Budget Resolutions

Jo Platt Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)]

The autumn Budget shapes the choices we make and the kind of society we want to build together. After 14 years of mismanagement, this Budget is about turning the page. It is about moving from uncertainty to opportunity, and about giving people the confidence that the Government are on their side. That is why I welcome the Chancellor’s autumn Budget. It marks the start of a series of measures that will make a real difference, such as helping with the cost of living, supporting our NHS and giving our communities the opportunities they need to reach their potential.

From our proud coalfield communities involved in the BCSSS scheme, who will finally receive the justice they deserve, to the 2,840 families in Leigh and Atherton who will benefit from lifting the two-child benefit cap, this Budget demonstrates that the Government are listening to communities like mine. It shows that the voices of ordinary people and the concerns raised in towns like Leigh and Atherton are being heard. I want to give special thanks to William Hancock, a local mineworker who fought tirelessly to support his fellow workers in getting the justice they deserve.

I was delighted when the Chancellor announced measures to tackle illicit activity on our high streets. For too long, fake shops and rogue traders have undermined confidence and damaged local pride. That ends now. Backed by £45 million over four years, the new crackdown will create a cross-Government taskforce, strengthen trading standards and give law enforcement the tools it needs to protect honest businesses. This is a direct response to the campaign I have led, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), to shut down dodgy shops and restore pride to our high streets. We do need to go further, but this is a huge step forward. It is the start of the change that our communities have demanded for so long.

This Budget is not the end; it is the beginning. Together we will rebuild trust, restore pride and create the kind of society that reflects the best of who we are. That is the future we promised, and that is the future we will deliver.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the shadow Minister.