Achieving Economic Growth

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Lord Grayling

Wednesday 18th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank the hon. Member for speaking so powerfully about his constituents. After years of work and contribution to this country, a pensioner is sleeping in a sleeping bag to keep warm.

The Government got rid of the triple lock, and now they are refusing to implement a windfall tax. Every day, the case for Labour’s windfall tax gets stronger, while the Tory defence for refusing to act gets weaker and weaker, yet last night every single Conservative MP voted against a windfall tax for the third time. People can no longer afford to pay for the Government’s mistakes. The Government should put the national interest first and follow Labour’s advice. It is time to do the right thing; it is time to put the needs of people first; it is time to introduce a windfall tax to get bills down.

[Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady clarify one thing? There is a bit of dispute about how much a windfall tax would raise per household. There are about 25 million households in the UK. Will the hon. Lady confirm how much money per household a windfall tax would actually raise?

[Rachel Reeves]

A windfall tax would raise about £3 billion. That, combined with the extra VAT that the Government are receiving because prices have gone up so much, could go directly towards taking money off people’s bills. It would make a real impact now. Every single day, the energy companies are making £32 million in unexpected profits. This Government increase taxes on working people; a Labour Government would increase taxes on the big oil and gas companies.

The cost of living crisis is being made worse by a wage crisis, as years of Conservative Governments have failed to stand up for working people. At the Conservative party conference last year, the Prime Minister bragged of plans for a high-wage economy. How is that going? Let me update the House. In the six months since then, average real-terms pay has not risen, but fallen. Behind the headline figures, data released yesterday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows not only that workers are experiencing a fall in their real pay, but that the gap between those earning most and those earning least is widening. For the hospital porters, the supermarket assistants, the delivery drivers—the very people who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to keep this country going—wages are in no way keeping up with the rising cost of living.

Rail Timetabling

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Lord Grayling

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend, and I have communicated that to the company concerned.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

Last week 49 trains were cancelled in my constituency, particularly at Bramley train station, meaning that passengers were late for work, for college and for other appointments. Frankly, passengers have lost faith in the Secretary of State. Is it not about time he stepped aside and allowed someone who can fix this problem to do the job?

[Chris Grayling]

This problem needs to be fixed as quickly as possible. I respectfully remind the Opposition that a private rail company is involved. Opposition Members keep telling me that we should nationalise it and have the Government running the trains, so they cannot have it both ways.

Rail Announcement

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Lord Grayling

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

We are slightly in the hands of militant trade unions deciding whether they want to cause trouble, because the analysis of what went wrong showed it was almost entirely down to the action of the trade unions. However, I have also said on many occasions that the unions were not the only issue on that line, and I hope he accepts that performance has improved, but it needs to carry on improving. We need a broad-ranging programme of renewals, because there are still too many track and signal failures, which is why we have set aside the biggest block of funding—£20 billion—for renewals in the next control period. Some of that will flow to the hon. Gentleman’s line, but it will also go around the country to deal with similar issues elsewhere.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

Following the excellent question from my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), may I pick up on the issue of Virgin-Stagecoach and the east coast main line? In a matter of weeks or months the Government will have to make a decision for passengers in our constituencies in Yorkshire and elsewhere, so can the Secretary of State tell us when a decision will be made, whether there will be penalties for Virgin-Stagecoach for walking away from the contract, and whether he will keep on the table the very sensible option of bringing the line back into public ownership?

[Chris Grayling]

I have said clearly that I am not simply evaluating, but preparing for two options: one is an operator of last resort controlled by my Department, and the other is a not-for-profit direct award. I will make that decision shortly, and when I do I will come back to the House. It is not just about being ready to make a decision; it is also about knowing whether whichever option I choose is ready to happen. It is as much about preparation as it is about deciding. When we are ready to take that step, we will do so. The reason I am taking the time to get this right is that I do not want passengers—the hon. Lady’s constituents—to notice any change from one day to the next. They are the most important people in this.

Rail Update

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Lord Grayling

Wednesday 29th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

In the new year we will publish a new process for evaluating new projects and moving them into development. I will happily talk with my hon. Friend about how that process will work and how he can have his project on the Isle of Wight considered.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

I have written to the Secretary of State about Kirkstall Forge railway station in my constituency. It opened just over a year ago, but only one train stops there an hour. If we are going to open new railway stations, we must have trains stopping at them. Will the Secretary of State agree to meet with Arriva Rail North and myself to talk about the frequency of services at Kirkstall Forge, so that we can get maximum benefit out of this housing and business development?

[Chris Grayling]

I am happy to have that conversation. When a new station opens, it is not unusual for it to start with an hourly service while the passenger ridership builds. Of course, as demand grows, services tend to grow. I am just delighted that we are able to invest in better station facilities in the hon. Lady’s constituency, which I am sure she will agree were long overdue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachel Reeves and Lord Grayling

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I am very happy to give my hon. Friend that assurance. This issue—along with that of people with mental health issues—has been of paramount importance to me, and it is one of the subjects to which I asked Professor Harrington to pay the closest attention. I hope my hon. Friend will see tomorrow that he has recommended a number of measures that will help in that respect, but I can also assure her that we will continue to review this issue. We will continue to study the process as it unfolds, and we will make further improvements as and when necessary.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that answer, which we welcome. He knows that there is support from both sides of the House for Professor Harrington’s review and Labour will support the Government in taking forward meaningful reform, particularly in identifying mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia. What assurances will the Minister give the House that reforms to the work capability assessment will better support people with mental health conditions get back to work?

[Chris Grayling]

One of the things I made sure to do when we set up the review was invite the chief executive of Mind to take part in one of the support groups for Professor Harrington. That input has been hugely valuable. I have also invited the mental health charities to make recommendations about possible changes to the descriptors, which might also help enhance the process. They are due to respond shortly. We will make sensible changes as and when we can. I intend to brief the hon. Lady and her colleagues about the contents of the Harrington review tomorrow morning, and perhaps we can talk briefly behind the Speaker’s Chair about how best to arrange that. I want them to be part of the process, and I am very happy to take suggestions from Opposition Members as well. As the hon. Lady rightly says, this is a cross-party issue. We have to get it right. It is in all our interests that we get it right, and I think we share the aspiration that this process should be fair and firm.