Rachel Reeves MP: speeches

Speeches

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend that we will take no lessons from the Conservatives on inflation, when it reached more than 11% when they were last in office. On VAT in the leisure sector, we are making the changes from 25 June right until 1 September to help boost the hospitality sector but also, crucially, to help families during the summer. Our expectation is that this will cost taxpayers money, but it is funded through the changes that we are making around the foreign branch exemption, so companies cannot book losses overseas to avoid paying their fair share of corporation tax here in Britain.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I remember that, when I was young, I used to enjoy visits to Chislehurst Caves and Eltham Palace, and I hope they will be able to benefit from the changes I have announced today. It is important that we ensure that supermarkets pass on these cost reductions to their customers. We are also making changes to HGV duty, which will reduce costs for supermarkets. It is important that Supermarkets recognise the pressure that their customers are under at the moment. We have provided additional powers to the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure that no business, whatever its size or nature, takes advantage of the conflict in the middle east to hike prices for their customers.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady says that we should extend the industrial strategy, but the previous Government did not even have an industrial strategy. I would say that a £700 million tariff reduction is not exactly fiddling at the margins; supermarkets should pass on those cost savings directly to consumers to help all our constituents with the cost of living.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I do think it is a little rich for Conservative Members to talk about the instability from the middle east conflict—a conflict that they wanted Britain to join in from day one, but which our Prime Minister made the decision to keep Britain out of, because that war was a mistake and it is having an impact on British businesses and British families. I am proud to be the Chancellor who has overseen the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war. We are spending £270 billion during this Parliament, taking spending to 2.6% by April next year. The Conservatives said they would get to 2.5% by the end of this Parliament. They had no paid-for plans to do so; we are achieving it three years early.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  It is important that all the policies that we have set out are fully costed and fully funded, and the change that we have made to the foreign branch exemption will fund today’s package of measures. The reduction in inflation due to the measures I set out in my Budget last year, and the strong growth that we have seen—the fastest in the G7 in the first quarter of this year—make the package affordable and sustainable. That is why we are able to set out this support today.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that ceramics have a life in many parts of our economy, not just in great heritage businesses like Denby, which produces plates and other ceramics, but in sectors like defence and aerospace, where ceramics are crucial. That is why I am pleased to back them further with the £120 million package announced today.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I will have to check about ice skating. I like to pride myself on being on top of my brief, but I do not know whether ice skating is included. I did, however, know about the London Eye.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and all the MPs involved in helping to put together this scheme of support for ceramics. Like her, I welcome the work of the TUC and GMB in this. Innovation and ensuring that the industry is sustainable and competitive for the future is absolutely essential. This is not just a sticking-plaster policy; it is about setting up the industry for the future, including investment in innovation and R&D and also the diversification of energy supplies.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I am really excited about what is happening in Blackpool in the lead up to the 100th anniversary of the Blackpool illuminations in three years’ time. I very much look forward to my next trip to Blackpool. I do not eat only fish and chips, but I remember a very happy meal of fish and chips in my hon. Friend’s constituency during his by-election campaign.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  This package was not just designed by me; it was designed by hon. and right hon. Members of this House who have made representations to me about the cost of living, but also about the specific business needs and business challenges in their constituencies. Although I am proud to be the Chancellor who has delivered today’s package, I pay tribute to all Members who have contributed to it.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I am sure that my hon. Friend’s constituents in Edinburgh North and Leith will benefit from being able to enjoy attractions in the Scottish school holidays. People from the other nations and regions of the UK, or from further afield, will also be able to enjoy the attractions of Edinburgh this summer. On the specific issue of delinking gas and electricity prices, this is both a short-term and long-term measure. In the short term, we have increased the electricity generator levy by 10 percentage points to bring in more money this year. We are renegotiating contracts to move electricity prices on to contracts for difference in order to have greater certainty about electricity prices, so that the gas price does not set the electricity price so frequently, giving greater stability of energy prices to businesses and families.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to know that staff from a business in the ceramics sector in Newcastle-under-Lyme are here today, and I say to them directly: this Government have got your back and want to work with you and the trade unions that represent people in the sector to ensure that the ceramics industry plays an important part in British life—particularly in the pottery communities —for many years to come. Of course, we will set out the details of the scheme, but like my hon. Friends who represent these communities in Stoke, Newcastle and Amber Valley, this Government are very keen to crack on with the scheme and make sure that businesses can get the support they deserve.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  As I have said in previous answers, I recognise the role of oil and gas in the UK and its importance to the UK for many years to come, which is why we have changed the rules around tiebacks and put in place a permanent mechanism for taxing windfall profits. But the hon. Lady has to answer the question: are she and her party in favour of the foreign branch profits exemption or not? If not, they cannot back the support we are giving today to help people with the cost of living and the support we are giving for ceramics. This exemption means that we are moving in line with how other countries treat foreign profits. At the moment, we have the absurd situation where losses overseas can mean that businesses avoid paying their fair share of corporation tax in the UK. This moves us in line with what other countries do. It is closing a tax loophole, and the hon. Lady and the Conservatives should welcome that.