"I have also rejected broad-based tax rises or slashing public services, recognising that families and businesses need breathing space. The OBR confirms today that headroom against the stability rule will be £15 billion in 2029-30 before rising to £22 billion in 2030-31. That is what a buffer is for: use …..." John Healey - View Speech
"My right hon. Friend took the decisions required to boost investment, to cut NHS waiting lists and to lift half a million children out of poverty. I also want to thank my outstanding team of Treasury Ministers and officials, and the Office for Budget Responsibility for producing today’s forecasts.
"This is a Budget for the working people of Britain, for British businesses big and small, delivered at a time when global uncertainties and pressures are swirling worldwide and hitting people here at home. It is a Budget built on fiscal discipline, which matches immediate action today with clear direction …..." John Healey - View Speech
London is the UK’s economic powerhouse, but if our other great cities matched their counterparts in France and Germany, growth in this country would be transformed. Local leaders should not have to come cap in hand to Whitehall to build a new …..." John Healey - View Speech