Spring Budget: Wales

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)]

Prynhawn da. I call Ruth Jones.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Spring Budget and Wales.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Mr Hollobone, and thank you for your introductory remarks in Welsh. I am sad to say that I will not be able to continue in that vein, but it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, and I do so with the voices, views and concerns of the people of Newport West and the whole of Wales at the forefront of my mind.

This afternoon is an important opportunity for colleagues representing Wales to speak up and speak out about the failing economic policies of this Government. The recent Budget could and should have been a unique opportunity to unlock Britain’s promise and all the potential that we see in and around our communities. Instead, it was more decline and decay. It is clear to everyone—and, I suspect, to the Minister too—that this Government have decided to continue papering over the cracks after 13 years of Conservative economic failure, rather than giving us the change we need. Indeed, as I have said in the House, that papering over the cracks was exemplified by yet another handout for the richest 1%. There was no regard for the livelihoods and wellbeing of my constituents in Newport West, or the livelihoods of people across Wales, whether they call home Ceredigion or Conwy, Bangor or Bridgend. Wales is a nation of people who work hard, pay their taxes and simply need real change and real investment in their communities.

I noted from a report that the UK Treasury has recently taken back more than £155 million from the Welsh Government. The reason the Treasury gave for this smash and grab was that the Welsh Government had not spent it fast enough, which is an arbitrary change of tune from previous years. This callous approach is both unacceptable and unwise, and I echo the Welsh Government Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans MS, in calling on Westminster to give Wales our money back.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

I must respond to that point about the £155 million. Has the hon. Lady actually read the report that the Senedd Committee produced? It was pretty scathing about the performance of the Welsh Government in managing their money. She describes it as a “smash and grab” raid. The truth is that it was a failure on the part of Welsh Government Ministers to spend money given by UK Government to alleviate the effects of the pandemic at its peak.

[Ruth Jones]

I disagree with the right hon. Member. Obviously, the report can be read in several ways. The fact that the money was taken back in such an arbitrary way, and that what happened was different from what happened in previous years, means that the rules were changed this year to suit the Government. I am afraid we disagree on that.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Does the hon. Member agree that there is a discrepancy here? If UK Departments do not spend all their money within the financial year, it goes back to central UK Government. Surely, under any rational devolution settlement, there should be the same arrangement for Wales, so that if money is not spent by certain Departments in Welsh Government, it remains in Wales.

[Ruth Jones]

The right hon. Member makes the point perfectly well; that rule would be fair. Opposition Members will pick this issue up in the coming days, along with the issue of the inadequacies of the spring Budget, because it is a new case of robbing Wales to pay Westminster, and it cannot go on. We have seen this before with High Speed 2, an England-only project that should, according to a Welsh Affairs Committee report of 2021, be classified as such. The acknowledgment of this simple truth, which I and cross-party Welsh MPs spelled out to the Government nearly two years ago, would give Wales the £5 billion it is owed. We are seeing the same thing play out again with the Northern Powerhouse Rail project; that is another £1 billion that could and should have gone to Wales. That money would have a real and substantial effect there, but it has been withheld. The Secretary of State for Wales may have entirely ducked responsibility for his Government’s role in this matter, but we will not let this go.

Growth was downgraded in this Tory Budget. That will surprise nobody in Wales who is battling with rising inflation, rising energy bills and rising food costs. That is why Labour will not allow Wales to keep bumping along this path of managed decline from Westminster. I mentioned my constituent Dawn Jones in the Budget debate in the Chamber last week, and I mention her again here. She is a pensioner living in Caerleon who has worked all her life and now cannot afford to put the heating on. She has not had it on all winter because of the expense, and every time she goes to buy anything in the supermarket, she finds it has increased in price. She wrote to my office and said: 

“I am really struggling now with all these increases and do not know how I am going to pay my way; I am worried to death!”

It seems like every other day my constituency office receives more cases of desperate people who have found themselves at the end of the options for help and support. It is heartbreaking, and to be quite frank, it makes me deeply angry with those who have made the political choice to put my constituents in that position.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

Is my hon. Friend aware of the Bevan Foundation report? Only last month, its in-depth analysis showed that it is the poorest people, the elderly, the disabled and people who are renting socially who are suffering most from the cost of living crisis.

[Ruth Jones]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend has made a perfect point; the Bevan Foundation in Wales is very clear and accurate in its reporting. I pay tribute to Victoria Winckler and the other staff there. That is why I welcome Labour’s mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7; that will be good for Wales, the Welsh economy and the people of Wales.

[Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. On the point around growth, does she agree that a vibrant and competitive steel industry has to be at the heart of any growth strategy, and that the UK Government’s continued dithering and delay when it comes to stepping up and showing the Welsh steel industry the support that it requires is a massive issue? Does she also agree that UK Labour’s £3 billion clean steel fund is exactly what we need to ensure that we get our economy firing on all cylinders?

[Ruth Jones]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, because steel is integral to the industry and heart of Wales. In my constituency, in the last week we have had issues with a steel company, which I will be talking to my hon. Friend about shortly. We all want steel to thrive and grow in Wales.

Only with strong, inclusive growth, including in the steel industry, will Wales get the good jobs and productivity gains for which our people are crying out. It is not rocket science; in fact, it is pretty simple. Despite all the claims from the Chancellor, the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded the UK’s long-term growth forecast; there are downgrades in each of the last three years of the forecast period. We will be the only country that will see negative growth. No other G20 economy, apart from Russia, is forecast to shrink this year. The OECD has confirmed that the UK will be the weakest economy in the G7 this year. What a ringing endorsement of 13 years of Tory Government! The blame for that lies squarely with the Tories, their Prime Ministers, and the current Chancellor—and the one before, obviously. They are the party of economic mismanagement.

It is worth noting that the average French family is now a 10th richer than their British counterparts, while the average German family is a fifth richer. After 13 years of Tory Government, and a failed spring Budget, our people are paying more, earning less and bearing the overwhelming brunt of this Conservative cost of living crisis. This Government have let down the people of Newport West, and of Wales. The spring Budget was a wasted opportunity for Wales; it delivered a tax cut for the richest and nothing for the many. It continued a Conservative agenda of delay and decline. As my constituent Dawn Jones wrote in her heart-rending correspondence:

“This should not be allowed to happen in this day and age, these conditions are not acceptable.”

The best way—the only way—to change course, to deliver for our people and to move forward is with a UK Labour Government, and the sooner the better.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)]

Diolch yn fawr. The debate can last until 4 o’clock. I am obliged to call the Front-Bench spokesmen just after half-past 3, but until then we are in Back-Bench time, and I am determined that everybody will get in. There is no need for a time limit if everybody is sensible.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ruth Jones]

I thank everybody who has taken part in the debate this afternoon. I thank the Minister and the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones), and everyone who has intervened and made speeches. It has been good to have an informed and, by and large, good-humoured debate. We are all passionate about Wales. We all want Wales to get on, and we want to make sure that we do that in the best way possible. The issues will not be going away. I assure the Minister that we will come back again and again on the issues that we have raised today. I thank everybody for taking part.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the Spring Budget and Wales.