “shower”, which is totally unreasonable. I have always been a great admirer of yours, as you know, and always will be. [Hon. Members: “ Name him!”] Name the hon. Gentleman—quite.

We have a Government who are grossly incompetent. As soon as they came into office, what did they do? They talked down the economy. It is no surprise that the British Chambers of Commerce is now saying that the No.1 concern of its members is high taxes, or that the latest survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales once again shows that business confidence is down—and that is for the fourth survey in a row.

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[Darren Jones]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, my colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions, with the Stephen Timms review and other work, are taking those measures forward.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The Chief Secretary is the third Minister or shadow Minister to refer to a colleague by name. It seems to be a bad afternoon for it.

[Darren Jones]

Madam Deputy Speaker, it is because the review is named after the Member, which led to my naming him, but the Timms review will be taking forward that work and coming forward with proposals in due course.

If Conservative Members wish to challenge the fiscal rules, I invite them to do so. Do they instead think it would be wise to let debt balloon year on year, as they did, to pay for the day-to-day costs of Government, ultimately spending more and more on debt interest and less on the priorities of working people? In contrast, our fiscal rules are non-negotiable, and they are the foundation for stability and investment.

The first rule is for stability—that day-to-day Government spending should be paid for through tax receipts—which is the sound economic choice and also the fair choice, because it is not right to expect our children and future generations to pay for the services we rely on today. This first rule allowed my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, at the Budget last year, to allocate £190 billion more to the day-to-day running of our public services over the course of this Parliament.

The second fiscal rule has enabled this Government to invest in Britain’s economic renewal while getting public debt on a downward path. This rule has allowed the Chancellor to increase public investment by over £100 billion in the autumn and a further £13 billion this spring—investment to rebuild our transport network, our defence capabilities and our energy security. In short, it is investment to grow our economy, improve living standards and put more money into the pockets of working people in every part of the country.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The right hon. Member has set the tone with his speech length. If all Members could stick to around six minutes, everyone will get in. I call Joe Powell.