Oral Answers to Questions

Gagan Mohindra Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

Well, I will find some hearing aids for the hon. Lady, because she refused to listen to the answer I was providing. Basically, when the Conservatives left government, they had not provided a single penny to make sure the cliff edge would not affect every single small business in this country. That is the problem they should be apologising for. [Interruption.] I cannot hear what she is chuntering, so I probably need a hearing aid, too. Of course I am happy to look into the letters she is talking about, but, really, the Conservatives need to get with the programme. Even the leader of the Conservative party now admits that Brexit was a “shock” on a level with covid and the economic crisis—but it was a self-inflicted shock.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Businesses of all sizes across my constituency are struggling due to the strain of Labour’s increases to national insurance contributions and the pressures created by the Employment Rights Bill. Many tell me they are questioning their viability or even considering relocating overseas. Will the Minister set out what steps the Department will take to support entrepreneurship and ensure that businesses choose to invest and grow here in the UK, rather than being driven overseas?

[Chris Bryant]

Look, we want to back British entrepreneurs and investors. That is why we addressed some of the key issues in our small business strategy, which we published earlier this year, in particular late payments. The Conservative Government refused to tackle that in any serious way across their 14 years. It is why we are also looking at access to finance. One thing we know about a business is that if it exports, it will be more resilient, more likely to grow and more successful in future years. To enable that, I asked UK Export Finance this week not just to focus on big contracts around the world, but to ensure that it provides specific support for SMEs.