Middle East: Economic Response
Debate between Rachel Reeves and Stuart Anderson(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I pay genuine tribute to my hon. Friend for his work on behalf of businesses and working people in his constituency, to the other Stoke MPs, and to my hon. Friends the Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) and for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth). They have made the case powerfully and convincingly. I absolutely commit to working with Ceramics UK, the GMB, the MPs and the wider sector to ensure that the ceramics industry thrives in the UK.
Stuart Anderson (South Shropshire) (Con)
On tariffs, I want to explore what the Chancellor said about “significant quantities”, because a significant quantity for a supermarket can be of a completely different scale from a significant quantity for a small South Shropshire farmer. Will the Chancellor guarantee that no South Shropshire farmers will be undercut by the measures on tariffs, and that none of the supermarkets will pass on the cost cuts to British farmers?
Rachel Reeves
It is important that we help our constituents with the cost of living. The tariff reductions that I have announced today will save the British shopper £700 million. That is a significant reduction in the cost of the weekly shop for families across our country. We have chosen the tariff lines carefully. The full details will be published, and we will consult over the next week or two to ensure that we get them exactly right, but we have worked hard to make sure that the reductions do not affect British farmers. That is why we are also helping British farmers with the changes we have made on red diesel.
Public Spending: Inheritance
Debate between Rachel Reeves and Stuart Anderson(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I thank my hon. Friend for that question; I am pleased to have her as a constituency neighbour in Leeds. She is absolutely right that the previous Government went into the election knowing that there was a £22 billion black hole. What did they do during that election? They made more unfunded spending commitments and more unfunded promises about tax that they knew they could not keep. That was deeply irresponsible. After all the damage that they have done, they should have come to the Chamber today and apologised.
Stuart Anderson (South Shropshire) (Con)
Would the Chancellor confirm that all the information presented today was not known to her before last Thursday, when the estimates were laid?
Rachel Reeves
When I arrived at the Treasury three weeks ago, I asked Treasury officials to do a full analysis. We concluded that analysis over the weekend and I am publishing it today for the House of Commons.