Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Siobhan Baillie (Stroud) (Con)]

Small businesses and families are the “force” in workforce. It is fantastic that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has recognised that, and it is also not rocket science to know that the country’s finances are going to be stretched at a time when we have spent £400 billion on the pandemic and are dealing with a war. However, Stroud people can see that the Budget is making sensible and realistic changes to help with fuel and transport, energy costs and pensions; to ease recruitment pressures for businesses; and to take action on beer duty, potholes and leisure centres.

We have had a huge team effort on this side of the House to make the case for putting parents and the early years workforce front and centre in the Budget. I am not sure that the Chancellor or the Prime Minister has had a breakfast or a meeting recently without that issue being mentioned, and they have definitely listened. Reforming and stimulating the early years and childcare sector is not just some fluffy woman’s issue: it helps the country threefold. It gets parents back into work and working at full tilt; it gives businesses the workers that they desperately need at the moment; and the childcare and early years sector is a skilled workforce in itself. These people are looking after the most precious things in our lives, and it is really hard graft. I come to work for a rest from my kids; I could not do what those workers do. We have to value them, train them, and pay them more. It is well known in this place that I think there is more work to do on hourly rates for the childcare sector, but we have made massive strides in the Budget.

The Budget is also a good reminder to the country that the free hours are not free. They are paid for by the taxpayer, and we need to use them judiciously: we need to think through who are the best people to use them. I think there should be changes, but again, I think we are getting there. I met some Stroud childminders recently, which reaffirmed to me how special these entrepreneurial businesspeople—mainly women, but businesspeople—are. They can do an awful lot for families, but they can also do a lot for families with children with special educational needs and disabilities, and I think we should lean on them more.

I do want to make a political point now: I think the Chancellor of the Exchequer has blown the Labour party out of the water on childcare. Labour Members have gone on and on about this—I have been shouted down—but they have not come up with a plan. We have had speech after speech; we have had flying around the world, using lots of air miles and upsetting the environment, but they have not come up with a plan. They have misled parents and mismanaged expectations. They have talked about universal free childcare; they have talked about having a new system like the rebirth of the NHS, as per the article in The Times, but behind the scenes, they have realised that that is not affordable, realistic, or sustainable for the country. I do not accept that they could not come up with a plan because they are waiting for the elections and want to get all the good stuff out then.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Siobhan Baillie]

No, we are not taking interventions, but I would love a conversation about this, because I would have liked to see the ideas. Unfortunately, that plan has not been forthcoming, but other plans have been. We have seen ideas about cars from the Opposition, but not about childcare and not for families. The Government have made childcare and the early years sector not just about infrastructure, which Opposition parties have been asking for. They have recognised parents and the early years workforce as key to growing the country—key to the economy. That is absolutely integral to making the families of this country feel valued and part of getting involved in this country’s success. I am very grateful for that.

In my final seconds, what I would say to the people who are worried about there being too much focus on getting parents into work is, “I hear you.” It is right that we should have parental choice, but given the financial constraints on this country and the current workforce issues, it is also right that the Chancellor has done what he has with the Budget.

--- Later in debate ---

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)]

Like a number of hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Peterborough (Paul Bristow), I benefited from the 30 hours’ free childcare when my children were in nursery. Although that is a big support for a number of working parents, I hope that those on the Treasury Bench will consider the issues that have been raised by a number of childcare providers, which are worried that there is still a big funding gap. Some 5,000 nurseries are said to have closed this year alone. It is important that the Government get childcare providers on side, otherwise the policy will not work at all.

I rise to speak on behalf of my resilient, dynamic, ambitious and diverse constituency of Vauxhall. It is a constituency filled with businesses that are deeply rooted in their community, and it has given rise to an array of nationally and globally recognised landmarks and institutions that all work happily alongside the small enterprises that make Vauxhall so unique. Having grown up in my constituency, I know that we have a lot to showcase. The constituency spans parts of London’s best known areas, including Brixton Clapham, Waterloo, the south bank, Kennington and many more. My constituents are proud of where they are from, but they have been held far back by 13 years of Tory austerity and economic stagnation.

This Budget was a missed chance to change course and empower our communities and small businesses. Instead, we are seeing widening inequality across the country, falling living standards, wages divorced from growth and too many people struggling to make ends meet in the world’s sixth richest economy. The Chancellor must rebuild a more productive and resilient economy; create decent, sustainable jobs; hardwire fairness in our community, and ensure that all the rewards are shared equitably. I am a proud Labour/Co-op MP, and our co-op values mean that we are committed to providing that—co-operation is key. Employees, consumers and communities should all be able to enjoy the profits, which are reinvested back into the community, and employees should have real influence. Productivity would increase, and wealth and power would be shared.

It was therefore disappointing that the Chancellor failed to outline a plan to support the contribution of the co-operative movement in helping our economy to grow. Co-operatives are a significant part of our economy, with around 7,000 co-ops contributing nearly £40 billion each year. We should be doing much more to support them and the Chancellor’s failed ambition for co-op growth is a missed opportunity.

One of the easiest ways to support small businesses and households would be to cut their energy bills, which are unfortunately crippling so many people. One of the main reasons that Britain has been exposed to the energy crisis is 13 years of failed Conservative energy policy. The Conservatives have banned onshore wind, scrapped home insulation and shut out gas storage facilities. All those things increase our reliance on volatile import prices. Labour would make Britain’s energy secure, with a plan for clean energy by 2030. I have just one question for those on the Treasury Front Bench. Will they support our ambition to get Britain back on track and to grow a green Britain so that everyone can thrive?