Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Healey and Andrew Griffith

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Chancellor.

[Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

Last week, the Chancellor had his chance to get debt under control. Instead, the Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed that it will rise—every single year. It is another missed opportunity. The national debt is now the equivalent of £100,000 for every household. It is why we recently had the highest borrowing costs for 30 years. As a result of the Chancellor’s policies, the Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates this week. Will he now admit that it is his failure to get a grip on borrowing that will be causing rates to rise?

[John Healey]

The Budget confirms that borrowing will fall every year during the next period. Debt will start falling from 2028-29. The hon. Gentleman is right that we inherited a debt mountain. We inherited that as part of the consequence of the disastrous mini-Budget that he was part of in the Treasury team. It crashed the economy and it collapsed confidence in Britain’s fiscal strength. We are fixing his failures. The chief investment strategist for L&G said this week that our Budget makes the UK

“the adult in the room when it comes to fiscal discipline.”

The Conservatives have learned nothing. Their latest policies represent over £30 billion in unfunded tax cuts, with the wealthiest benefiting most. With Labour, we have got support for families; under the Tories, it is a return to the—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Healey and Andrew Griffith

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. First, let me pay tribute to my own predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), and let me welcome the Chancellor to his role. He is already responsible for the highest borrowing costs for 28 years. One in six of our young people are unemployed and yesterday we had the news that one of Britain’s top taxpayers is leaving our country. Every time a billionaire leaves, our country becomes poorer. Chris Rokos is reported to have paid over £300 million in taxes last year. Could the Chancellor tell us how many average taxpayers it will take to replace him?

[John Healey]

I welcome the new shadow Chancellor to his place and thank him for his words. I welcome him back to the Treasury brief—perhaps Members on the Government Benches will have more to say about that later. I echo his comments about the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), who has played an important role in this House, including his cross-party work during the pandemic as Chair of the Treasury Committee. We thank him for that as he steps down from the Front Bench.

The shadow Chancellor takes reports in the paper and tries to make serious points in this House. We will set out our plans at the Budget to give families and businesses a bit of breathing space, to back good growth in more places throughout this country, and to rebuild confidence in strong British fiscal discipline—something that was lost under the shadow Chancellor’s Government.

[Andrew Griffith]

The Chancellor does not know the answer. On the Treasury’s own statistics, it would take 38,000 average income tax payers to make up for the loss of Chris Rokos. That is a lot of breathing space paid for. It means higher taxes for everyone else, or lower public spending. We know what Labour will choose. The last Chancellor raised taxes on farmers, family businesses and jobs. Conservatives will reform welfare to cut taxes; Labour always puts them up. Which, if any, of his predecessor’s damaging decisions will the Chancellor reverse?