Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

I will try again. The point I am making is not the point the right hon. Gentleman thinks I am making. The point I am making is that, up until now, we have been doing precisely what he said. We have been allowing Russian oil processed in other countries to come into the UK without any impediment whatsoever. That is precisely what we are putting an end to. If he had stood up last week, the week before that, the week before that, or the week before that, and called for us to put an end to it, I would have had more time for the comments he just made.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his usual clarity and candour on this issue, and I welcome the new sanctions package. Will he confirm one last time for me, my Ukrainian residents and our friends in Ukraine that this is a new package of sanctions, part of which we are introducing in a phased manner, and that there is no loosening of any sanctions that are already in place?

[Chris Bryant]

We have not suspended, waived or got rid of any existing sanctions of any kind whatsoever. We are introducing new sanctions. This is our latest set of sanctions. In fact, I have also been keen to try to ensure that when things are exported to a third country legally but we think they might end up in Russia, which would then be a breach of the sanctions, a licence is needed—for the first time. We are introducing new legislation for end-use sanctions controls, and we will be the first country to do so. We are determined to ensure that Putin does not win his war.

Backing Business to Create Economic Growth

Steve Race Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the measures in the Gracious Speech, which will enhance the lives and prospects of the people of Exeter. The starting point for the King’s Speech was

“an increasingly dangerous and volatile world”.

Few Governments have had to simultaneously tackle a decade and a half of under-investment and a dire fiscal situation, alongside the shock waves of trade tariffs, terrible wars and a cost of living crisis—not to mention the rapacious pace of technological change, and a fast-changing climate driving global instability.

Despite all the obstacles, the Government continue to set out a prospectus for change that is working. In the last year, the British economy grew faster than any other economy in the G7, and Members will note today’s IMF upgrade to growth prospects this year. We have also seen the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years. In Exeter, more than 4,000 fewer people are on waiting lists, and ambulances are already arriving 30 minutes faster than they were last year. We are delivering new Sure Start-style services, breakfast clubs, and investment in our schools and colleges, and the 30 hours of funded childcare is already making an enormous difference to families. This is real change, but for change to accelerate and to last, we need economic growth.

It is clear that we are engaged in a battle of ideas, both in this Chamber and around the world. In any such battle, we should turn to Tony Crosland, who famously argued in “The Future of Socialism” in 1956 that economic growth is central to social solidarity and greater equality. By growing the economy, we can share the proceeds of growth fairly and invest in our social realm, making us all richer economically, socially and culturally, and more secure.

Seventy years on from Crosland’s masterpiece, the global economy is very different, so where will growth come from? First, through greater trade with Europe. In our unstable world, and with uncertain partners, our stability, prosperity and security rely on meaningful partnerships with like-minded nations, so I welcome the European partnership Bill, which will boost growth in the south-west. At a time of balkanisation and uncertainty around the world, the UK must redefine and enhance our relationship with Europe, and our geography, values and economy all point in one direction. The Bill will increase trade with Europe, break down barriers and erase frictions.

Secondly, we must embrace the technological revolution. Exeter already leads the way in green energy, digital infrastructure and research. Artificial intelligence presents great challenges but also great opportunities, and I want Exeter to be at the heart of the tech revolution. From our world-leading universities to our thriving science parks, such as Exeter science park, and science institutions such as the Met Office, the south-west has become a powerhouse for scientific discovery and technological advancement.

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has often said, growth cannot be purely powered from a narrow base in financial services, and from London and the south-east. As in the 19th century, growth must be powered by strong regions and cities, by innovators and entrepreneurs, by small and medium enterprises, and by science and technology.

Growth will come from tackling the climate emergency, developing the post-carbon technologies that will save us, and managing the just transition to an environmentally sustainable economy. All this requires an active state to take long-term decisions on investment and research. It requires successful and supported world-class universities, such as Exeter University, to deliver the job-ready graduates our businesses need, and to actively help innovators to commercialise and productise their research—to start up and spin out, and to scale up. It needs more active and deeper capital markets so that British innovation can more easily become British success.

Thirdly, we need to unleash the potential of every young person. I welcome the new national focus on skills and apprenticeships, and the education for all Bill. We must tackle the scandal of hundreds of thousands of young people not being in employment, education or training. Exeter’s young people do not lack ambition or drive; they lack the platforms on which to stand. Exeter college, the best tertiary college in the country, now delivers 95 different apprenticeship standards and pathways in partnership with 1,100 employers, meaning it is ranked third nationally for apprenticeship starts, which is remarkable in the 48th biggest city in England. I am delighted that the Government will further equip the college to help young people to reach their potential, by becoming a construction technical excellence college.

We are working with Exeter city council, and with our universities, schools and businesses, to put rocket boosters under the ambition of Exeter’s rising generation. Trade, technology and young people—three sure-fire routes to economic growth. Let us never forget that politicians can encourage and craft the conditions for growth, but it is businesses that create the growth itself. I particularly welcome the small business protections Bill. I know from my own business experience over 15 years, and from speaking to Exeter’s small businesses, that cash flow is the lifeblood of any business.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

The hon. Gentleman is talking about the small business protections Bill. Small and independent businesses are the backbone of the economy in my constituency. Many of them are really struggling at the moment, and they are not seeing much else in the King’s Speech. They are struggling with the increase in national insurance costs and the cost of living. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that more needs to be done to support small businesses?

