Income tax (charge)

Miriam Cates Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)]

I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak in this debate. It has been a real honour to hear so many excellent maiden speeches. Like my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden), the moment the Blyth Valley result was declared was the moment I thought I had a chance of entering this place. I will never forget the look on the face of my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy) when he stood on the podium to make his acceptance speech and started with the words, “Thank you, Boris.” It was a memorable moment.

The progression of coronavirus over the past few days, and our response to it, has overshadowed the Budget. It is right that we focus every attention and effort on this significant challenge to our health, economy and way of life. Although it may take some time, we will overcome this challenge. I want to reflect on last week’s Budget statement and how my right hon. Friend the Chancellor signalled the most significant change to our national economic direction in my lifetime.

For the last few decades, our economy has followed a path of centralisation. As a result, money, investment and opportunity have been concentrated in London and the south-east. Cities have prospered while our towns and villages have been left behind. Business in our capital city has boomed, but if someone wants to start a business in one of our northern towns, such as Penistone, Stocksbridge or Chapeltown, they will be lucky to find a bank that will help them with a start-up loan. In fact, they will be lucky to find a bank at all. If someone wants to travel from Croydon to central London to work, they can choose from more than 20 services an hour with a journey time of about 20 minutes. If someone wants to get from Sheffield to Penistone, which is a similar distance, they can expect a journey time of 45 minutes and just one train an hour.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said, talent is spread evenly across our country, but opportunity is not. Last Wednesday, the Chancellor delivered a Budget that begins to spread opportunity across every part of the UK. During the election campaign, our manifesto commitment to level up our transport infrastructure and public services struck a chord with voters in my constituency. When I was knocking on doors in Burncross, Midhopestones and Dodworth, people talked frequently about poor or non-existent bus and train services. They spoke of a lack of opportunity for young people and frustration about always losing out to the big cities. Our promises to invest heavily in public transport, hospitals, GPs and schools encouraged people to lend their votes to the Conservatives. We know what happened next.

The Budget was about delivering on those promises and demonstrating to people across the UK, but especially in the north and in left-behind towns, that we meant what we said. We have heard important announcements on infrastructure, such as the commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and a £4.5 billion transforming cities fund that will revolutionise the way that northern towns and cities connect, and give access to jobs, training and opportunities.

The hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) mentioned the £500 million Restoring Your Railway Fund. He was right that that will not open many miles of track, but he has misunderstood what the fund is for, which is to fund business cases for new lines or for existing lines to be reopened, such as the Stocksbridge to Sheffield line in my constituency. Along with the Sheffield city region, we have completed the next stage in our bid to the Department for Transport to hopefully get some of that money to make a clear business case for that service, which will connect residents with jobs, training, leisure and healthcare, and allow cyclists and tourists to visit our fantastic area.

A £5 billion fund for buses and cycle routes shows that the Government recognise how important those local journeys are to our communities. I am holding out for a new number 26 bus between Penistone and Fox Valley. Of course, the £33.9 billion for the NHS and the additional relief measures will make sure that our most valuable national service continues to be the envy of the world.

The Budget sets out a path to future prosperity, in a future where opportunity and growth can be spread evenly and fairly across our country. The key to our success in improving productivity will be helping people in areas such as Penistone and Stocksbridge to start their own businesses that employ people, grow and create wealth. The Budget was unequivocally pro-business. It increased employment allowance, cut rates and made provision for start-up and scale-up loans.

We have a major hurdle to overcome that will require Government intervention, individual effort and national unity. We face economic disruption, but the Government are doing everything they can to make sure that the disruption is temporary, so that when it has passed, we can take hold of our one-nation mission to level up our economy and spread prosperity and opportunity to every corner of the United Kingdom.