Oral Answers to Questions

James Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Milne (Horsham) (LD)]

4. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effectiveness of the defence industrial strategy.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

The Chancellor and the Defence Secretary meet regularly to discuss defence, including the defence industrial strategy. As part of those discussions, they recently met leaders from the UK financial sector to discuss how private investment can also be leveraged to accelerate defence readiness, building on the commitments made in the defence industrial strategy.

[John Milne]

In my constituency of Horsham, Chess Dynamics, which is part of Cohort, is a world-leading developer of counter-drone and air defence technology—exactly the capabilities that we need. Yet Chess, like much of the defence industry, has been kept on hold since last year, awaiting clarity on the defence investment plan. Without it, it cannot commission new air defence systems, leaving the next generation of Royal Navy frigates potentially exposed. It needs to know now. Will the Minister agree to meet me and Chess Dynamics to provide certainty on the investment that everyone says we need, but which simply is not happening yet?

[James Murray]

Investment in defence under this Government is under way—just look at the contracts. Over a thousand have been signed since the general election: I point the hon. Gentleman, and anyone else in the Chamber, to the billion-pound contract for medium helicopters in Yeovil, the half-a-billion pounds invested in state-of-the-art radar systems and the £100 million boost to support submarine-hunting aircraft. This Government are raising investment in defence to the highest sustained level since the cold war and it is at the core of ensuring that we are protecting our nation’s security.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Treasury Committee.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

What consideration has my right hon. Friend given to joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank to make sure that we are really pushing the investment that we need to see in defence in the current world situation?

[James Murray]

The UK has already signed up, with Finland and the Netherlands, to the multilateral defence budget, with this Chancellor taking a lead. I know the importance to this Government of security, which is not just something that we can achieve on our own but by working with allies to ensure that we are safer in future. I will add that we on the Government Benches are committed to remaining a core part of NATO, unlike some of the Opposition parties.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

The Chancellor said,

“National security always comes first”,

but she delayed the helicopter contract for our industrial base and we know that she is blocking the defence investment plan. Labour’s former Defence Secretary and secretary general of NATO, Lord Robertson, said,

“We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.”

He is right, so why is the Chancellor failing to grip the benefits bill and invest in our defence?

[James Murray]

Those on the Opposition Front Bench have some cheek. The hon. Gentleman is sat next to the hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), who oversaw the biggest increase in welfare spending on record, with a £33 billion increase in welfare spending in the last year of the Conservative Government. This Government are serious about getting people back into work, while increasing defence investment at the same time to 2.6% of GDP by next April—something the previous Government never managed.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

5. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.

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[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

13. What steps she is taking to support economic growth in Wales.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

The Government are investing in Wales’s industrial future and unlocking economic growth, including by providing £2.5 billion for the UK’s first small modular reactor in Anglesey to support up to 3,000 jobs and power 3 million homes. We have also recently agreed a new £50 million defence growth deal for Wales. We are backing Welsh freeports and investment zones, and we are connecting people and businesses with at least £445 million-worth of rail infrastructure investment right across Wales.

[Catherine Fookes]

The people of Magor and Undy have been celebrating the fact that they are getting a new train station, thanks to two Labour Governments working together to deliver it. It is therefore unbelievable that Reform’s leader in Wales recently said that nobody wants or needs these new stations. Does the Minister agree that new railway stations are essential for economic growth, and does he think that Reform does not listen to what people in Wales want, or that it just does not care?

[James Murray]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that the UK and Welsh Labour Governments’ generational commitment to the future of rail in Wales is fantastic for her constituents right across Monmouthshire. It is frankly outrageous to hear Reform’s leader in Wales trying to tell people what they want, and even more shocking that Reform has promised to rip up our plan. New railway stations are indeed critical for economic growth, and only Labour will build the rail network that people in Wales need and deserve.

[Dr Beccy Cooper (Worthing West) (Lab)]

15. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce costs for commuters.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

The Government are acting to ease the cost of living for commuters, including by extending the £3 national bus fare cap to March 2027. We have also frozen regulated rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which will save the average commuter travelling from Worthing to London using an annual season ticket £360 a year.

[Dr Cooper]

I thank my right hon. Friend for freezing rail fares, which will indeed help to ease the cost of living for many commuters, such as my constituents in Worthing West, many of whom have jobs here in London or in Brighton. Southern has been rated the worst value for money rail operator in a national passenger survey. As we move to nationalisation of our service and finally see the back of Southern rail next month, will the Minister ensure that investment is available for key issues such as reducing overcrowding and improving the reliability and punctuality of our vital south coast services?

[James Murray]

My hon. Friend is right to make it clear that improving services for passengers is our absolute priority as rail operations come into public ownership. When Southern rail is brought into public ownership, it will be expected to focus relentlessly on improving passenger experience, reliability and punctuality, and it will be held to account for doing so.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Stamford) (Con)]

In rural areas like Rutland and Stamford, we are reliant on our cars, so fuel costs are hitting us hard. I have a simple ask that the Chancellor could deliver on now: will she expand the 5p per litre rural fuel duty relief to more areas as soon as possible, particularly Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire, where it is desperately needed?

[James Murray]

As my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary has already set out many times today on fuel duty, we inherited plans from the previous Government that would have seen fuel costs go up for people across the country. We have extended the 5p cut on fuel duty and extended the freeze, which is an important way of helping people with the cost of living right now.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

16. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates announced in the autumn Budget 2025 on the retail, hospitality and leisure sector.

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[Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)]

T6. It has been widely reported in the press that the Chancellor is rightly considering issuing defence bonds. I know that the Chancellor agrees with me on the value of defence research and development. Does she or the Minister agree that defence bonds could be a powerful way to increase R&D and raise economic growth?

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

Whatever the purpose, spending funded from bonds issued by the Government adds to the national debt and so must be considered within the fiscal rules. But the hon. Gentleman is right to point to the importance of research and development within the defence industry to support economic growth. I am proud that last year we allocated £400 million for UK defence innovation to foster a world-leading UK defence tech sector.

[Michael Wheeler (Worsley and Eccles) (Lab)]

T9. This Labour Government have ensured that, as of this month, workers in Worsley and Eccles and across the country get sick pay from day one, including low-paid workers. As chair of the USDAW parliamentary group, and having campaigned for this, I welcome this so much. Does the Chancellor agree that it is only Labour, with its trade union link, that is on the side of working people?