amendment of the law

Priti Patel Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this debate. I am delighted to be able to contribute to a debate on what I consider to be an historic and era-defining Budget. In my view, this is a first-in-a-generation Budget that empowers the people. It is about putting people first and back in control of their savings, spending and pensions. That has been made possible not only because of the hard and tough decisions this Government have had to make—we all recognise and acknowledge that—but because, importantly, there is a long-term economic plan that will safeguard and secure the future of Britain’s hard-working families.

Judging by what I have heard from Opposition Members this afternoon, they spend a lot of time talking down Britain, our economy and British industries and companies. To be frank, why would a business want to invest in some of their constituencies, let alone think about long-term investment in this country, given some of their negative and hostile remarks about business?

As the economy grows, employment is reaching record levels, for which Opposition Members should be grateful. The country now has record numbers in terms of employment growth and, importantly, new business growth. It is businesses that pay the taxes in this country—they employ people, and the money, jobs and prosperity that are created contribute to taxes, which pay for the welfare budgets that Opposition Members have been speaking about.

This is a Budget that rewards hard work, cuts taxes for those on lower incomes, empowers people to go out to work and gives families greater choice over how they spend their money—their savings and their pensions. What is so wrong about that? I find the hostility of Labour Members overwhelming; I really do.

My constituents will benefit from the increase in the personal allowance, which I assume the Labour party does not support, and fuel duty will be 20p lower under this Government than it would have been had Labour’s plans been implemented. We are helping people to keep more of what they earn, in contrast to Labour.

The Leader of the Opposition talks about a temporary and unworkable freeze in energy prices, but it is this Government and Conservatives who are cutting energy bills for families and businesses by removing and reforming the costly green levies that the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) advocated when he was Energy Secretary—he championed them. The investment that the Government are supporting to develop new technologies, such as carbon capture and storage and the exploration of shale gas, is very important. Opposition Members have overlooked that. Those technologies will bring energy security to this country and create jobs. It should not be lost on the Chamber that they will help to reduce our dependence on energy imports from regimes such as Russia. That point is particularly salient right now.

It is the Conservatives that are giving people genuine help with their living costs by cutting taxes, including council tax, and using tax incentives to encourage investment, rather than by following the policies of the Labour party, which would tax with one hand and give less back with the other.

We have heard about the importance of work in this debate. Developing an economy that supports business and business investment is one of the most important ways in which we can get more people into meaningful employment. Under Labour, businesses were penalised by a legacy of high taxes. Labour went into the last general election wanting to increase corporation tax on small firms and national insurance contributions. We have slashed those rates. We are bringing corporation tax down to 20%, making the UK one of the most competitive places in the world for enterprise. That is another point that is lost on Opposition Members.

The Conservatives and the coalition Government know that it is the genius, entrepreneurial spirit and wealth-creating acumen of businesses that create jobs. This afternoon, I met a prominent Essex business, Claridon Group, which is based in south Essex. It made that exact point to me. Such businesses are the wealth creators. They are the ones that have created the jobs and the prosperity in Essex. Claridon Group is exporting to a range of emerging markets, which are difficult to do business with. It praised the Budget, the Government’s approach to exports, and the incentives for companies to go overseas and expand their businesses.

The best way for the Government to help such businesses is to remove the barriers to growth, cut corporation tax and cut red tape so that they can invest in creating new jobs. They want to keep more money in this country. Taxes need to be low so that they can continue to invest and create jobs. I commend not just businesses in the entrepreneurial county of Essex, but businesses across the country that are doing the same things. It is small and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector that are creating the record number of jobs, and they should be supported and commended.

There are plenty of other policies in the Budget that will help businesses to grow and to support employment. The cut in beer duty should not be overlooked, despite the disparaging remarks of Opposition Members, and neither should the abolition of the alcohol duty escalator, which will help to create thousands of new jobs in the sector. There is high demand for British wines and spirits, and the market for them overseas is growing hugely. My constituency contains the West Street vineyard, which is producing award-winning wines that will start to go overseas, and Hayman Distillers.

I want to touch briefly on air passenger duty. The abolition of bands C and D will make Britain more attractive to travellers from east Asia, India and Latin America, which are important markets for communities in this country. That is to be commended.

In conclusion, this is a very sound Budget. It is also a refreshing Budget. It is the first Budget in a generation to send out a powerful message to savers, investors and British businesses. It is a Budget that will help to secure the economic foundations of our country.