Spending Review 2025 Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Spending Review 2025

Gill German Excerpts
Wednesday 11th June 2025

(3 days, 12 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rachel Reeves Portrait Rachel Reeves
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I think the whole House would pay tribute to the people of Portsmouth and their commitment to our country’s defence. On affordable housing, through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the planning reforms we have already announced, we are enabling the building of these homes. Through the £39 billon announced today, we are putting in money so that we can build social and affordable homes. It is disappointing that the Liberal Democrats do not back our planning and infrastructure reforms, because unless everyone backs those, it will be very hard to get Britain building again and to build the 1.5 million homes that people in Portsmouth and the rest of our country desperately need.

Gill German Portrait Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
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I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s statement and, like my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis), in particular the historic £445 million investment into rail in Wales. I also echo my hon. Friend’s thanks for the tireless representation of our Secretary of State for Wales and our Welsh Labour MPs. For my constituency, the investment means vital funding for Network North Wales to seamlessly connect with Northern Powerhouse Rail, bringing us closer to realising the ambitious vision of our UK Labour Government, our Welsh Labour Government, and our Labour metro mayors. Does the Chancellor agree that it is only with Labour working together that we can truly deliver for the people of north Wales?

Rachel Reeves Portrait Rachel Reeves
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We finally have a Labour Government here and in Wales to work together for the people of Clwyd North and across Wales to make those investments, including the significant investments in transport that we have announced today. I pay tribute to all the Welsh Labour MPs who have lobbied me so extensively to get this investment into Welsh rail. I was left with no doubt about what the priority is for the people of Wales: transport investment and investment into coal tip safety. I am pleased to have been able to set that out in the spending review.