Situation in the Red Sea

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

Monday 26th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

We will continue to gauge the view of the House on these matters. I have noted that each party’s representative has—from tentatively to fully—supported these measured responses. If the rapidity or severity of the attacks increased, for example, my judgment at the moment would be that it is possible to read the mood of the House, but we will keep that under review and ensure that we continually come back to the House to provide defence intelligence briefings to Members who require them.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

According to a survey released by the British Chambers of Commerce, over half of British retailers and exporters have been impacted by the disruption in the Red sea, which is causing logistics delays, pushing up costs, and risking higher prices and fewer choices in British shops and elsewhere. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that our military action is consistent with the UK’s overarching aim of de-escalating tensions and restoring stability in the Red sea?

[Grant Shapps]

Yes, I can absolutely provide that reassurance. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that the situation is already having a cost for British consumers. As I mentioned in my comments, globally about 80% of goods move by sea; for the United Kingdom, it is about 90%, given that we are an island. It is very important therefore to show, both for the purposes of deterrence and to weaken the Houthis’ ability to attack shipping, that we mean business when we say that this cannot carry on.

Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

2nd reading
Monday 16th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I will make a little more progress, because I think that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, would like to hear from other Members, and I have been as generous as possible in allowing interventions.

The Government, unions, employers and workers have a role to play in ensuring that essential services continue even during strikes. That is what we are ensuring. This approach is balanced, reasonable and, above all, fair. Countries such as Australia and Canada have the ability to ban outright those strikes that would endanger lives, such as in some blue-light services. However, this legislation does not seek to ban the right to strike. The Government will always defend the principle that workers should be able to withdraw their labour. In fact, the only time that the right to strike was removed from emergency services was by the Liberal Prime Minister Lloyd George, as part of the Police Act 1919. We do not propose to follow the Lib Dems’ example.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

We are living in a time when democracy and freedom are under threat across the world. The right to strike is an important one. [Interruption.]

[Vicky Ford]

Thank you for clarifying that, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Secretary of State just mentioned that minimum service levels exist in many other countries, including Italy, Spain and France. I do not know whether Opposition Members have ever been to France, but the French have been known to strike. Does my right hon. Friend agree that my Chelmsford constituents should have the same benefits on strike days as those living in France, Italy and Spain?

[Grant Shapps]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is no reason that her constituents should suffer lesser protection than people who live in other European nations, most of whom are recognised on most days for being particularly pro-union and helpful in their settlements. I cannot see why Opposition Members would object.

Transport

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I will make a little progress, if the hon. Lady does not mind.

It is important to realise that we are very keen not only to reduce CO₂ but to grow the economy at the same time. The two things are not incompatible; in fact, they go hand in hand. We can do this more successfully if we grow the economy, because then we can get in front of the technology. One of the measures in the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday was to consult on ending petrol and diesel car sales in 2035 or earlier rather than 2040, with the aim of ensuring that the British car manufacturing sector gets the advantage of completely clean travel, which they can then exploit by selling it to the rest of the world. That is one reason why we should be so ambitious to do this. The sector can create jobs—millions of jobs. It is already employing very large numbers of people in this country. This Government want to help society and the economy adapt towards the new decarbonised world.

I recognise—I have said this at the Dispatch Box as recently as last week—that transport contributes over a quarter of the UK’s domestic greenhouse gases; it is a big number. It has become the leading source of greenhouse gases, considering that energy, as described before, has become so much less polluting. That is why, as I say, we came out with the target to move forward with the end of petrol and diesel. That is faster, I should say, than any other European market. In a country that does not produce cars, it is easy to say, “You must only buy an electric car”, but we have a dozen different domestic car producers that we have to take with us on this—and we will. That is why we are investing £1.5 billion over six years to make the UK the best place to own and to manufacture electric cars, and why we are delivering a further £1 billion to transform the automotive sector. Schemes like the Faraday battery challenge and the Advanced Propulsion Centre are funding development of the supply chain, and that can be massively important to this transformation.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend on getting electrification of our cars and support his energy in doing so. Our electric cars obviously do need roads to drive on. May I therefore thank him for the contribution that he has made to making sure that my local ancient flyover is coming down next week? Can he confirm that there is funding for pinch points, for instance to replace that junction, and for ensuring that a new, modern, all-singing, all-dancing option of electric vehicles, buses, bicycles and so on remains available for the whole country?

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to argue that the Army and Navy flyover should be removed now that it has been closed. We want to make sure, whatever happens, that very low carbon—zero carbon—alternatives are available for people commuting in that area.

I have said at the Dispatch Box that some of the speeches I have heard show that the point has been missed. We have more charging locations in this country than petrol stations. I am not talking about charging points in driveways, where people are fortunate enough to park off-road. I am talking about publicly available charging locations. There are more of those than petrol stations, with one of the largest charging networks in Europe. As a driver of electric cars, who has experienced range anxiety once or twice, I am relieved that that network is growing all the time. An electric car is sold every 15 minutes and the number of people registering for electric cars has more than doubled in the past year, so we have reached the point where this is starting to expand massively.

A Green Industrial Revolution

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

Wednesday 15th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I apologise to the hon. Gentleman and thank him for putting the record straight. I was not in the Chamber yesterday because I was dealing with the issue itself, but it sounded to me, from his comments earlier, that he regretted the rescue of Flybe, which I was surprised about because there are 2,400 jobs at stake and communities that would have had no other way of being connected. Just as an example of this, there are 46 Flybe routes that no other airline covers. There are 11 destinations that have no rail links whatever, and a further 12 that it would take more than six hours to get to. It was absolutely the right thing to do because it helps to connect our communities and level up our country. That is the right approach for a responsible Government when there is a strategic national interest, which is what makes this different from previous airline failures.

