The Growth Plan
Debate between George Howarth and Kwasi Kwarteng(1 year, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kwasi Kwarteng
My right hon. and learned Friend is right. The two interventions I announced today—the energy intervention and reducing the tax burden—will have a positive impact on inflation. He is quite right that there is a risk in respect of interest rates. I regularly speak to the Governor of the Bank of England to seek his views on that. We work closely together and are focused on alleviating the burden on our constituents.
Sir George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)
The Chancellor proclaims the end of redistribution. Well, I listened very carefully to the measures he announced, and it strikes me that they are redistributive measures: they redistribute away from those in the greatest need to those in the least need. How, in that context, does he defend spending £10 billion a year on the buy-to-let scheme, which serves only to help those who do not need it to buy houses that they do not live in, and serves no purpose whatsoever for those who end up renting those houses?