Business of the House

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This is the great fiddle of litres, is it not? That works out at not far short of £8 a gallon. When we put it like that it sounds even more shockingly expensive than in metric measures that make it sound unduly low compared with the real cost. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to be concerned about this. The price has risen very significantly over the past year, and we have seen the latest inflation figures. It is important and fair to motorists that, when the price of crude oil falls, it is passed through the system as quickly and as fairly as possible. It is worth pointing out that the freeze on petrol duty has had a very significant benefit for people in this country—I think it saves them on average £15 every time they fill up with fuel—although saying it could be much worse is not necessarily a great comfort to people when they fill up at the pumps.

[Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

A happy Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all Members and staff of the House.

I know that the Leader of the House will agree with me about the importance of the local high street, especially in these uncertain times. At the beginning of December, I visited the owners of Steve’s Cycles on Chanterlands Avenue and Macs Tools on Newland Avenue in Hull, both of whom have really gone above and beyond in the service they have provided to their local community while also dealing with the effects of the pandemic on themselves and their families. Could we have an urgent statement from a Minister about the support that will be available to small family businesses while we are under plan B?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

First, I congratulate the right hon. Lady on her election yesterday as Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, which shows how widely respected she is on all sides of the House.

I agree with the right hon. Lady about the importance of local high streets, and may I pay tribute to those at Steve’s Cycles and Macs Tools? I obviously do not know them individually, but I know what she means because, across our constituencies and across our high streets, we all have businesses like those that are doing their extra bit for their communities, and they deserve thanks and praise. There was an urgent question earlier today about the support that is being made available. There are funds available to help high streets and to help regenerate high streets, which councils have been bidding for, so there is a great deal of activity in this area. However, if the right hon. Lady wants an Adjournment debate on the specifics of her own high street, I suggest she refer that to Mr Speaker.