Commons Chamber

Tuesday 3rd March 2026

(began 2 hours, 12 minutes ago)

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None Portrait Q1. What diplomatic steps she is taking to support Ukraine to determine its future. (908057)
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to mark the fourth anniversary of Putin's brutal full scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as meeting
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None Portrait Q3. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan. (908059)
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border a month ago, I promised the women that I met in the camp that I
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None Portrait Q7. What recent discussions she has had with her Chinese counterparts on the release of Jimmy Lai. (908063)
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Well, thank you, Minister. hon. Gentleman for his question. The UK condemns in the strongest terms the politically motivated
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Yvette Cooper Portrait Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Foreign Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, Labour)
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Gulf nations. The Mr Speaker the safety and security of British safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, and I want to update the House on support for British citizens who support for British citizens who are in the region. As of this morning, 130,000 British nationals morning, 130,000 British nationals have now signed up to the Register Your Presence programme, which is vital to the Foreign Office's ability to know where people are and to provide updates and advice.

Members will know that in many of these countries the airspace is still closed, but I am in close contact with my counterparts across the region. Speaking again yesterday with the UAE on the excellent support that they are providing and some of the departures that they are now securing as this becomes viable. And we are also working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals. And a government charter flight will fly from Muscat in the coming days, prioritising vulnerable nationals.

But British nationals in Oman must wait to be contacted by the Foreign Office regarding these options and we will continue to work 24 over seven on supporting British nationals in the region. I would tell the House this is a very fast moving situation. We have unprecedented numbers of British nationals in the region, and I will continue to update members and affected British nationals as the situation evolves.
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Rachel Reeves Portrait Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Leeds West and Pudsey, Labour)
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That is order, order, order, order! Sorry, both sides. If you're not interested, please. You don't have to stay in the chamber. I'm interested. My constituents are interested. And your constituents

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as well. Chelmsford. A plan. That is even more important in a

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That is even more important in a world that in the last few days has become yet more uncertain. With unfolding conflict in Iran and the Middle East, it is incumbent on me and on this government to chart a and on this government to chart a course through that uncertainty, to secure our economy against shocks secure our economy against shocks and protect families from the turbulence that we see beyond our borders. I want to express my gratitude to members of our armed forces as they serve across the globe, to protect our country, and I want to reassure this House that I am in regular contact with the governor of the Bank of England, with my international counterparts, and with key affected industries, including our maritime sector.

And tomorrow I will meet with our North Sea industry leaders to discuss the implications that they face and work with them to manage this uncertain period. Mr. speaker, in an increasingly dangerous world, I am proud to be the Chancellor that is delivering the biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War. With £650 million committed in January to upgrade our typhoon fighter jets, a new Royal Navy frigate launched from Rosyth last week. And just yesterday, our £1 billion helicopter deal with Leonardo.

I am in no doubt about Britain's ability to navigate the challenges we face. The plan that I have been driving forward since the election is the right one. Stability in our public finances, investment in our infrastructure, including our armed forces and reform to Britain's economy. It is a plan to reshape our economy and break with the failed ideas of the past. Building growth on not just the contribution of a few people in a few places, but in every part of Britain with a state that does not stand back, but that steps up.

Strengthening our trading relationships and our alliances. Creating capacity in our economy through affordable housing, better transport and free childcare. An active and a strategic state building growth and economic security in an uncertain world. Stability is the single most important precondition for economic growth. That is why we have committed to a single major fiscal event a year, limiting major policy changes to the budgets and giving businesses and households the certainty that they need. Today, the new forecasts from the office for Budget Responsibility show that our plan is the right one.

For inflation is down, borrowing is down, living standards are up and the economy is growing. Mr. speaker, this government has restored economic stability. The previous government allowed inflation to skyrocket to over 11%. They stoked interest rates to 15 year highs and delivered the first Parliament on record, where people were poorer at the end than they were at the start

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of the parliament. That is their record. Well before the pandemic. I recognise the impact that what

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I recognise the impact that what the Conservatives did had on families. We promised change at the families. We promised change at the election and I understand the responsibility on me to deliver that change. I know that the that change. I know that the question that people will ask themselves at the next election is this a me and my family are better this a me and my family are better off. I am determined that the answer will be yes. The promise that we changed has promised that we, the change that we promised has already started.

There have been six cuts in interest rates since the general election, the fastest pace in reduction in 17 years, and inflation has fallen. For businesses, that means lower capital costs and greater uncertainty. For families, it means more money in their pockets to spend in local shops and on the high streets. Those interest rate cuts will save households over £1,300 per year on a typical new fixed rate mortgage, and real wages have risen by more in the first 18 months of this Labour government than they did in the first ten years of the Tory government.

