Josh Newbury
Main Page: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)Department Debates - View all Josh Newbury's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I will take absolutely no lessons from the man who was part of a party that took our economy to its knees—inflation at 11%, working people worse off at the end of the last Parliament than they were at the beginning, and the worst Parliament ever for living standards—or from a party that has opposed all our reforms to make it easier to get things built in Britain, to increase the wages of working people with the national living wage and the national minimum wage, and to increase the rights of working people, including through statutory sick pay from day one and by ending abusive zero-hours contracts. If we want a lesson on economics, I certainly will not be taking it from the Reform party.
Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)
The Chancellor’s announcement of a £120 million support package for ceramics will of course be welcomed in Stoke-on-Trent, but also in Rugeley in my constituency, which is home to many workers at the Armitage Shanks factory in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson), who is a staunch advocate for them. Does the Chancellor agree that it is only this Labour Government who are putting in the investment that firms such as Armitage Shanks need? Does she also agree that iconic British brands like this should play a central role in new homes, to boost them even further?
Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I am pleased that people in Rugeley and people working for Armitage Shanks will also benefit from this investment. The £120 million to support our ceramics sector is a clear indication of this Government’s intention to back British jobs and British industry.