Budget Resolutions

David Simmonds Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

The Budget debate is an opportunity to consider both the national and the local impact of what has been announced. It is clear that this is a centralising Budget and a tax-and-spend Budget. It does not even raise the tax necessary to cover the spending commitments that are being made. When we look at the impact across the economy, what is clear is the importance of routes out of poverty and the opportunity to find a job, which is good for people’s wellbeing and their mental, physical and financial health.

There has been a surge in unemployment under this Labour Government. It is the worst graduate jobs market since records began. Those in my party—who will have been proud of the fact that, on average, 800 new jobs were created every day that our Government were in office, and that youth unemployment was halved by the time we left office—will look at the long-term impact, particularly on younger people and their life chances as a consequence. There is nothing whatsoever in this Budget to address that, except more tax and spend.

On productivity, I represent a constituency that has lower than London average incomes but high prosperity and employment. Yet this Budget does nothing to address the cliff edges in the tax system, the loss of child benefit for high-rate taxpayers, the loss of access to tax-free childcare, the impact of rising pension contributions and the withdrawal of personal allowances, which, particularly among the most productive public sector professionals, is having a huge impact not just on their incomes but on their ability to contribute to the service improvements that we all need to see.

We all want our housing market to be an engine of opportunity and growth, but all the measures introduced by this Government are making it harder to move, to rent and to build houses. Two thirds of London’s boroughs—in one of the most economically vibrant cities in the world—report net zero additional new homes from the start of this year. At the same time, local authorities, such as the excellent Conservative council that serves some of my constituents in Harrow, have put in a £300 million bid for shovel-ready housing projects to the Greater London Authority, funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, but have received an allocation of precisely zero towards the delivery of any of those new homes that are ready to go. It is small wonder that the Secretary of State has been clear that this Government will not meet even their own housing targets.

The hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Ms Oppong-Asare), who is no longer in her place, made reference to rough sleeping. I am glad that the Government are making that a priority, because they certainly need to do so. St Mungo’s has reported a 27% rise in street homelessness since this Government took office—something which is on them and which they must own. It is right that they need to clear up their own mess.

That description applies to the measures announced on business rates as well. Having promised hospitality and retail a new, permanently lower regime of business rates, the Government imposed massive increases, which have driven business and employment off our high streets. It is good that the Government are beginning to recognise the negative impact on our high streets that their policies have had; they should at least have the humility to recognise that it is the consequence of their own decisions. There is nobody else to blame in respect of that.

There are many headlines for the clear implications that this Budget will have. The increase in the benefits bill under this Government is bigger than the entire defence budget at a time when this country faces an incredibly uncertain world. The verdict of savers and investors of both the domestic and international markets is clear, because borrowing costs for 30-year and 10-year gilts have hit record highs. In no period in recent history has there been so little confidence in the ability of a Government to manage the finances of the country effectively. This Government talk about the impact in every postcode, but in my constituency, people from HA4 to UB9 are left with unbuilt granted planning permissions in their green belt, deteriorating and reduced public services, and a Government who are taking away the opportunities for people to make life better for themselves and their families.