Budget Resolutions

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

For my constituents and those across the country, life is hard, and it has not shown signs of getting easier. The previous Government were the first in decades to preside over a fall in the standard of living and, with Trump’s war in the middle east, things are unlikely to get better as quickly as we would like. That is why I welcome the support being provided to households facing higher energy costs. For many families, an extra £100 will not transform their circumstances overnight—no one is pretending otherwise—but every pound matters, and that support matters, too.

In Calderdale, almost nine out of 10 houses are expected to be eligible for the £100 household energy payment. That means that the overwhelming majority of my constituents will receive direct support this winter. For many people, the support will ease some of the pressures on their household budgets at exactly the moment they need that the most.

I welcome the expansion of the warm home discount, too. By widening eligibility, the Government have almost doubled the number of households in the scheme to 6 million. That means millions more families receiving £150 off their energy bills this winter.

Too often, those on the lowest incomes have faced what is known as the poverty premium, made famous by Terry Pratchett with his “Captain Vimes’s Boots” theory of economics: the less money you have, the more things cost. We see that in our insurance costs, in the costs of credit and, importantly, in the cost of fuel. That is why ending standing charges will make a difference, as those who use less energy will pay less.

Helping those households is not simply about fairness; it is also good economics as the money from these measures will not sit unused, stored thousands of miles away in the Cayman Islands, but be spent in local communities on local high streets, helping local people. People will use it to pay bills, buy essentials and support local businesses, which will contribute to their high streets.

The same principle applies to our businesses across Calder Valley. Business owners are ambitious to innovate, are determined to succeed and want it to be easier to invest, grow and create jobs. Whether because of energy costs, red tape or being locked out of Government contracts, for many of them the main concern has been staying afloat, not growing or taking on new people. That is why I welcome some of the changes to business rates announced in the Budget. Raising the threshold for small business rate relief for retail, hospitality and leisure from £12,000 to £18,000 means that 70,000 additional businesses will pay no business rates at all. In Calder Valley, that will make a huge difference to our collection of independent shops, cafés and pubs.

Speaking of pubs, I am proud to see support for Britain’s small independent breweries. Calder Valley is home to fantastic independent breweries including Eagles Crag and Vocation. I am proud to have made a significant contribution to them over the years, but finding room to grow has not been easy. The support announced in the Budget will be welcomed across the brewing sector.

While some Budgets look worse as time goes on—the famous omnishambles Budget and the Liz Truss Budget among them—this is one that will look better, with its help for small businesses and support for households. This Budget backs working people. This Budget backs British industry. It backs communities in Calder Valley, and I am proud to back it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Collins (Worcester) (Lab)]

I know that people in Worcester will be looking for two things: some let-up in the endless pressure on bills and the public services that keep letting us down, and a genuine sense that there is a plan for things to improve— that there is hope. Let me start by recognising that those two aims have been front and centre as the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have developed this Budget. I believe in politics that is focused on people, and I believe that the Budget aims to focus on people. However, the challenges that we face require a deeper shift—not just adjustments to budgets, but something far more fundamental: an approach that recognises people’s real lived experiences, and puts them at the heart of our decisions and systems.

Digital technology is reshaping our world, and we need a fresh approach to digital safety. The Chancellor is right to say that we should build the data centres and artificial intelligence models that keep us secure, but we should also be insisting on safety by design for AI and online social platforms, and should be holding providers responsible.

We need an answer that matches the desperate urgency of the climate crisis. The Budget starts to recognise gaps in our energy policy, but it also risks creating new ones. It is right to recognise the importance of gas, but by casting hydrogen projects into further delay and insecurity, we risk our energy future altogether. The Government have accepted new gas extraction in the North sea at Jackdaw, but it is concerning to see that they are hesitating on providing support for the most powerful technology in decarbonising gas at the same time. I was watching David Attenborough before it was cool—

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

My hon. Friend has always been cool.

[Tom Collins]

Thank you!

My career has been spent developing green technology systems. I urge the Secretary of State to work rapidly to resource, accelerate and provide certainty for the core hydrogen projects that the UK needs for reindustrialisation and for a viable energy future. We are competing with other countries for investment, and we are at risk of losing. If we get it right, though, the UK can not only be more energy-resilient; we can even become energy-rich, and bring about a true renewal that would see the UK selling to Europe and the world.

There are other challenges across our system, and the crisis in Worcester’s A&E is stark evidence of that. I recently hosted a rough sleeping summit, bringing 30 organisations together to end rough sleeping in Worcester, and that will create new forms of joint working. However, we need this approach across the board, in health, social care, education, skills and justice, alongside the ambitious funding and goal-setting announced by the Chancellor. I welcome the Government’s provision of £163 million in the Budget to write off 90% of the debt that Worcestershire county council accumulated in making provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities—it creates the breathing room that we need to recover delivery in Worcester—but I am determined to work for deep reform of the system in our county, reform that puts families at the centre.

I urge the Chancellor to work with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and members of industry, to address the shortfall in funding for hydrogen projects as a matter of urgency. However, with those corrections secured, and with ambitious action taken, I believe that we will have the opportunity to not only create room to breathe, but begin a journey that will give every single person real cause to hope again.