Budget Resolutions

Richard Baker Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered her Budget in the most challenging global economic circumstances; there is sluggish growth across the international economy, and we have an economic inheritance from the Conservative party of high public debt and low investment. Despite that, she delivered a Budget that will tackle poverty, invest in growth and provide fairer chances for all.

For Scotland, the Budget delivers an additional £820 million for public services. Since the Government came into power, over £10 billion has been pledged for public services in Scotland. The Chancellor talked of the importance of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar making the case for investment in Scotland. He is already achieving more for Scotland in opposition than our failing SNP Government. Imagine what he could do leading Scotland’s Government, ensuring that those funds are spent to far better effect in our communities. This is the opportunity that Scotland has next May. The Budget shows what Labour Government can achieve for Scotland.

The Budget will benefit my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife in so many ways. Ending the two-child cap means that more than 7,000 children in Fife will have a better start in life. Thousands of workers in Fife will see their pay increase, thanks to the rise in the minimum wage. Households across the Kingdom of Fife will benefit from £150 off their heating bills.

I am delighted that 178 people in Fife who are members of the BCSSS mineworkers’ pension scheme will finally see the interest in their pension fund protected, with an average increase in their pension of £100 per week. I pay tribute to all those who have campaigned for that change in the scheme, not only on the Labour Benches but in our local communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) was right to pay tribute to Alan Kenney of Glenrothes in my constituency, who has made the case for this change with such dedication and eloquence.

This is a Budget that shows we will not return to the Conservative party’s austerity measures, which resulted in nothing but harm and stalled economic growth. Instead, we will invest in building an economy that is stronger, where everyone has a chance to benefit from increasing prosperity. This Budget provides more chances in employment for our young people, with the youth guarantee for every eligible young person who has been on universal credit for 18 months, and the biggest ever investment in employability support for disabled people and those with health conditions in more than a generation, increasing funding to up to £1 billion a year across the UK. That is particularly important for Scotland, where the disability employment gap is higher than the UK average.

It is vital that these funds are used to the greatest effect in creating jobs for disabled people, who are too often excluded from the workplace. We should look to replicate the success of schemes such as the “All In” employability programme delivered by the charity Enable, which I had the privilege of working for before my election. We should also look to support the ambition of Outlyer, an entertainment company, co-founded by Emmanuel Kelly and Chris Martin of Coldplay, that has a mission to employ at least 1,000 disabled people over eight years in the growing entertainment sector, in jobs that offer genuine career paths with transferable skills to disabled people. That is the kind of ambition we should all have for economic growth in our country—for it to benefit everyone in our society.

This Budget balances fiscal responsibility with fairness and aspiration, investing in the defence and renewables industries, which offer such hope to the local economies of Glenrothes and Mid Fife, providing fairness through measures that help families with the cost of living, tackling the scourge of child poverty in our country and offering opportunities to more of our people to reap the rewards of employment and skills. That is why it is a Budget I am proud to support.