Growing the UK Economy

Tristan Osborne Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her airport and look forward to seeing it in due course. The premise of her question is entirely right: if businesses are to export, they need to be able to send their goods, and if they cannot get slots at Heathrow to enable those goods to be distributed around the world, they will just not be able to do business. This Government will unlock that opportunity for them, and I look forward to the potential that it will bring to her constituency and the region.

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

Is it not the case that this Government have, to coin a phrase, a “build, baby, build” approach—as, indeed, has been confirmed by my right hon. Friend—unlike the blockers on the opposite Benches? Can my right hon. Friend also confirm that there is an active private sector interest in the lower Thames crossing, and will he give us a timetable for its progress as soon as possible for the benefit of those living in Kent and Essex?

[Darren Jones]

I have to confess that “build, baby, build” was not included in the “lines to take” this morning, but perhaps it is now.

My hon. Friend asked about private capital. We know that there is an enormous amount of interest in investing in the UK, so long as we can show that we can deliver and get things done, and we are working actively with partners to do just that. More details will be confirmed in the spending review and the infrastructure strategy early in June.