Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Fuller Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)]

What is the Chancellor’s definition of “working people”?

[Rachel Reeves]

A working person is somebody who goes out every day to earn their income. They rely on prices that are affordable in the shops, low interest rates and taxes that are as low as possible, but also public services that work for them, like the NHS, where waiting lists have already come down by more than 200,000.

[Richard Fuller]

That is a very broad definition. Maybe the Chancellor should speak to the Prime Minister, the Transport Secretary, the Education Secretary and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who have all given different definitions of working people over the last 12 months. After last year’s Budget, the Chancellor said that she had wiped the slate clean, but that was not true, Chancellor, was it? She said that she would not be coming back with more taxes, but that was not true, Chancellor, was it? At the election, the Chancellor said that she would not raise taxes on working people, but that was not true either, was it, Chancellor? When will the Chancellor learn the truth that she is not a commentator on the country’s economic problems; she is the cause?

[Rachel Reeves]

When we came into office last year, there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. The reserve that is set out for genuine emergencies had already been spent four times over only three months into the financial year. That is the reality. We increased taxes in the Budget last year to stabilise the public finances and to put a much-needed injection of cash into our public services, principally our national health service. Since then, anyone can see the big challenges facing the world, as well as the productivity that never materialised under the past Government.