Budget Resolutions

Peter Gibson Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

The icing on the cake for Darlington in last week’s Budget has to be the £20 million of long-term investment the Chancellor announced, building on the £23.3 million that Darlington has already secured under the towns fund programme. Those funds have already developed the Ingenium centre at Darlington College, helped fund the saving of and development of The Northern Echo building, which will house adult learning and skills, and restored many historic shop frontages, all of which will help to grow the economy of Darlington. All that builds on the more than £1 billion that Darlington has received since I was elected in 2019, which has seen my town flourish like never before.

The Budget builds on that and the future is now brighter for Darlington thanks to the long-term, transformational investment the Government are providing. The amazing Darlington Economic Campus is now home to more than 750 civil servants, thanks to the decision of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. As recent studies have shown, it is contributing in excess of £80 million per year to our local economy. It levels up opportunity, grows our local economy and restores pride in our town. It would be remiss of me not to repeat my request that the permanent home for DEC, once it is built in Brunswick Street, is named after our town’s hero, William McMullen. That is a campaign I will continue to pursue.

In the Budget, we have cut taxes for working people, with a further reduction in national insurance contributions from 10% to 8%. We are rewarding hard work, giving the average earner a tax cut of over £900. We also saw a welcome cut in national insurance for the self-employed, which I have long campaigned for; a clear example that it is the Conservative party which believes in enterprise and is on the side of the self-employed. A longer-term goal of a single tax on income, ending double taxation, is one that I fully support.

Like many throughout the House and indeed throughout Darlington, I look forward to raising a glass in support of the freeze on alcohol duty. I recently led the “Darlington's Perfect Pint” campaign, a competition in which more than 1,000 of my constituents voted for their favourite pub. Darlington has 73 pubs, which are a central part of our community. We all know the strain and pressure that our hospitality industry has faced over the last few years, so the freeze is extremely welcome, and it builds on the already massive support provided by hospitality rate reductions.

Let me now move from pints to petrol. I know all drivers will be relieved that the 5p cut in fuel duty continues, and that the freeze on the fuel duty escalator continues for the 14th consecutive year. This Government understand that cars are key to our constituents’ daily lives, and I know that all those who rely on cars and vans for their jobs will particularly welcome the news. On that note, I will continue to campaign to stop Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons ripping off the drivers of Darlington and end the outrageous prices that my constituents are being charged, which are far more expensive than even the petrol on nearby motorways—and, indeed, are significantly higher than those in nearby towns where the competition from an independent retailer keeps them in check. This rip-off must end, and I will continue to fight for fairness for Darlington’s drivers.

After much campaigning, I was glad to hear the announcement of a new duty on vapes. That, along with the ban on disposable vapes, will help to ensure that vapes are for adults wanting to give up smoking, rather than being the pocket-money-priced alternative to sweets for our kids that is causing so much harm. The fact that the Government are taking such action as part of a larger package of pledges in this area is very welcome, but we must not underestimate the exploitation of children by criminal gangs who groom them with high-harm vapes as an entry into other activities of a “county lines” nature. This tax is only one of many methods that we must use to protect our children.

A healthy economy means that we can invest the money that is needed for our NHS. The £2.5 billion support for the NHS and a new £3.4 billion productivity plan will help to cut waiting times, and will ensure that all receive the support and care that they need. I pay tribute to the amazing Darlington Memorial Hospital, and to all the NHS staff in Darlington who are always there for us. I will continue to work closely with the hospital, GP surgeries and our integrated care board to ensure that money is being invested well and care is of the highest standard, and to use my voice in this place to bang the drum when more money is needed. I hope that some of this extra funding for the NHS will be used sensibly by the ICB in fulfilling its statutory duty to commission palliative care for our hospices. In that connection, I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

As we approach the 200th anniversary of the railways, I hope that Darlington might benefit from some of the £100 million made available for local culture projects. Darlington laid the tracks for our railways, and inspired the world to follow. We have fantastic plans to celebrate that momentous anniversary in 2025, but, as the Transport Secretary knows, we need a further investment of at least £10 million to restore and rejuvenate North Road station, on the route of the original Stockton and Darlington railway line. I am also backing the campaign by the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway to save Heighington station ahead of 2025. It is such a travesty that the oldest railway station in the world, just over the border of my constituency and in that of my hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Paul Howell), has been abandoned, and I hope that, across Government, everything possible can be done to resolve the situation while the eyes of the railway world are upon us.

I pay tribute to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Gareth Davies), who is sitting on the Front Bench, for his repeated visits to Darlington. He has visited the Thermal Insulation Contractors Association with me, and he recently had the pleasure—a rare pleasure for any Treasury Minister—of opening a brand-new branch of a building society, in this instance Darlington Building Society.

This Budget backs work, backs the NHS, backs levelling up and will help to grow our economy, and I am proud to back it.