Budget Resolutions

Rachel Taylor Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

This Budget was a missed opportunity for the residents of Bromsgrove and the villages. There was next to nothing in it for my residents, or for the hard-working business owners and businesses across the constituency. The frank reality is that businesses across the country and in my area are really struggling right now. In recent months, we have seen Labour Ministers’ true colours. Over the weekend, we heard the Chief Secretary to the Treasury stating that those who employ people are not workers themselves. I am not sure that the carpenters, plumbers, café owners and florists in my constituency would agree with that. They are frankly insulted by it. We also heard the Work and Pensions Secretary reveal earlier this year that all Labour MPs wanted to do was ask the question, “Who can we tax more to spend more money on welfare?”. Inflation is up, Government spending is up, unemployment is up, welfare is up and debt is up. How people and businesses feel is what matters, and that will be the ultimate litmus test for the Government.

Following the Budget, UKHospitality told us the reality. Despite the Government’s announcement on business rates, only one in 10 pubs will be affected. The Government need to go further. They need to endorse the Conservatives’ full exemption for hundreds of thousands of retailers, pubs and hospitality businesses. Wherever I go in my constituency, I am repeatedly told that businesses operating in these sectors are not recruiting because red tape and the cost of employment have gone up dramatically.

The voices of business are clear. Make UK has said that the Budget was a failed opportunity to reindustrialise, and the Federation of Small Business has said that the Budget contained

“nothing to make hiring someone more affordable”.

Unemployment has gone up by 276,000 in the last two years, and we are destined to see it go up even more. The Government need to get off the backs of businesses and get on their side.

I would like to briefly touch on the Government’s proposals for devolution and local government reorganisation. The Government announced something last week for Worcestershire that will not improve the quality of people’s lives. It will increase the cost and bureaucracy of delivering local government services. It is not in Worcestershire’s interests. Worcestershire does not have a Mayor and it does not want a Mayor. It is not a geography that would best suit a mayoralty. We do not need more politicians in this country; we need fewer—[Interruption.] I say that as a politician. We need fewer politicians in this country, and we need the system to work better.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

The Government’s local government reorganisation will abolish the two-tier system in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency of Bromsgrove, thereby reducing the number of local councillors and so the number of politicians. Which part of that did he miss in the announcements that have been made over the last 12 months?

[Bradley Thomas]

If the hon. Lady had listened to what I was saying, she would have heard me say that Worcestershire does not want a Mayor.

The Government’s proposals for devolution are nothing more than a cop-out to absolve Westminster of its failure to tackle the big issues facing this country, and that is the theme that runs through this Budget. Politicians do not create jobs. I read in The Times this morning that the Government believe that mayors and local leaders can be empowered to create jobs. That is absolute rubbish. It is businesses that create jobs. Every single penny and pound of taxation received by the Government is generated, ultimately, through the endeavours of private enterprise. We have to get to the point, once again, where risk taking and entrepreneurialism are not frowned on. They should be embraced and encouraged. If the Government want to tax something, they have to create wealth and prosperity first. They need to get off the backs of businesses and get on their side.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

This Budget puts families and businesses at its heart. It provides a breathing space on the cost of living today, while giving people fresh hope for the future.

I am proud to be the granddaughter of a coalminer, and this Government have done so much already to right historical injustices in the mineworkers’ pension scheme. I welcome the commitment to ending the surplus sharing arrangement and standstill mechanism, but that only rights part of the injustice. Since 1994, successive Governments have taken more than £4.4 billion from the scheme, in return for a guarantee that has cost the public purse nothing. It cannot be right that the remaining £1.2 billion in the guarantor fund has still not been released to benefit former miners and their widows. For many, time is running out. I ask again, as I have asked before, that the Chancellor looks at this and delivers justice for mineworkers across the country.

I particularly welcome the measures in the Budget to tackle rising energy bills. With conflicts overseas pushing up prices at home, families are understandably worried about how much it costs to heat their home. That is why the £100 household energy payment is so important. In North Warwickshire and Bedworth, around 37,920 properties will benefit.

In a constituency like mine, driving is not a luxury. For so many people, it is the only reliable option for getting to work, taking the children to school and going about daily life. It is why my parents made me learn to drive as soon as I turned 17. I ensured that residents’ concerns about fuel costs were heard, and I am delighted that the Chancellor listened, extending the 5p fuel duty cut until July 2027. For a family already struggling to make ends meet, every extra pound at the pump matters. The impact of fuel duty goes beyond families filling up their cars; it affects the lorry drivers delivering food to our supermarkets, the businesses transporting goods across the country and, ultimately, the prices that we all pay at the check-out.

Before coming to Parliament, I spent 20 years working as a property solicitor in a high street firm in my constituency. One of the things that I loved most about that job was helping first-time buyers. I remember the happiness of seeing young people come through my door, proud of the amount that they had saved for their deposit. They would tell me about their plans for the future. These were people putting down roots in our communities, and there was nothing quite like the moment when they finally collected their keys.

However, the longer I did that job, the fewer first-time buyers came through my door. I watched as owning a home became increasingly out of reach for young people, particularly those who did not have the bank of mum and dad to fall back on. That is not the future I want for the next generation in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. That is why I am delighted that the Chancellor has announced the new £4.7 billion Your First Home scheme, which is expected to help around 70,000 first-time buyers on to the property ladder.

This Budget is taking action on the very issues that my constituents have raised with me: the cost of heating their home and filling up their car; supporting the industries they work in; and helping their children and grandchildren on to the housing ladder. It is a Budget that gives families breathing space today, supports the businesses and workers who keep our country moving, and offers young people fresh hope for the future.