"I welcome the Queen’s Speech, especially the Bills that will drive growth and help businesses in my constituency. Manufacturing companies will welcome the capital allowances and companies of a certain size and charities will welcome the national insurance rebate. Everyone, including businesses, will welcome the fairer taxes and the Government’s …..." Margot James - View Speech
"The estimated cost of the Labour party’s plans is £28 billion. Labour opposes every one of our spending cuts, so does that not imply that it would fund the whole lot by pushing this country’s borrowing back towards £150 billion? Is that why the shadow Chancellor is so reluctant to …..." Margot James - View Speech
"This is a truly shocking development, impacting very unfairly on savers who are already feeling the impact of the very low interest rates brought about by quantitative easing; it is acting as a real disincentive to save for one’s older age. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on protecting members …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I warmly welcome the 25% increase in the budget for UK Trade & Investment and the £1.5 billion uplift for export finance facilities, which is much needed by businesses trying to fill orders from abroad. My right hon. Friend also commended the Heseltine review and said that he would respond …..." Margot James - View Speech
"Does the hon. Lady not accept that the Government have made great strides in protecting low-paid public sector workers in response to Lord Hutton’s report, so that anyone earning £15,000 or less will not have to make any increased contribution at all, and for those earning less than £21,000 the …..." Margot James - View Speech
"My hon. Friend speaks with considerable authority on the firefighters’ situation, but is he as surprised as I was to hear that increases in longevity have meant that the average policewoman now spends more of her life drawing her pension than she did earning it, which is surely unsustainable? That …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I welcome the Budget, which has been a Budget for enterprise and growth, and I would defend the reduction in the top rate of tax, which seems to be the Opposition’s main bone of contention. I think older people have a stake in the future of our economy just as …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. I notice that she cited the last two years over which the incomes of the very wealthy have increased, but she might equally well have quoted the last 12 years of the Labour Government, during which I believe top earners did extremely …..." Margot James - View Speech
"I wanted to begin by setting the scene and explaining why I thought that the Budget represented a step forward, but as the debate is actually about the age-related allowance, I will make a bit of progress on that subject now...." Margot James - View Speech