None the less, because the issue has been raised in this afternoon’s debate, I will say that we want to see aviation become much greener. This is an enormous challenge and, indeed, as many Members have said, an enormous opportunity for this country. If we can get to the front of that technological research and development, we can offer electric planes to the world. Right now, it is good to see that the University of Cranfield, among other places, is working on an aircraft—a Britten Norman aircraft—which is the only British-manufactured general aviation aircraft, a commercial passenger plane, being converted to an electric aircraft, which will fly in the Scottish highlands and do the island hops. It will be the world’s first commercial electric aircraft, and that is happening in Britain. Across the House, we should all be doing everything we possibly can to get to the forefront of electric aviation and, probably in between then and now, hybrid aviation. It is a big part of my work. Members may think I am absolutely obsessed with aviation, but that is where ideas and new technology will come from, so it is right to focus on it.

[Vicky Ford]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for mentioning Cranfield University, because I recall being asked to dig the first turf in the building of that facility about a decade ago. It just shows what can happen in 10 years. Does he agree that we need to harness the power of consumers? Some low-cost airlines give consumers the opportunity to carbon offset, but Flybe does not. Will he join me in encouraging airlines to give consumers at least the option to offset?

[Grant Shapps]

I agree that it is a great idea for airlines to offer carbon offsetting, but although that is a good first step, I want to go further. We have the opportunity, the brains and the capacity in this country to invent the future of flight, just as we helped in so many ways to invent flight initially. I want us to focus on that, and a lot of money and research is going into it now. At Cranfield, there is the E-Fan X plane—a BAe 146 aircraft built by de Havilland in my constituency back in the day, which is being converted into an all-electric aircraft in a project sponsored by, I think, Airbus and Boeing. This is a fantastic opportunity and we must take it.

Thomas Cook

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I am very sorry to hear about his constituent’s situation. No airlines should be trying to profit out of this situation. As I have mentioned, the UK airlines in particular have really tried to assist once we got over this issue of some initial surge pricing that seemed to kick in. For the most part, they have been extraordinarily helpful, lending aircraft and cutting some of their prices. I am very concerned to hear about this KLM case.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

We are living through a digital age, and businesses that do not adapt will struggle, but may I thank the Government for thinking about the people who have been affected here? What assistance is there likely to be for people who have bought flights or holidays that have not yet started?

[Grant Shapps]

A large number of people have bought holidays that are yet to start. If they were package holidays, they are ATOL-protected and people will simply get their money back. Those who have bought flights-only will not automatically get that money back, and will want to refer to their credit cards, debit cards, holiday insurance and, sometimes, an alternate travel agents from whom they have booked.

Finance (No. 3) Bill

Debate between Vicky Ford and Grant Shapps

Committee: 1st sitting: House of Commons
Monday 19th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is a crazy situation. We are driving pilot training out of the UK, but English is the language of the air and should be our natural advantage. Our ambassador for the all-party group Carol Vorderman regularly reminds us that she wanted to go into the Air Force but was rejected, not through any lack of knowledge, STEM education or mathematical ability, but because she was a woman. It cannot be right that our Government are not able to address this.

I am very hopeful that the Minister will take on board clause 89, which will allow the amendment to tax legislation in consequence of leaving the EU, to do what other EU countries have somehow already managed to do—such as Spain, which does not charge VAT on pilot training. This gives us an enormous opportunity as a country to take a big chunk out of the global pilot training market, which should be, in effect, a massive export for the UK.

While we are on the VAT issue, I have one other point. This country has the ability to lead aviation into a much quieter, cleaner and more environmentally friendly future. The future of aviation eventually is to have electricity in planes—electric planes—but that will not happen without having the same dedication and enthusiasm that this Government and the previous one showed towards electric vehicles transferred to electric aviation.

This is a revolution in aviation that is coming, but it would be very encouraging if we saw the UK lead the way, and, again, this is in no small part down to how VAT is treated, in terms of not only pilot training but the inquiry, investigation, research and development that goes into electric aircraft.

The all-party group is starting a STEM aviation working group headed by a fantastic woman called Karen Spencer from Harlow College. It has the aviation STEM college at Stansted airport, where it is training 294 youngsters this year and over 500 young people next year in STEM aviation qualifications. I encourage the Minister to go and see it for himself. I believe that if we work together on this we can make aviation a much more inclusive profession, and it starts with clause 89 and what can be done under these amendments to tax legislation in consequence of EU withdrawal.

[Vicky Ford]

I too wish to speak about clause 89, which allows the Treasury to make minor amendments to tax legislation after we have left the EU.

EU tax issues are often extremely controversial. I think back to EU tax decisions I have seen in the past, such as the decision not to introduce a financial transaction tax, which this side of the House always strongly objected to but the other side would strongly have proposed at a European level. We objected to it because we felt it would have unintended economic consequences. Then there were the changes to the VAT MOSS—mini one-stop shop—situation for digital tax for small businesses. These decisions were taken without deep consultation or deep impact assessments, but were then found to have a huge number of unintended consequences. There were also the controversial issues to do with VAT on tampon taxes that sometimes came back.