Middle East: Economic Update

Debate between Stephen Flynn and Rachel Reeves

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the challenges felt in many rural communities. Those challenges are why I put in place additional money to help people with the cost of heating oil. We recognised that the £150 off energy bills introduced in April does not apply to heating oil, and we wanted to ensure that people had support with that. We are also extending and increasing the generosity of the warm homes plan, in particular by including boiler upgrades. That will help people in all communities, including rural communities, where the cost of heating homes is often higher.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

We are very fortunate in Scotland to already produce more renewable electricity than we consume, and of course we produce more oil and gas than we consume as well. Unfortunately, we do not experience any benefit in our bills. The Chancellor had the cheek to say that she regards the oil and gas workforce as a vital asset to the country, but they certainly do not feel like that, because a thousand of them are losing their job every single month. If she believes in jobs, investment, energy security and reducing climate emissions, will she outline why she has not yet moved to the oil and gas price mechanism? Why is the Chancellor allowing the Energy Secretary to overrule her and prioritise imports of liquefied natural gas, rather than supporting domestic energy sources?

[Rachel Reeves]

People in Scotland, and right across the UK, benefited from the money off their energy bills. We are one of the few countries in the world where energy bills for households went down in April, rather than up. That was because of the changes that I made in the Budget. Of course, that benefits households in Scotland as well. Today, the Energy Secretary and I have announced changes around tiebacks. The previous Government could have made such changes, but they did not. Offshore Energies UK has said:

“developing fields as tiebacks reduces costs, lowers emissions, and extends the life of existing critical infrastructure.”

This policy will help to create and support more jobs in Scotland in this vital sector. If the Scottish National party is so concerned about jobs, why does it not back nuclear in Scotland, just as this Labour Government back nuclear in England and Wales?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Flynn and Rachel Reeves

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We are backing building and getting Britain building with the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which passed yesterday—I think without the support of Conservative Members, but frankly, we do not need them. We are backing our automotive sector with changes to employee car ownership schemes, the electric car grant and so much more. We are backing the British manufacturing industry—automotives, buses, trains and everything else.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Prior to the election, the Daily Record reported the Chancellor as having said that Labour will be as economically radical as Thatcher. With the closures at Grangemouth and Mossmorran, uncertainty over the Acorn project and 1,000 jobs being lost every month in the North sea, have I finally found a promise that this Chancellor has kept?

[Rachel Reeves]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we are backing Grangemouth and have put money into the Acorn carbon capture and storage project. We are taking £150 off people’s energy bills in Scotland. In England and Wales, NHS waiting lists are falling. I wonder why they are still increasing in Scotland.

UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue

Debate between Stephen Flynn and Rachel Reeves

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

What is really important is that we take decisions in Britain’s national interest. Taking decisions in the national interest means engaging with our trading partners all around the world, which is why, since being appointed as Chancellor, I have been to Brussels to reset our relations with the European Union, as well as to Washington and New York to welcome investment from overseas. I have secured £600 million-worth of benefits for UK businesses doing business in China.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Will the Chancellor of the Exchequer do what the Prime Minister refused to do yesterday and rule out future spending cuts?

[Rachel Reeves]

I am not going to write five years’ worth of Budgets in the first six months of a Labour Government, but I am absolutely committed to meeting the fiscal rules that I set out in the Budget in October. We know what happens when Governments lose control of the public finances: they crash the economy and end up on the Opposition Benches.