[Steve Race]

I am sure the Minister on the Front Bench will answer in more detail at the end of the debate, but I absolutely agree. We can all do more to support small businesses, and measures in the King’s Speech will help such businesses across the country. I welcome the regulating for growth Bill, which will embed the presumption of growth in the work of regulators. Too often the framework of regulators has failed to balance the need to deliver with the duty to regulate. I look forward to seeing the details of that Bill.

As ever, I take my inspiration from Exeter and its businesses, entrepreneurs and workers. New Motion Labs, Intelligent AI, Brain in Hand Ltd and RoleMapper are four examples of the new economy that is thriving in Exeter. Across my city and region, we are fashioning the answers and forging the future. The King’s Speech lays the foundations for economic growth and shared prosperity—based not on trickle-down economics or anarcho-capitalism, but on investment and modernisation. We are engaged in a battle of ideas, both here and around the world, and I say bring it on.

British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Peter Kyle]

My hon. Friend speaks eloquently about the challenges that industry has faced in the de-industrialising period of a previous Conservative Government but also the opportunities that are there for the re-industrialising purpose of this Labour Government. Some of the companies she mentioned are, I imagine, in sectors that BICS will be very meaningfully able to support. I hope those companies will work with my Department to ensure that implementation is as effective as possible, and the eligibility checker, which will go live before too long, will mean that those companies can check their eligibility directly.

In general terms, we are investing in industry in our country. We are working tirelessly with aerospace, automotive and other key parts of the industrial landscape. The fact that Ensus was mothballed and not allowed to go bust shows that we are thinking very deeply and carefully about resilience and economic growth, and not just for today but for the long term.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State will know that the south-west and Exeter is home to a nationally significant cluster of high-value manufacturing businesses and is identified in the Government’s industrial strategy as a key region for advanced manufacturing, with critical clusters in nuclear, green energy, defence and critical minerals. The last Government had some choice words for business—I will not repeat them here, Madam Deputy Speaker, because they are unparliamentary—but can the Secretary of State set out how this Government are working in partnership with businesses, including those in my region of the south-west, to ensure that they can prosper and succeed into the future?

[Peter Kyle]

I was down in the south-west just last week at Agratas, one of the largest battery production plants for electric vehicles in the whole of Europe. The sheer scale of manufacturing development in the south-west is typical of the renaissance and the capability of the region. The Agratas plant also shows the Government’s securonomics approach in action, with 230 tonnes of British steel being used in the production. From the roof, we can look across and see Europe’s largest nuclear power station being built. It is a real testament to the vibrancy, ambition and capabilities that we see right across the south-west.

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Blair McDougall]

Continue to speak to me. My hon. Friend grabbed me during the votes the other night to raise local Royal Mail issues, and I know she will continue to do so.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Many residents and fantastic posties in Exeter have raised exactly the same concerns as other Members of the House. Can the Minister give an assessment of how he thinks Ofcom has dealt with this issue so far, and does he have confidence in Ofcom to get a grip on it?

[Blair McDougall]

We rely on Ofcom as the regulator of Royal Mail, which is exactly why we are having a meeting later today to discuss what more it can do to deal with the widespread concerns that exist across the House about the quality of service.

Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Power Station: Wylfa

Steve Race Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

I am grateful for a genuine question in the House of Commons—always appreciated. As I said earlier, the decision was made that Wylfa was the best possible site for SMRs. This is a hugely important project for us, starting with three SMR units, but with potential at Wylfa to increase that, which is a huge opportunity. The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that Wylfa would also have hosted at gigascale, but after a great many years of Wylfa being promised lots of things, the option on the table was either a project with funding now, and a clear pathway to delivery on an important site that will deliver the outcomes we need as a country, or a potential wait for another spending review where we might make a decision about future nuclear. We are ambitious about what the future of gigascale nuclear would look like, but right now funding has been confirmed for SMRs. It was right that Wylfa, which is a significant site and has a skilled workforce, takes advantage of that after a significant amount of time of things being promised but not delivered. As I said, we have not set that as the limit of our nuclear ambitions, and we will say more in due course about what future sites might look like. Great British Energy Nuclear is looking at those now.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I welcome the announcement of the new SMRs at Wylfa. This is British innovation we can be proud of, leading to decarbonisation of our electricity grid, and helping to combat climate change. It is exactly the sort of policy that my Exeter constituents want from this Government. Does the Minister agree that supply chains at Wylfa and Sizewell C will benefit businesses and workers across the entire United Kingdom, alongside the local areas where they are based?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right: we should all be—I know we are, and the consensus has been welcome—hugely proud of this British innovation. We have a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of a technology that I have no doubt will change the energy system of a great many countries around the world, and Britain can be at the leading edge of that. This is a hugely important moment, and we should recognise that. As well as 3,000 jobs in Wylfa for the construction of the site, as my hon. Friend says there is a significant number of opportunities, including thousands of jobs across the supply chain. Great British Energy Nuclear aims to ensure that 70% of supply chain products are British built across the SMR fleet, ensuring that those SMRs are not just a product of British innovation, but that they are clearly stamped with “Made in Britain.”