At the Budget, I went further to deliver the change that people rightly demand. I extended a 5% cut in fuel duty for a further five months. I froze prescription charges for the second year in a row. I froze rail fares for the first time in 30 years, and I am taking £150 off of energy bills from next month. In February, the Bank of England confirmed that inflation will fall faster because of the action that I took in the Budget.

And today the office for Budget Responsibility expect inflation to come down even faster than it forecast in the autumn. Mr. speaker, in the current global context, with the risk that rising energy prices will put upward pressure on inflation, the action that I have taken is even more crucial to keeping inflation low and stable is the best way to support family incomes and reduce pressures on the cost of living. But that's not all we've done. This Labour government has funded 30 hours of free childcare for working families.

We are rolling out free breakfast clubs at primary schools, and we are set to achieve the biggest reduction in child poverty over a parliament since records began by reversing the shameful two child limit imposed by the party opposite. That is the moral choice for the children who will no longer go to school hungry, and for the women who will no longer have to suffer the grotesque indignity of the rape clause. And scrapping the two child limit is an enduring investment in our children and in our future.

To realise the potential of young people who otherwise would be wasted. The Tories have said that they would reinstate that destructive policy, and now reform are saying exactly the same thing. Two parties united in their intention to plunge nearly half a million children back into poverty at a single stroke. Mr. speaker, if you import failed Tory politicians, you get failed Tory policies too. Labour and only Labour have the right economic plan for our country.

Last year we demonstrated the resilience of Britain's economy in the face of global headwinds, with the fastest growth of any G7 country in Europe. Today, the Office of Budget Responsibility has updated its growth forecasts, including reflecting lower net migration, average growth across the forecast period is largely unchanged. While the OBR has adjusted the profile of GDP so that it grows slightly slower in 2026 and then faster in both 2027 and 2028. So GDP is forecast to grow by 1.1% in 2026, 1.6% in both 2027 and 2028, and 1.5% in both 2029 and 2030.

I've always said that growth is for a purpose, to make working people better off, and I can confirm that GDP per person is set to grow more than was expected in the autumn, with growth of 5.6% over the course of this parliament. That compares to a fall in GDP per capita in the last parliament. And by the next election, after accounting for inflation, people are forecast to be £1,000 better off per year. Oh, I didn't hear them that time.

We promised change, Mr. Speaker, and we are delivering that change. The economy is growing, living standards are rising and inflation has fallen. But I'm not satisfied yet with these forecasts. I know that the economy is not yet working for everyone, and that the deep economic scars left by the party opposite and their mates in reform are still blighting the lives of too many people. In today's forecasts. Unemployment is set to peak later this year and then fall in every year of the forecast period, ending the forecast period at 4.1% lower than it was at the start of the parliament.

But young people in particular are still suffering from the aftermath of years of Tory mismanagement in the last five years of the previous government, the number of young people not in education, employment or training increased by 113,000. The number of inactive people reached record highs under their governments and over the last decade, apprenticeship starts by young people fell by 40%. This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. We are already taking action with additional investment to reform apprenticeships, to prioritise young people and through the £820 million Youth Guarantee, providing young people with employment support and a guaranteed job.

And in the coming weeks, I will set out more reforms to undo the Tory legacy of neglect and give young people the support and the opportunity that they deserve. Mr. speaker, in the face of global uncertainty, we beat the forecasts last year. In the year ahead, the choices that we are making gives me confidence that we will beat them again and in the year ahead, more of the choices that we have already made will come into effect. Discounts on business, energy costs.

Trade deals with India, the US and the EU. Reforms to back our entrepreneurs, investments in our infrastructure, skills funding for further education and more planning reforms. Progress opposed by the Conservatives, opposed by reform, opposed by the Liberal Democrats and opposed by the Green Party too, because it is Labour and only Labour that has the right plan for our country. Our plan for growth is grounded in a profound rejection of the failed economic dogmas of the past. The trickle down, trickle out thinking that produced ever diminishing returns for working people.

I know that an economy cannot be working if it is delivering for only a few people in a few places. I know that it matters where things are made and who makes them, and I believe that the working people who keep our country moving deserve a fair day's pay for an honest day's work. Since the election, I've been making the big choices that will bring about the deep structural changes that our economy needs so that it works again for working people.

The choices to take on vested interests and back the builders, not the blockers. The choice to increase public investment and protect our public finances with new fiscal rules, and the choice to give people in all parts of our country the opportunities that they deserve by reforming the Treasury's spending rules in the Green Book to unlock investment in all of our urban, rural and coastal communities. Mr. speaker, those are the right choices for our country, for security, for stability and growth.

