Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Friday 20th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

We are talking about something in the region of £400 million in London. The hon. Lady needs to understand that she is the queen of the cheap point. None of us will forget the tweet she sent out—[Interruption.]

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. Just to help everybody, it should be the Chair who everybody speaks to and addresses.

[Mr Pickles]

Thank God you’re here, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was very happy to address the hon. Lady, but you were absolutely right to pull me up on that point of etiquette.

The plans are there; they are published. If the hon. Lady cannot be bothered to look at the plans and work with her local council, that is hardly our fault.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I remind Members that speeches should be up to, or around, 10 minutes long.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gregory Barker]

Very quickly, on the point about green issues, may I point out to my hon. Friend in case he missed it—I am sure that he did not—something that was buried at the back of the Budget, which was the announcement of marine-protected areas in Pitcairn? This is the largest ever marine conservation programme embarked on by any Government—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. The right hon. Gentleman has made one speech; I do not need another one. Interventions must be short, and I am sure that Mr Yeo is coming to the end of his speech, as he has just gone past the 10 minute-mark.

[Mr Yeo]

I am indeed coming to the end of my speech. I am afraid that I had missed that detail in the Budget, so I am glad that my right hon. Friend mentioned it.

We must be mindful of the costs of low-carbon technologies. Some of them, such as solar, are within sight of needing no subsidy at all. Let us facilitate their expansion, and not obstruct it through the planning system.

Onshore wind potentially offers good value for money, and in some areas it is acceptable. I am concerned that we may turn our backs on a good value for money technology altogether. Onshore wind will always be cheaper than offshore wind. Although local concerns must always be respected, indeed paramount, we should not block its deployment in those places where it is acceptable. It is right to pilot lagoons, but we should persist in that process only if we are reasonably sure that the cost will fall, because the initial cost is undeniably extremely high.

While I am talking about energy, let me just mention nuclear power. I hope that, early in the next Parliament, we shall see a conclusion of the tortuous negotiation over Hinkley Point. I urge the Government to seek further ways of cutting the cost of new nuclear power stations—possibly by using their own fantastic and well deserved credit rating, which means that they are able to borrow more cheaply than any other borrower in the world—perhaps by funding the cost of construction, which is a great element of the ultimate cost of nuclear power, and then selling the power station on to a private operator for its operational lifetime. We should also consider how using tried and tested technology in nuclear power could help us to cut costs.

This was a magnificent Budget from an outstanding Chancellor and a terrific coalition Government. Anybody who believes that the quality of their lives and the prosperity of their families will be affected by the performance of the economy would be certifiably insane not to vote Conservative on 7 May. If the people of Britain do not recognise the merits of the long-term economic plan and the continuing need for it, then I will sadly conclude that the voters deserve their fate. I am confident that that will not happen, and that, seven weeks today, Britain will wake up to the joyous news that the country has returned a new Conservative Government by a landslide majority.