The Economy and Living Standards

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I think that the Chancellor has got the message.

[Mr Osborne]

Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, that was the definition of a cheap political pot shot, and it rather sums up the tone of Labour Members’ approach. They started with a whole spiel about new politics and having to engage with the disenchanted, but after only a few minutes, it has swiftly deteriorated.

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[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. Many Members want to speak, so it would help to keep interventions brief. If Members continue to intervene, they will go to the bottom of the list. We are on a six-minute limit, but it will have to be reduced if we do not show consideration for others. Anything Members can do to shorten their speeches will be much appreciated.

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[Margaret Beckett]

I have heard that argument in the House so many times. Indeed, the Chancellor used it today. However, there is a bit that I have missed: the bit where the right hon. Gentleman explained how the last Government also brought about the crashes in the United States and Japan, and in Spain and Italy and throughout the European Union. I am looking forward to hearing him give that explanation.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We need short interventions, and, in fairness, Members should not bait others who have just spoken. I do not think that that helps to ensure that everyone else will have a chance to speak.

[Sir Gerald Howarth]

I am delighted to assist the right hon. Lady, who I know is very reasonable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has just identified one of the causes of the problem that we faced, namely the Labour Government’s decision to remove responsibility for the supervision of the banks from the Bank of England. I know that that is the case, because I was an international banker myself. The Tory party warned the Labour Government that if they removed that responsibility from the Bank, there would be problems. [Interruption.]

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. I want to hear Sir Gerald, but I cannot hear him when Members are shouting him down.

[Sir Gerald Howarth]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Let me be the first Government Member to congratulate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on sticking to his guns, and on the long-term economic programme, which has unquestionably benefited the United Kingdom—not least my constituents in Aldershot, where unemployment has now fallen to 1.8%. We have done fantastically well, and, in my view, that was undoubtedly a factor in the Newark by-election success, on which I congratulate my right hon. and hon. Friends. There is no doubt that the sheer weight of Conservative effort helped, as, indeed, did the contribution made by Patrick Mercer, who was very popular in the constituency, and had done good work over 13 years.

However, as the shadow Chancellor pointed out, we should not be lulled into a false sense of security. One of the key reasons for UKIP’s success is that it has homed in on the public’s rising concern about immigration. That concern is not new; it has existed since the 1960s. What is new is that while there was an understandable reluctance to vote for the British National party, no such inihibitions apply to UKIP.

For 50 years, those of us who have expressed concern about the impact of mass immigration on our country have been reviled and denounced as racist. All argument was effectively closed down, as perfectly decent people expressing perfectly reasonable fears were intimidated into remaining publicly silent.

Things have now changed, however. People feel that at last they can break free from the shackles of political correctness in which they have been chained. It is no longer racist to want to preserve our British way of life, our religion and our culture; it is not racist to express pride in our nation’s history and, indeed, in our imperial past.

It is not just the Conservative party that has been affected by the public’s concerns, as the shadow Chancellor’s comments again made clear. Labour has seen white working-class support desert to UKIP. Furthermore, many of those who have arrived from abroad and have integrated in our society are also concerned about the continuing flows of migration.

The main parties have to recognise the effect that this unprecedented tidal wave of migration has had on the UK, including our economy. Of course migration has not been without its benefits, some of which are only too evident on the Benches around us here, and companies such as Tata have made, and continue to make, a very valuable contribution. However, this week’s Ofsted report on Birmingham schools has revealed the extent to which people newly arrived here not only reject our values and customs, but want to impose their own on the rest of us. I have a very clear message for them: this is a Christian country, a tolerant country, we speak English, we shake hands with ladies, and open facial recognition is a key part of our culture. If they find that offensive, they should please feel free to leave and move to a country that is more to their liking—for there are plenty of repressive regimes around the world that clearly are more to the liking of people like that. As the T-shirt worn by a young man whom I saw on the underground earlier this week said: “Speak in English; Think in English; Dream in English”. I thought that was rather good advice to a lot of people in our country.