Today's forecasts from the office for Budget Responsibility show that they are starting to pay off, and I am clear eyed about where the opportunities for the British economy lie in this Parliament and beyond. In my second lecture in two weeks time, I will set out three major choices that will determine the course of our economy into the future. To go further in strengthening our global relationships, breaking down trade barriers and deepening alliances with our European partners for a more secured and connected economy.

To go further in backing innovation and harnessing the power of AI so that entrepreneurs and innovators thrive here in Britain, and so that working people reap the rewards. And to go further in transforming our economic geography so that we can build growth on a broad and stable basis, spreading opportunity and unlocking opportunity in every part of Britain. Mr. speaker, I came into politics because I believed in a government that stands up for working people, that everyone, no matter where they grow up, deserves security and a fair chance to achieve their potential.

And that being able to manage the bills, afford a home, and pay for a holiday is never too much to ask. When governments lose control of the economy, as the Tories did, it is working. People who pay the price in their pay packets, in their bills and in their mortgages. Yeah, that's what the party opposite inflicted on working people over 14 years. Austerity that cut off investment. Brexit, which cut us off from our closest trading partners.

And Liz Truss's disastrous mini Budget. Cheered on by the Leader of the Opposition and by the hon. Member for Clacton, who is not here today. is not here today.

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No, never here. Mr. Speaker, five prime Ministers, seven Chancellors, 11 Ministers, seven Chancellors, 11 plans for growth. And at the end of it all, the only Parliament on it all, the only Parliament on record where living standards were worse at the end than they were at worse at the end than they were at the start, and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. That hole in the public finances. That is their legacy. And make no mistake, the Tory tribute act up there, they would do exactly the same thing.

They may have changed the colour of their rosettes, but the British people won't forget that they are the exact same people who wrecked our public services and wrecked our public finances in the Tory government. The same people, the same policies and the same disastrous outcomes for working people. The Tories left our country, our people and our allies exposed. They had no plan and no intention to fund their pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, and reform would go one step further by ditching our allies and siding with Russia, while the Green Party want to take us out of NATO and jeopardise our alliances.

Well, she shakes her head. I don't know if they've changed their policy, but their policy is to take us out of NATO. So let me be clear. It is Labour and only Labour that can provide social justice, national security and fiscal responsibility. In their forecasts today, the Office of Budget Responsibility show that we are set to reduce borrowing by nearly £18 billion compared to the autumn this year. We are set to borrow less than the G7 average, something that the Tories never achieved in any year.

In 14 years. The forecast today shows that public sector net borrowing is set to fall from 4.3% this year to 3.6% next year, then to 2.9%, 2.5% and to 1.8% in 20 29, 30. And even after funding other measures announced since the Budget, including the new special Educational Needs system set out by my right hon. Friend, the Education Secretary, last week, headroom against the stability rule in 20 2930 has increased from £21.7 billion to £23.6 billion, with headroom against the investment rule also higher at £27.1 billion.

And debt is now set to be lower in every year of the forecast compared with the autumn. Mr. speaker, it is because of the choices I have made to keep our public finances stable and restore our credibility, that we can invest in the priorities of working people, investment in our communities with pride in place, investment in our schools to fix crumbling classrooms and give every child the education that they deserve, and investment in our NHS to bring waiting lists down.

And with a record cash settlement, I have never accepted that we have to choose between social justice and fiscal responsibility because there is nothing progressive, nothing labour about spending £100 billion a year. That's 1 in 10 pounds of what government spends just paying on the interest of the debt racked up by the party opposite. After their disastrous mini Budget, our debt interest rates soared towards the highest in the G7. And from my Budget to this forecast, while average yields rose for the rest of the G7.

Yields on UK government debt fell. To the Tories, squandered Britain's credibility. My plan is rebuilding it. Already because of the action that I have taken, we are expected to spend nearly £4 billion less on debt interest next year than was forecast in the autumn. And if we stay the course and stick to our plan and our debt interest, return to the G7 average where they were before they wrecked things. With Liz Truss's mini Budget, we will have £15 billion a year more for the priorities of working people and to make working people better off.

That is the prize on offer. That is the prize within our grasp. This is the right plan, a plan that is more necessary than ever before in the world of uncertainty, a stronger and more secure economy, inflation and interest rates, falling resilient public finances. And in every part of Britain, working people better off. Mr. speaker, every additional patient treated in an NHS hospital, every child lifted out of poverty, every breakfast club in every school is because of the choices that we have taken.

And because I have the right plan for our country. But let this House be in no doubt. Every pound that we have invested, every pound in the pockets of working people, every pound that we have secured in this forecast today, can be wiped out by a change, of course. So we must reject a return to austerity to protect our public services and invest in Britain's future. We must reject the temptation of easy answers and reckless borrowing to protect family finances and get the cost of living down.

