Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Debate between Shaun Davies and Dan Tomlinson

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shaun Davies]

There are 4,600 reasons in my constituency why this Budget is the right thing to do: 4,600 children who will be lifted out of poverty by the Budget. On the basis of the Opposition’s remarks, it is my understanding that the Conservative party would plunge those 4,600 children back into poverty as part of a £46 billion welfare cut if it were to win the next general election—as well as potentially scrapping the triple lock. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is morally bankrupt?

[Dan Tomlinson]

I agree with my hon. Friend, who is a strong advocate of ensuring that we do all we can to support people, lift people out of poverty, and grow our economy and our towns and cities across the country.

By contrast, the Opposition are stuck in the past, playing the songs of old again and hoping for a new audience. After a year and a half on the Opposition Benches, the Conservative party knows that all it has to offer the country is the same as it offered before: a reheated and not renewed set of Conservative policies, tax cuts for the wealthy, wages held down for the poorest, cuts to public services and a rise in child poverty.

The problem is not just that the Conservative party is playing the old tunes but that half the old band has jumped ship to join the more extreme party, which has not even bothered to show up to this debate. I do not know how the band will manage to perform without the likes of the hon. Members for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) and for East Wiltshire (Danny Kruger), Jonathan Gullis, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Nadine Dorries, Ann Widdecombe, Sir Jake Berry, Mark Reckless, Maria Caulfield and Marco Longhi—those are just the Tory-to-Reform switchers I have heard of. There are many more who I think are probably as well known as I am, so I do have a soft spot for them. For completeness, let me remind the House of their service and their defection, too: Lia Nici, Chris Green, Anne Marie Morris, Graham Simpson, Adam Holloway, Alan Amos—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shaun Davies and Dan Tomlinson

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to improve customer service by HMRC.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Dan Tomlinson)]

HMRC is committed to improving day-to-day performance and the customer experience. Call waiting times in the first quarter of this year were half as long as in the same period last year, which is good news for customers. At the 2025 spending review, the Government allocated £500 million to make HMRC a digital-first organisation, and that transformation is well under way.

[Shaun Davies]

I welcome the Government’s £20 million investment in relocating and upgrading Telford’s HMRC office, with 1,000 members of staff working hard to deliver the best service possible. Will the Minister meet me and Telford and Wrekin council to discuss how the new HMRC campus can be at the forefront of improving the customer experience, including by harnessing the potential of AI and tech, as well as partnering with the start-up sector?

[Dan Tomlinson]

My hon. Friend is a very strong advocate for Telford, both for jobs in the private sector and for those in the public sector that we are able to support in his community. I am glad to hear that he, like me, is proud of HMRC’s Telford campus and wants to see it play a key role in improving customer experience through innovation, AI and digital technology. I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss those issues.