What we all need to understand is that it is numbers that are the issue. As that excellent organisation MigrationWatch has pointed out, between 1951 and 1991 the population born overseas grew by less than 2 million, yet after the election of the Labour Government in 1997 the scale of immigration increased to a level without historical precedent. Between 1991 and 2011, the foreign-born population more than doubled, increasing by 4 million. Much of this was deliberately encouraged by the Blair Government, partly, as we were helpfully told by a Labour speechwriter, Mr Andrew Neather, to rub the noses of the right in diversity.

All this has had an impact on our country. The Prime Minister has been at the forefront of the campaign to denounce the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the UK, but there are practical challenges, too. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor mentioned the housing issue. We need to build a new home every seven minutes just to accommodate new migrants to this country. England is already the most crowded country in Europe, yet unless tougher action is taken the population will grow by 7 million in the next 15 years, 5 million of which will be attributable to immigration, which is the equivalent of the towns and cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester.

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[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I want to hear the Financial Secretary, but I am struggling. I am sure that Members want to hear the answers.

[Nicky Morgan]

The right hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton showed in his opening paragraph that he understands the Government’s economic policy perfectly. It is a shame that he did not stop there, because he summed up so beautifully all the Government’s achievements over the past four years.

My hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) talked about the dairy industry in his constituency, and I heard what he had to say.

The hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mike Thornton) talked about the increase in the personal allowance. His kind offer to advise the Treasury on the reform of stamp duty has been noted and I am sure that we will take note of what he has to say in the run-up to the next fiscal event.

The hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) offered to write the Labour party manifesto for the next election. I wonder whether those on the Labour Front Bench were listening.

My hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) talked about recall, about which he is passionate. I suspect that there will be many debates on that issue in this House before the recall Bill is passed.

My hon. Friends the Members for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) and for Stroud (Neil Carmichael) talked about how the Government are delivering for manufacturing and rebalancing manufacturing. It is worth noting that manufacturing is expanding faster in the UK than in any other country in the G7.

The hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey), whom I cannot see in his place, spoke of an era of discontent and disconnection. I agree with him. There is an era of discontent and disconnection in the Labour party—discontent with the leadership and disconnection from what this country needs to rebuild the economy.

My hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (James Morris) talked about the Labour party’s promise to end boom and bust. He was right to say that it delivered only one half of that promise.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Mr Ruffley) talked about trusting people with their pension savings.

The hon. Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) talked about the successes and investment in his constituency, and mentioned the Tees valley city deal. I am sure that all Members wish him and everybody who will sign it next week the best of luck.

The hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) talked about the 10p tax rate. He laid claim to the fact that the last Government introduced it. The last Government also got rid of it, which caused great unfairness to those who were being taxed at that rate.

The hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) made a spending commitment of £1.9 billion, which only reminds us that the amendment would cost £14 billion.

The hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) talked about zero-hours contracts. I think she said that 1.4 million people are on zero-hours contracts. In fact, the ONS estimates that there are 1.4 million zero-hours contracts and that 583,000 people are on them. She should be careful, because the ONS recently warned the shadow Business Secretary about his interpretation of those figures.

The hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) gave an eloquent speech and demonstrated to all of us the dangers of someone turning up at a local party meeting and saying, “I want to get involved.” Many years later, they find themselves here on the green Benches—we have all been there.

Many hon. Members made points about the cost of living. Of course the Government want to see rising living standards for households up and down the country, and we have helped households by freezing fuel duty and council tax, taking money off energy bills, capping rail fares and introducing free school meals. However, the best way to improve living standards is to stick to our long-term economic plan to improve productivity, get as many people in work as possible and ensure that they take home as much of their pay as possible.

As the House will know, we have already made real progress on that front, but this Queen’s Speech introduces measures that will further increase employment. It offers tax-free child care, which will make a return to work more financially viable for thousands of mothers and fathers and, for the first time, help those who are self-employed or setting up businesses. It offers a small business Bill, which will make it easier to establish and grow small businesses, and an Infrastructure Bill that will help businesses both large and small by creating the transport and digital networks that they will need to thrive in the long term. All those steps will help our businesses get more people into work, which will support our households and grow our economy.