Budget Resolutions

Adam Thompson Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)]

I start by thanking the Chancellor for presenting us with the Budget, and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for introducing today’s debate on growth in every postcode. When the Prime Minister began his tour of the country in August, he started in Ilkeston. There, he, the Secretary of State and I listened to people talk about the loss that they feel, having watched our town centre decline over decades. Whether I am in Ilkeston or Long Eaton, people in my constituency share that sense of loss. They remember how our town centres used to be. They had vibrant high streets and markets and great pubs. They were bustling centres of commerce and the beating heart of our community, all at the same time.

The Chancellor is absolutely right to help level the playing field by recognising the fundamental shifts in our economy, and helping out struggling small local businesses while asking thriving online giants to finally pay their fair share. Following the Chancellor’s announcement, almost 400 Erewash businesses will no longer need to pay a penny in business rates. That is money that they can now spend on creating jobs, pass back to their customers, reinvest, or keep hold of to reacquire some breathing space. More than 80 additional shops in my constituency no longer pay any business rates at all, and I know that the Chancellor will be very glad to hear that 10 great pubs have been given full business rates relief, including the fantastic Dewdrop in Ilkeston, and the Mill and Brook in Long Eaton.

[James Naish]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Adam Thompson]

I will not, because so many people want to speak tonight. If the Chancellor is looking for somewhere to celebrate his first Budget, I invite him to Erewash to try out the newly done-up function room at the Mill and Brook, or perhaps enjoy one of the Dewdrop’s famous cheese and onion cobs.

I turn to the measures that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has introduced for families. I was heartened to hear him present such an extensive raft of measures to help pull back the cost of living for so many people across Erewash and the country. Alongside the removal of VAT from electricity costs and scrapping standing charges on gas, there is the direct £100 payment this winter. It is an enormous step that pulls down energy bills for more than 40,000 families, from Sawley to Sandiacre and Shipley View.

I also thank the Chancellor for his continued investment in Rolls-Royce. Royce’s is a huge employer in my constituency, and it is a great point of pride for us in Derbyshire that the most groundbreaking innovation in the world happens on our doorstep. The Chancellor has recognised how much Rolls-Royce and my constituents have to offer our country. That is what a Labour Budget is all about—rooting our economy in society and making them both fairer, and supporting working families, pensioners, carers and small businesses. It is great to have a Chancellor and a Government who listen to people, who will allow our communities to hope again, and who will put our communities back at the heart of our economy.