Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Wednesday 15th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Dover (Mrs Elphicke).

Today’s Budget comes at a challenging time for my constituents. It follows 13 years of turmoil, incompetence and empty promises under a Conservative Government. The Budget has promised £80 million to West Yorkshire over five years, or £16 million a year through the investment tax zones, but while I broadly welcome that, it is no replacement for the broken promises of the multibillion-pound return that Northern Powerhouse Rail would have brought.

This Government once spoke of the

“super-connected, globally competitive northern economy”

that would be made possible through the creation of Northern Powerhouse Rail. In their recent plans, however, they abandoned the much-given promise to connect Leeds and Manchester via a new high-speed line with a city centre stop in Bradford. Instead, the north is having to settle for a mere upgrade to existing lines, and we are told, yet again, not to gripe.

Done properly, Northern Powerhouse Rail would have supported an integrated urban area larger than Birmingham, linking Bradford and Leeds to form a coherent economic unit with a labour market of more than 1.3 million people and creating more than 600,000 jobs. There would also have been the projected £30 billion return from NPR over 10 years. So although it is welcome, when set against this backdrop the £80 million for the whole of West Yorkshire is underwhelming. The Government’s choice not to invest fully in NPR means that these short-term savings will have long-term consequences for the people of Bradford.

Bradford is an area of enormous economic potential, as PwC has recognised. I was there when it opened its Bradford office in 2019 during the pandemic, with just 80 staff members. The office has now grown rapidly to employ more than 200 people, because PwC had the vision to tap into the underused talent pool in Bradford. In a market where skills are in short supply, I urge other employers to follow its example. I only wish that the Government would do the same and invest in Bradford, because growth requires a skilled workforce.

During the past five years of this Conservative Government, the education attainment gap between the richest and the poorest has been growing at an alarming rate. I recently met the chief executive of School-Home Support, which is doing tremendous work with primary schools in my constituency. By working with families in both home and school settings, it is helping them to overcome obstacles that limit their children’s educational opportunities and life chances. That is working: attendance is improving and attainment is rising.

Because tackling inequality always requires a creative approach that fosters positive outcomes for health, education and community cohesion, there was a real possibility in my constituency, through a strong levelling-up bid, to use the redevelopment of Odsal stadium as a catalyst for regeneration. But despite Bradford being independently identified as the UK’s number one levelling-up opportunity, the Government decided against investing in Bradford. With the right investment, and with faith in areas such as Bradford, Britain’s economy could be on the verge of a new era of sustained long-term economic growth. My constituents need a Government who are on their side and a Budget that supports their ambitions. They have received neither from the party of gimmicks opposite—not over the last 13 years and certainly not today.