Small Businesses: VAT Threshold

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

It is a little rich for the party opposite to ask anyone else to take responsibility after the 14 years they inflicted on this country. Last week’s labour market statistics show that there are 381,000 more people in work since the start of 2025. Of course there is more to do. However, the updated forecast from the OBR this week shows that unemployment will peak later this year before falling for every remaining year of the Parliament, ending lower at the end of the Parliament than it was at the beginning—the rate that we inherited from the noble Lord’s Government.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

That is the 322nd time that noble Lords opposite have used the phrase “14 years”. Will they please listen to Sir Tony Blair, who said this week:

“Labour’s policies are harming growth and undermining young people’s job prospects”?


Does the Minister agree with Sir Keir Starmer, who said of the previous Government that they were lurching

“from crisis to crisis and U-turn to U-turn … To correct one error, even two, might make sense. But when they’ve notched up 12 U-turns and rising, the only conclusion is serial incompetence”?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Well, that was a most enjoyable question from the noble Earl. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about the last Government’s 14 years in power. We had austerity, followed by Brexit, followed by Liz Truss. The growth record of the previous Government was an absolute catastrophe. He will know from the forecast presented to Parliament this week that growth has been increased for next year and the year after. That is only possible because of the stability that we have brought about. Borrowing will be £18 billion lower over this Parliament. It will fall every year of the forecast and will be below the G7 average for the first time—something that the previous Government did not achieve in 14 years. It is only because of those decisions that we are seeing the stability and growth of this economy, decisions that the party opposed at every turn.