And we must reject the political instability which would put at risk all the progress that we have made. My plan is the right one. I'm in no doubt about how great the rewards we can be if we stay the course. The forecast today confirmed that the choices this government have made are the right ones. Stability in our public finances, interest rates and inflation falling, living standards rising. More children lifted out of poverty. More appointments in our NHS, more investment in our infrastructure, a growing economy and more money in the pockets of working people.

Mr. speaker, these are the right choices. This is the right plan and House.

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Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride.

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Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride. Mr. Speaker, is.
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Mel Stride Portrait Rt Hon Sir Mel Stride MP (Central Devon, Conservative)
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>> That it? What utter complacency. >> A Chancellor in denial. She

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A Chancellor in denial. She speaks of stability. What planet is speaks of stability. What planet is the right hon. Lady on? She has lurched from putting up taxes to destroying growth, to destroying headroom, to coming back to putting up more taxes, more growth destroyed. Round and round we go. Like a fiscal twister ripping up everything in its path. And, Mr.

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Speaker. And Mr. Speaker. Sir. Sir, I will hear the Shadow Chancellor, because people need to recognise there's two sides. Let's hear the other side down here. hear the other side down here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They just don't like the truth, Mr. Speaker. That's the truth of it. As our That's the truth of it. As our economy bleeds out, what does the right hon. Lady do? She comes to this house with nothing to say and this house with nothing to say and with no plan.

Unless, of course, doing nothing is a cunning plan to avoid those U-turns further down the line. She is weak, Mr. Speaker. She is even stripped the OBR of its ability to assess whether she is meeting her fiscal targets. So, Mr. Speaker, let it be remembered that at this time in this chamber, this weak and chaotic government gave up on the British people. She has nothing to say to us today. This is not a spring statement. This is not

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is. Order. Order order order, order! Mr. Gardner, I. Expect better.

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Expect better. We have to listen to each other Thursday night. I don't need to, you know. Mel Stride.

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you know. Mel Stride. Yeah. They don't like it, Mr. Speaker. They don't like the truth. The spring. This is not a spring statement, Mr. speaker. It is a

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statement, Mr. speaker. It is a surrender statement. Yes.

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Yes. Yes. The Chancellor. Farewell, farewell. The Chancellor has the temerity to suggest that she is creating the conditions for renewed growth. She is rather like the dodgy estate agent standing in the crumbling building with a roof gone, the window's gone with the floor gone and saying, just think of the potential. But that potential, Mr. Speaker, has been undermined by the terrible state of our public finances when it comes to the deficit. She knows the right hon.

Lady knows when it comes to borrowing, that borrowing this year is almost double that which was forecast at the time of the. General election. She knows that the forecasts are predicated on the numbers she has given to the OBR that they have to accept, including squeezing, including squeezing, spending, including squeezing spending at the end of the parliament, raising taxes, raising energy bills. At the same time, we know, we know, Mr. Speaker. We know that that is unrealistic and the reason that we know it, Mr.

Speaker, is that she and the Prime Minister have no backbone when it comes to taking difficult decisions before the Budget, Mr. speaker. Winter Fuel Payment, U-turn, welfare reform U-turn, two child benefit cap U-turn and in the short period of time after the Budget, Mr. speaker, farm tax U-turn, family business tax U-turn, public houses U-turn and on the deficit when she rises again. Could she tell the House how she's going to fill that black hole of £6 billion around this end Budget? And she mentions, quite rightly, the Iran war and the greater threats that our country faces.

Could she explain in a moment how she is going to fund what we have been urging her to do to go to 3% of GDP on defence by the end of this Parliament? How

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will she fund that? Order. Order! Order! Seriously?

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Order. Order! Order! Seriously? We need to hear this. If you don't. Oh, I can help you if you don't want to.

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want to. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. She mentions the cost of borrowing and mentions the cost of borrowing and says it is coming down. Does she not know that the cost of borrowing in this country has been the highest in the G7? Higher, even.

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highest in the G7? Higher, even. Somebody needs to switch the phone off. It is not acceptable. Even higher than Greece. Indeed, Mr. Speaker. Indeed. Mr. speaker, if debt were a government department, it'd be the third largest spending department in Whitehall, not money going on the people's priorities, but simply being flushed down the drain. She makes great store of the latest forecasts on debt, saying that it is coming down compared to the forecast back in the autumn.

But if you strip away her dodgy definition of debt, it will be going up in just about every year of that forecast. Yet, Mr. Speaker, she has the audacity to praise her own performance. She points to growth. But does she not know that the Bank of England only last month downgraded growth for both this
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