Budget Resolutions

Debate between James Naish and Jayne Kirkham

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

This was a Budget for young people. We are lifting the two-child benefit cap, bringing half a million children out of poverty; alongside free school meals, breakfast clubs, childcare and uniforms, we are reducing child poverty more than any Government ever. Our youth guarantee will make sure that every young person can access college, apprenticeships or job support, and SMEs will no longer have to pay towards apprenticeship training for under-25s, which is vital in Cornwall.

This was a Budget to tackle the cost of living, with measures to increase the minimum wage, cut household energy bills, freeze rail fares and prescriptions, extend the bus fare cap, and increase the state pension. It was also a Budget for growth. Our economy grew 50% more than the OBR expected in March. The Government have held fast to the decision to strongly invest in our infrastructure and worked to crowd in private investment and encourage companies to grow and list in the UK. I was pleased to hear the Chancellor confirm major investment in Truro neighbourhood health centre, which will be in the initial wave of centres to be upgraded and refurbished.

This was a Budget for Cornwall. The Kernow industrial growth fund is to be given £30 million over the next two years to invest in Cornwall’s economic potential. It reflects the fact that Cornwall has an important part to play in the UK’s industrial strategy. The Government have recently announced the critical minerals strategy and provided backing and investment for it. That is a brilliant example of a key industry vital to our national security being backed to the hilt by this Government. I hope they will do the same for the floating offshore wind.

Another key industry vital to national security is farming. The Government made a concession on inheritance tax by enabling automatic transfer of the £1 million allowance between spouses and civil partners. That will relieve pressure somewhat for older farmers who did not have time to plan. The Treasury says that few farmers and estates will be affected, but perception is everything when it comes to investment. I know that the Government have put a record amount of investment into farming.

I sit on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and it is clear that as a country we need to set a firm direction of travel on food security. Since Brexit we have diverged, particularly in England, from other places on the way we treat food production. I hope that the publication of various reports, including that of Minette Batters, will help to provide more certainty, and that the new incarnation of sustainable farming incentives will encourage farmers to invest.

[James Naish]

Although the new measures for farmers announced by the Chancellor have been welcomed by the industry, as Labour MPs we were advocating not for reduced revenue but for ensuring that the wrong farmers were not hit. Does my hon. Friend therefore share my view that Labour Members have fought hard for farmers and that our voices should be listened to moving forward?

[Jayne Kirkham]

It is important that we look very closely at the measures, as we in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said in our report. Family farms are obviously very important and we need to consider them deeply when thinking about food security.

This is a long game. Fixing what is broken will be a hard path, but this Budget keeps us on that course without deviation. We are moving towards growth and the systematic rebuilding of our public services step by step. We are focusing on making life less of a daily struggle and on pulling our children out of poverty so that they can thrive now and take all the opportunities that this Government will offer them as they grow.