Employers

Debate between Jeevun Sandher and Patrick Spencer

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Sandher]

Stop it! The hon. Member is too kind.

I had a sense of pride, because I knew that I had earned that iPod; it was the fruits of my labour. When I was growing up in the ’90s and ’00s, I saw business people doing well, partly because we were growing under a Labour Government, but also because the conditions of business worked. My parents knew that their workers had skills and were healthy, and they also knew that workers and families across the country were living good lives at that point in time. They could afford a decent life, and to spend money down the shops and on the goods that my parents were producing and selling. I saw them do well, and I saw business do well. Part of the reason why I became a member of the Labour party is that I want to see every single person do well and thrive. I saw businesses thrive, and I saw my parents’ business thrive.

I also joined the Labour party because we are the party of work—the clue is in the name. I want every single person in this country to have a good job, but we are quite far away from that, and we have been for quite a while. About 40% of people in full-time work cannot afford to raise a family, because there are not enough good jobs in this country. Post-industrial areas are still post-industrial, and they are the most deprived parts of this nation. They have not been doing well for an incredibly long time. We have to do more to create good jobs across our country.

[Patrick Spencer]

I could not agree more. We should do everything to create jobs. Surely the hon. Member is about to suggest that we cut taxes on businesses. That will create jobs.

[Dr Sandher]

I want to start there. I disagree with the Conservatives’ motion. It effectively says that if we cut national insurance contributions, good jobs will follow. The first thing to note is that, yes, we did raise national insurance contributions in our first Budget, and there are a million more people in work today. The second thing to note is that the Conservatives’ mistaken moral aims would lead to poorer material ends. They are googling; they are finding out the difference between the pay-as-you-earn measure of employment and the Office for National Statistics measure of employment.

There is something else on which I disagree with the Conservatives. I read the document entitled “The Right Way”, which they produced before their conference. It effectively said that if the Government just step away and create the right conditions, businesses will create the prosperity and good jobs that we need. We have seen that this has not worked. Post-industrial areas are still post-industrial. We saw the Government step away in the 1980s, and we saw those areas remain poor over time. In places like Middlesbrough, the employment rate is 20 percentage points lower than the national average. For non-graduate men, the employment rate is down by about 20 percentage points, too.