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Look, this is getting ridiculous. We are on topicals, and that is the worst example I have seen of an answer to a topical.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

T2. The south-west has a huge number of innovative start-up and scale-up businesses, but we attract only about 3% of private equity and venture capital funding per year. What is the Department doing to ensure that foreign direct investors are aware of, and have access to, the fantastic business infrastructure opportunities that we have in Exeter and across the south-west?

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

I saw many incredible businesses when I went to the Exeter business park last year. When I was in Saudi Arabia in January, I was with a range of businesses that were promoting investment, including many from the south-west. There is more that we can do, but there are some brilliant people there who are doing brilliant things. I think we can go further, and I am certainly very happy to work with my hon. Friend on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

7. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK in attracting international investment.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK in attracting international investment.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

Through increased inward investment, we can innovate, create jobs and deliver on our growth mission to become the fastest-growing nation in the G7. We have wasted no time: on top of the £63 billion raised at our international investment summit, our new national wealth fund has already leveraged £1.6 billion of private sector investment, and we have outlined ambitious plans for planning reform alongside a modern industrial strategy to secure record levels of investment.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Jones]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his appointment as the trade envoy to Pakistan. I can think of no one better, and I know he will make a big difference in that role. The Government took the decision to reappoint Professor Sir Steve Smith as our international education champion to ensure that the UK-Pakistan education partnership’s work continues as part of the international education strategy, which is now jointly led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade. Led by Sir Steve, the UK has worked closely with the Pakistan Higher Education Commission on revising Pakistan’s new transnational education policy. That work will continue, and I am sure my hon. Friend will bring great help to it.

[Steve Race]

The south-west is home to an incredibly important economy based on defence, food security, space, maritime, and, in Exeter, life sciences and climate tech and research. We are also home to huge green energy potential, utilising floating offshore wind. However, we currently need investment in our port facilities so that the new green jobs will be based in the south-west, not in France or elsewhere. Will the Minister meet me, along with colleagues and the sector, to discuss to the future of green energy generation in the south-west?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I saw the talent and potential for myself when I visited Exeter in September for Great South West’s annual conference. I am visiting the region again in a few weeks, because there is huge potential, huge excitement and huge opportunities to grow. As he knows, there is £1.8 billion from the national wealth fund to invest in our ports. I am very happy to meet him and others to see what potential we can discuss.

Budget Resolutions

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate on behalf of my constituents in Exeter. This Budget is a welcome break from 14 years of policy uncertainty, fiscal incompetence and austerity for our public services. It starts to put this country back on a firm footing, rebuilding the foundations, and investing in communities and places like Exeter. Exeter people have had a tough few years. The inflation they experienced as higher mortgage costs, higher rents, higher energy prices and higher food prices was made worse by the last Government’s catastrophic and incompetent financial management, and yet we have no apology from the Conservative Benches.

Exeter has huge potential as a thriving economy. Indeed, Exeter is the economic driver of our region, with a gross value added of around £6 billion pounds. It sits at the heart of a travel-to-work area of over 470,000 residents. Exeter is home to a world-class research-led university, and we have a best-in-class further education college and good secondary schools. We have the Met Office and the Exeter Science Park, and we are home to further cutting-edge research, including one of the UK’s supercomputers. However, Exeter has been held back over recent years by a Tory Government that have not invested in public services and our economy in the way we need to succeed. That changes with this Budget.

I am particularly pleased that this Budget commits the UK to an R&D budget of £20 billion, which will mean Exeter and the UK remain at the forefront of scientific innovation. From climate change to land management, healthcare to biotechnology and beyond, Exeter is already a hub for scientific research, but we can do even more.

I listened to my residents on the doorsteps in the Newtown area of Exeter at the weekend, who were really pleased about the investment in our NHS. From long waiting lists to our lack of NHS dentistry services and closures of community pharmacies, my residents have been affected by the huge strain the NHS has found itself under in recent years. I am pleased that this new investment in the NHS budget will begin to fix our local NHS, though people realise that will take time.

While the secondary schools in Exeter do not suffer from the awful RAAC crisis, because every single one of them was rebuilt under the last Labour Government, I know how important the new funding will be to schools around the country. Investing in our education settings is important. I will be supporting the excellent Exeter College as it seeks to grow its campus, to continue to deliver exceptional education to young people in Exeter and across the south-west.

Having a healthy, well-educated city, with opportunities to work in the high-tech sectors of the future is vital to our future economic prosperity. I close by welcoming that this is a Budget that recognises that reality, and also recognises that the south-west region, and Exeter in particular, has huge potential and will play a significant role in the growth of the UK economy in the future.