"I heartily agree, and I would not be surprised if things got even better than that over the next few years. We have momentum now, as my hon. Friend’s point shows.
Our economic strategy has been about far more than reducing the deficit: how we do that matters. The Chancellor …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I know that my hon. Friend is an expert in these matters, and I strongly agree that the change will definitely encourage more people to save into pensions. The forced way in which people have had to invest so much of their pension savings into annuities was a disincentive, certainly …..." Margot James - View Speech
"The shadow Secretary of State is providing a litany of cases, half of which are exempt under the legislation while many others will be beneficiaries of the discretionary housing payment, which this Government have trebled to £190 million per year. Did not her party in government introduce the local housing …..." Margot James - View Speech
"In debating today’s motion, it is instructive to look back at the manifesto on which Labour Members stood at the last election. They talked about the need for “tough choices on welfare” and stated:
“No one fit for work should be abandoned to a life on benefit, so all those …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention and I agree with much of the principle behind it. Of course, some people will never be able to afford to buy their own homes—although this Government are intent on helping as many people as possible to own their own homes—and that …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I certainly do not. It is not a tax. A tax is a Government levy on somebody’s income, whereas we are clearly talking about reducing a subsidy.
Let me return to the subject of work. Many groups are exempt from the measure, including people in receipt of state pensions, families …..." Margot James - View Speech
"Some of the few families in my constituency affected by the benefit cap have particular issues in accessing employment. Does my right hon. Friend feel that the Work programme has the specialist knowledge required to deal with some of the difficulties that this group sometimes encounter in accessing employment?..." Margot James - View Speech
"I was delighted to hear my right hon. Friend say that he thought that the cultural change afforded by the introduction of universal credit was even more important than the financial savings that it will offer. In my part of the world in the black country, we have a higher …..." Margot James - View Speech
"18. Until recently, a significant part of the labour market, including young people, was referred to as unemployable. May I congratulate my hon. Friend and the Secretary of State on challenging this deeply negative assumption? To be getting 132,000 previously unemployed people into employment is a considerable achievement. Does my …..." Margot James - View Speech