Economic Growth

Debate between Emma Reynolds and Charlie Maynard

Monday 7th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Charlie Maynard (Witney) (LD)]

I thank the Chancellor and the Minister for their speech and statement. We know that the Conservatives’ Brexit deal has hit national GDP by as much as 8%, costing the country up to £90 billion a year in lost tax revenues. Will the Government now pull the largest zero-cost growth lever available to them by negotiating a growth and defence partnership with the EU, including joining the single market and a new customs union, rather than clinging to the same failed red lines, which are costing businesses billions every year? Being outside the single market and the customs union directly links to the 13% fall in the UK’s export of goods since 2022, which has hit traditional manufacturing regions the worst—the same places that the Government’s reindustrialise-the-north agenda claims to prioritise. I would like to understand whether she acknowledges the reality of that linkage or not.

I welcome the Chancellor’s emphasis on the importance of fiscal credibility and, linked to that, meeting the fiscal rules. However, the reality is that those rules have been easily gamed by successive Governments, with our budgetary process being summarised as speculation without scrutiny, short-term headroom chasing and gaming the system, with an approach of jam today, which is spending, and pain tomorrow, which is tax, but tomorrow never arrives. The result is that it has been more than 25 years since we had a balanced Budget, and our national debt is now six times larger than 20 years ago.

Will the Chief Secretary demonstrate that she is serious about tackling our debt and agree that a key way to do that is to grow our economy? Will she consider what we can learn from how other countries such as Switzerland, Sweden and New Zealand have addressed and solved their budget process problems?

[Emma Reynolds]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions and will try to do them justice in the short time available. The Chancellor said this morning that Brexit has hammered British exports. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there is a link between the fall in exports and the barriers the previous Conservative Government put up with our nearest and biggest trading partner, which is exactly why this Government are renegotiating a reset with our European partners. We promised in our manifesto that we would not join the single market, but we will bring down those barriers at the border, particularly with the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement that we are currently negotiating with the EU—there will be further announcements on that in due course—which will benefit our agrifood industry by making it easier to export to the European Union.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the fiscal rules. I do not agree with his analysis: we have brought forward the fiscal rules to apply over three years to get around some of the gaming that he talks about. We are serious about tackling our debt and, as I said in my statement, we are reducing our deficit at the fastest rate in the G7.

I am always interested to learn from other countries; I think we should always be open to that. I would be interested to hear more about what the hon. Gentleman had in mind.

Thames Water

Debate between Emma Reynolds and Charlie Maynard

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

As I said in answer to a previous question, through the clean water Bill the Government will seek to ensure that the new water regulator—which will be integrating the functions of Ofwat, the EA, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Natural England—does not allow companies to get into the sorts of unmanageable levels of debt that we have seen.

[Charlie Maynard (Witney) (LD)]

It is clear that the creditors’ consortium has material influence over Thames Water, as it is funding the company and bilaterally negotiating with the Government. Material influence means that the consortium meets the defined criteria of being an ultimate controller. Will the Secretary of State finally acknowledge that fact and work with Ofwat to enforce it?

[Emma Reynolds]

We are working closely with Ofwat, which has been talking to the consortium of investors for two years. Through my officials, the Government have been in discussions with the consortium alongside Ofwat since November. I thank all the officials who have been involved in those discussions. We need to find a way forward that puts customers and the environment at its heart.

Water White Paper

Debate between Emma Reynolds and Charlie Maynard

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I agree with my hon. Friend that it is unacceptable. These companies should respect both the spirit and the letter of the law. As I have said, Ofwat is considering what further action it can take to ensure that these companies obey the law that this House passed last year.

[Charlie Maynard (Witney) (LD)]

I welcome the White Paper and thank the Secretary of State and her team for their work. I am keen to understand how it will work in practice. As the Secretary of State will know, Thames Water’s largest equity shareholder wrote down its shareholding to zero in May 2024, so the equity is widely regarded as worthless. That leaves the debt, three quarters of which is held by the London & Valley consortium, the class A creditor. Does she agree that, given that the equity is worthless, leaving only the debt, the consortium obviously has material influence over the company?

[Emma Reynolds]

I am sorry, but I cannot get into the specifics of Thames Water at what is quite a sensitive moment. What I can say is that it is financially stable, but the Government are prepared for all eventualities, including a special administration regime if one were needed, but I cannot go into the detail of what is happening.