Income Tax (Charge)

Gavin Robinson Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne). In reflecting on the maiden speeches that we have heard this afternoon, I will just add a comment to what the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) said in his Titanic analogy. As the Member of Parliament for Belfast East, I always remind folks that Titanic was built by Ulstermen but navigated by Englishmen. I wish him well.

I delayed my contribution to the debate until today in the hope that we might have reached the point where there would perhaps be less politics and a bit more accurate reflection on the challenges we face as a country and on how to proceed. I am pleased that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is here, because he is a man of substance and he understands the challenges that we all face. One of the most accurate descriptions of the Budget so far has been the “sugar rush”: something that will make us feel good immediately—an initial injection of cash into public services over the coming years—but which then peters out. The benefit of that sugar rush peters out, we hit a low and crave more in years 3 and 4, but, without sufficient growth, the means will not be there to pay for it.

I say that not with any glee, but as a genuine challenge on how we invest in public services—rightly—in a way that will produce private growth, because it will be that private growth that allows investment in the years to come. From a Northern Ireland perspective, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will know that there has been no resolution to get our finances on to a firm foundation. “Fixing the foundations” is what we hear from the Government. The negotiations that we had with the previous Government saw a considerable injection of cash.

The debate today is about health. On pay parity, NHS workers in Northern Ireland—the nurses, doctors and auxiliary staff—and the carers outside in the social care settings, are not paid like for like compared with their colleagues in England, Scotland and Wales. We obtained money to achieve pay parity just one year ago, yet it is in danger of being broken. We secured money for Northern Ireland to achieve stability under the previous Government, but are told to use it for years 2 and 3 to maintain parity for such important workers. That does not work, and I had hoped for more from the Labour Government. I hope that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will continue to engage in those discussions.

Some political decisions feel right when they are taken but will not be easily forgotten by a jaded electorate. The removal of the winter fuel payment is one of them; the decision on inheritance tax for family farms is another. Those decisions will rest long in the minds of constituents who placed their trust in the Government. Labour Members have joyfully repeated all their party’s enthusiastic lines, but those constituents will not forget the damage and the pain caused by the decisions associated with this Budget.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I had hoped for more. I cannot be churlish and not recognise the investment in public finances that is in the Budget, but it is not going to encourage us along a positive path. There are challenges ahead, and politically and collectively—irrespective of our party outlook or differences—we are going to have to engage with those challenges more thoughtfully in the future.