Budget Statement

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Friday 12th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bellingham (Con) (Maiden)]

My Lords, I start by giving my heartfelt thanks to all those people who have been so incredibly welcoming and kind to new Peers. They range from members of the Leader’s Office to the doorkeepers to my indefatigable Whip, my noble friend Lord Shrewsbury. Everyone has been so welcoming and I am grateful for that. I am also grateful to my two supporters, my noble friend Lord Glenarthur and my noble and learned friend Lord Garnier.

My first maiden speech took place shortly after the 1983 general election and lasted 25 minutes. My second maiden speech, which a number of colleagues described rather rudely as my retread speech after my electorate decided to give me a short sabbatical after 1997, took 15 and a half minutes. This is my third maiden speech, and I hope it is my last—you never know in politics—which will be a lot shorter. In fact, my Whip has impressed on me that brevity in this place never goes amiss, perhaps laced with some levity as well.

It is my plan to concentrate on a number of issues dear to my heart, including small businesses, rural affairs, legal services, justice, Northern Ireland and defence. I still live in my old constituency, so it will be a delicate tightrope not to get involved in these matters without getting in the way of my successor, Mr James Wild, who is a high flier and was returned with a record majority; I do not want to fight with him. Indeed, it is more than my life is worth to fall out with Mrs James Wild, also known as the right honourable noble Baroness, Lady Evans of Bowes Park.

On the Budget, when the Chancellor was appointed, there were no coronavirus cases in the UK. When he made his first Budget Statement, there had been one case. The Budget deficit at the time was predicted to be £55 billion. We now know the figures and they are quite horrendous, at £355 billion for this year and £234 billion for next year. But I accept reluctantly all the big tax increases and the big freeze on allowances because I think the Budget meets the mood of the moment. The overwhelming majority of people accept that the bill has to be paid at some stage in the future.

My final point is a small caveat about corporation tax. I agree with my noble friend Lord Caine and the noble Lords, Lord Bilimoria and Lord St John of Bletso, that the signal the rate sends is incredibly important. Given that, I urge the Chancellor to make it clear that when revenues increase and the economy grows again, it will be our intention to go back to having one of the lowest corporation tax rates in the world and to map out a pathway to get the rates down again in the future.