Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Kwasi Kwarteng(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
My hon. Friend knows that devolution is at the heart of the Government’s plans to level up and strengthen communities, and in the levelling-up White Paper the Government have fully committed to offering a devolution deal to every area that wants one by 2030.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Can I declare an interest to the Chancellor? I have actually worked in a small or medium-sized business. Unlike many people on these Benches, I have actually worked in manufacturing industry, and the manufacturing SMEs in my constituency are absolutely up against it with the cost of energy. What is he going to do to relieve them right now?
Kwasi Kwarteng
I think the hon. Gentleman makes a very good point and represents his constituency ably. In respect of small businesses, we have introduced a package —an energy price guarantee not only for households but for businesses—to the tune of £30 billion in the first six months. This is something that was absolutely necessary, and I am very proud of the fact that we acted very swiftly to protect businesses such as those in his constituency.
The Growth Plan
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Kwasi Kwarteng(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
Absolutely. My hon. Friend will understand that, historically, we have managed to get out of high periods of debt by growing our economy. That is why we have a renewed focus on growth. What we cannot do is simply tax our way to prosperity; that has never happened before.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I inform the Chancellor of the Exchequer that that was probably the most disappointing presentation that I have heard since I came into the House in 1979. What exactly is he hiding? Is he not hiding the fact that in future, our children and grandchildren will have to pay the price of what he has announced today? Is it not the truth that we will put this borrowing on future generations, which will blight their whole future?
Kwasi Kwarteng
What I find extraordinary is that Opposition Members stood on a platform of pure unadulterated socialism in 2019 that was totally reckless and had no interest in the private sector. What we are doing is putting more money into the pockets of people and businesses. That is what drives growth.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Kwasi Kwarteng(2 years, 11 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
I completely reject the basis of the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. The idea that we are at the back of the pack in decarbonisation is complete nonsense. We are the first country in the G7 to have come up with an industrial decarbonisation strategy. He and his Labour colleagues were saying, “Secretary of State, why don’t you nationalise Liberty? Why don’t you give Mr Gupta £170 million?”, and we made absolutely the right call. We showed judgment and restraint. Going forward, he will appreciate that I was the Secretary of State who resuscitated the Steel Council. We have had constructive conversations across unions and employers to work out a decarbonised future for the industry.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Leaving the EU: Business of the House
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Kwasi Kwarteng(4 years, 10 months ago)
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Mr Sheerman
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I have been in this House a hell of a long time, as most people know.
Mr Sheerman
They always say that, don’t they? The fact is that I have no idea what the Secretary of State is talking about when he mentions a “blind motion”. Could you tell us what he is talking about, Mr Speaker?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Kwasi Kwarteng(5 years ago)
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Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Kwasi Kwarteng)
Obviously, manufacturing is vital to everything we do. We remain committed, through our industrial strategy, to making the UK the best place to start and grow a business. There are now 3.5 million more people in work than in 2010. It seems very remiss of Opposition Members to complain about uncertainty when they have rejected the deal not once, not twice, but three times. This deal will provide the certainty that the hon. Gentleman’s manufacturing interests will recognise and appreciate.
Mr Sheerman
We all had a late night last night, but this is a zombie Secretary of State with zombie Ministers. When will they wake up? Yesterday, the all-party parliamentary manufacturing group, which I chair, was told by a leading professor from the business schools of both Sheffield and Birmingham that, however we leave Europe, we will have a 4% to 5% drop in GDP, but that GDP in the constituencies and towns that voted to leave will drop by a crippling 17% to 20%. That may not include Spelthorne, where I grew up, but it will devastate this country’s manufacturing base.
Kwasi Kwarteng
First, I would like to confirm to the House that we are not zombies. Secondly, Spelthorne has manufacturing interests, as the hon. Gentleman’s constituency does. The manufacturing interests in my constituency always tell me, “Back the Prime Minister’s deal—back certainty. Let’s get this thing over the line and move on with our lives.” That is what they want.