Chris Coghlan
Main Page: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)Department Debates - View all Chris Coghlan's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Rachel Reeves
The point about price gouging is really important, and that is why we have today instructed the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure that heating oil and petrol retailers, for example, are not taking advantage of this situation to line their own pockets rather than thinking about the consumers they serve.
Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley) (LD)
This last week has underlined our perilous national security situation and the potential risks to growth. Does the Chancellor agree that now is the time to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP, perhaps funded by borrowing, along with our European and Canadian allies, to reassure the bond markets and to drive growth and protect our national security?
Rachel Reeves
I have huge respect for the hon. Gentleman, who is on the Treasury Committee, but his party has opposed every increase in taxes that we have brought in to better fund our public services, including higher defence spending. Like me, he will be looking at what is happening in the financial markets. I am not convinced that this is the time to unleash more borrowing on the markets. That is what Liz Truss tried, and look where it got us.