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  We have already increased the number of apprenticeships, and changes to the growth and skills levy mean that young people do not always have to have maths and English at grades A to C to get on to an apprenticeship programme. We have also introduced shorter apprenticeships to help young people to get the skills they need. On private rent, the right hon. Gentleman might have seen the changes that we made through the Renters’ Rights Act 2026, which gives renters the greatest rights they have had in a generation, including the right to challenge a rent increase and to have only one rent increase a year. If someone challenges their rent increase and takes their case to a tribunal, they will not have the rent increase during the course of the tribunal, helping to limit rent rises for hard-working families.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Closing tax loopholes has been a feature of the first two Budgets I have delivered as Chancellor—for example, the loophole whereby private schools did not pay VAT or business rates. I increased the energy profits levy and the tax on private jets, and there has been a range of other measures to ensure that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share of tax. The Competition and Markets Authority is already, at my behest, carrying out a review of heating oil to make sure that customers using heating oil are treated fairly. We are introducing the fuel finder to ensure that customers can always get the best deal when filling up their car with petrol.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend knows, I am absolutely committed to the critical minerals sector. We have already introduced the Kernow growth fund for Cornwall, and we have instructed the National Wealth Fund to invest more in critical minerals, including the huge opportunities in tin and lithium in Cornwall. We need more diversified supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths, and Cornwall gives us a great opportunity to achieve exactly that. I look forward to continuing to work with my hon. Friend and the other Cornwall MPs to ensure that we bring good jobs, paying decent wages, to the region.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  To start with, let us remember that the plans we inherited from the last Government would have seen fuel duty go up straightaway; the plans that we inherited from the last Government would not have seen £29 billion of investment a year in our NHS; and the plans that we inherited from the last Government would have seen business rates for our high street businesses—our retail, hospitality and leisure businesses—go up straightaway. We did make the decision to change that inheritance because we thought it was the right thing to do, and we still do. The International Monetary Fund confirmed that we have the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation of any country in the G7, and our borrowing as a share of GDP fell to 4.3% in the last financial year and is due to fall in every single year of this Parliament. This is the first time that our deficit has been lower than 5% since 2019.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all his campaigning in this area. I also pay tribute to the trade union USDAW, its former general secretary Paddy Lillis, and its current general secretary Joanne Thomas, for all their work in this area. Strengthening statutory sick pay is part of our commitment to implement our plan to make work pay, ensuring that the safety net of sick pay is available to those who need it from day one.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right that although Reform-led Worcestershire council said that it would cut taxes, it has instead put them up. That is why I urge people in Redditch and across the country to vote Labour on 7 May.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Just a couple of weeks ago, I hosted an event in Downing Street where I met people who are benefiting from the change in the two-child limit and people who had campaigned for that change. Mums told me that they were going to use the money to pay for their kids to go to after-school clubs with their friends, swimming lessons that they could not afford before, or a new school coat rather than a second-hand one. That is the difference that this money is making to families up and down the country. I am proud to be the Chancellor who has scrapped the two-child limit.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are on the right path with the right economic plan. Unemployment is down, the economy is growing, interest rates have been cut six times, and last year Government borrowing was lower than it was the year before and is set to fall by more than in any other G7 economy. At the same time, the Government are acting responsibly on the world stage. This is a war that we did not start, we did not enter, and we are working with our international allies to de-escalate. Our focus is on protecting family finances, supporting businesses and taking care with the public purse to improve Britain’s economic resilience. That is the right plan for our country.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  What the right hon. Gentleman is basically admitting is that he would have gone ahead with the increases in fuel duty and business rates, and that he would take that money out of our national health service. We made those changes on the mandate that we got at the election, and at the same time we are reducing the budget deficit so that, for the first time in six years, it is now below 5% of GDP. As a result, the Bank of England has cut interest rates six times, helping all our constituents with their mortgages. This is very different from the hikes in mortgages that we saw under the previous Tory Government.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend knows from sitting on the Treasury Committee, this Government have already taken action to reduce the cost of living and to bear down on inflation with the changes around energy prices, fuel duty, prescription charges and rail fares. I will do everything in my power and use every lever we have to bear down on the cost of living, including for people in the private rented sector. That is why we have already introduced the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. People who have mortgages have seen cuts in their mortgage rates since we came into office, and we will also do everything we can to help people in the private rented sector too, because we must ensure that this conflict in the middle east does not result in our constituents being poorer.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The oil and gas sector will play an important part in our energy mix for many years to come, and we need to support it, as we are doing through tiebacks, for example. But it is important that the energy profits levy remains in place for now, because during this conflict we will be able to capture the profits made in the UK through the windfall tax. The Conservatives and Reform oppose this tax, which would just mean even higher profits for oil and gas companies. As my hon. Friend knows, we are also delinking gas and electricity prices by increasing the electricity generator levy, so that no energy company can make excess profits because of the conflict.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that question. While other parties—specifically Reform and the Conservatives—wanted us to enter this war, we stayed out of it, and are working to de-escalate the conflict and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The economy was growing, interest rates were coming down and inflation was falling. As a result, every month since I have become Chancellor, wages have risen by more than inflation, easing the cost of living pressures that the previous Government oversaw.