Oral Answers to Questions

Mel Stride Excerpts

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Chancellor.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

It was obvious to many before the emergency Budget that the President of the United States was going to be slapping tariffs on our exports. May I therefore ask the Chancellor why it was that she came forward at the emergency Budget with a recklessly slender slither of headroom—the same headroom that she had at the time of the autumn Budget, which proved then to be entirely inadequate. She blew that headroom and more due to her disastrous economic choices.

[Darren Jones]

I am sorry to disappoint the shadow Chancellor, but I am afraid that, because of the ordering of questions, he is stuck with me. To answer his question, he will have seen at the Budget that we increased the fiscal headroom back to our agreement of £9.9 billion, which was more than the headroom that we inherited from the Conservative party. The key difference is that this is a Government who take economic and political stability seriously, because when a Government lose control of the economy, they lose control of family finances and, ultimately, end up in opposition.

[Mr Speaker]

Just to correct the record, the Order Paper has not changed at all in topicals.

[Mel Stride]

You are quite right about that, Mr Speaker, as you are about everything. Indeed, the right hon. Gentleman is completely wrong when he says that he inherited less headroom than was the case at the autumn Budget. He inherited, on the current Budget, £23 billion, and he took it down to £9.9 billion to be precise. He also loosened the fiscal targets, which is why he is not underwater already on the targets that we had when we were in government.

May I ask him this: the fiscal targets are looking like they will be under a great deal of pressure come the autumn. There is a great deal of speculation and uncertainty among businesses as to whether this will lead to tax increases. Can he take away that uncertainty now, particularly given the tariffs and all the uncertainty that is vested in that, to make it clear at that Dispatch Box that there will be no further increases in taxation on businesses this Parliament?

[Darren Jones]

My apologies, Mr Speaker. It was our ordering that caused the problem, not the ordering of questions in the House.

The right hon. Gentleman knows that tight decisions were taken at the Budget, but we have been very clear that we are working hand in glove with businesses to be able to bring growth back to the economy and to ensure that investment—private sector and public sector—is coming forward. As he will know, from his time of swimming underwater, this Government are taking a different approach to fiscal discipline, and he should welcome that.