Results 1-20 of 2,394 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Stephen Byers

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: In fact, I was about to launch a separate attack, not that particular one. There is a serious point to be made about public spending. The thrust of the speech that I made on Saturday was that it is the responsibility of all political parties, before the upcoming general election, to be clear about where spending reductions will fall, and that it would be a fraud on the electorate to fail to...

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: It is always a pleasure to follow a fellow pro-European in the form of the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke). The Budget and the Queen's Speech are the two moments in the parliamentary calendar that allow the Government of the day to define their priorities, restate their values and give political direction to their time in office. That is especially important in this...

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: The hon. Gentleman will be delighted to hear that I will focus most of my contribution on the 50p tax rate. However, before I come on to that, I express my regret that not enough was done to address child poverty. I know that this has been a difficult Budget, with limited room for manoeuvre, but we had a clear target of reducing child poverty by half by 2010. We could have done an awful lot...

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: We can tackle child poverty in a number of ways, but I am not sure that my hon. Friend's prescription is the right way forward. I was about to make a point that reflects comments that he has made in the past: focus groups are not always right. On this occasion, over-reliance on such a popular measure for the moment—we understand the circumstances in which such a proposal is thought to...

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: That is simply not true, as the hon. Gentleman will know. I was making a serious point about the breaking of a key pledge in the 1997 manifesto. We repeated that pledge in 2001 and 2005, for good reason. For many years to come, the Labour party will regret that a manifesto pledge on tax was broken in such a way, and broken literally a few weeks before a general election. If the 50p tax rate...

Amendment of the Law (27 Apr 2009) has video

Stephen Byers: I hope that my right hon. Friend is right. That is why I am raising my concerns about the fact that there have been mixed messages from the Government. The Chancellor is clear that for him, the 50p rate is a short-term measure, not a permanent fixture of the tax regime. Other members of the Cabinet are saying other things. We members of the Labour party need clarity about the direction in...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: rose—

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: I do not want to question Rachel Sylvester's normally accurate reporting, but I understand that it was a 50-minute intervention. [ Laughter. ]

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: Somewhere up north!

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: It is happening at the moment, and my hon. Friend is right to say that the divisions are intensifying, but that is because we have an unreformed system. My argument is that we need to reform the system radically, and then we will see the sorts of improvements that have been seen in Sweden, which we often hold up as a good example of public service provision. Sweden has the educational...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: There is a problem that all political parties share. I have looked very carefully at the Conservative party's proposals, and under them the power would go to another group of vested interests: the school head teachers. The Conservatives' education policies would not empower parents. The situation is the same in respect of patients. The challenge for hon. Members from all parties is to have...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: I am pleased to be able to take part in the Budget debate and support my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in his radical and modernising programme of reform in the Department. I know that he wants to implement it, and many Labour Members will want to wish him success. The Chancellor delivered the Budget yesterday against a backdrop of probably the most difficult...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: I do not, and I shall come on to explain why. When I talk about public service reform, I will go through the three stages, which were articulated so well in a piece that the Prime Minister wrote for the Financial Times earlier this week. I will address the point that the hon. Lady raised when I reach that stage of my remarks. I was making the point that there is a danger in government that...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: It is true to say that a small number of people were paying 90 per cent. or higher rates. The figure I am referring to is the total number facing rates of above 60 per cent.—in 1998, it was a little over 750,000, but it is 1,875,000 today. That is an unacceptable situation, and I think that solutions can be found—for example, a bigger increase in the national minimum wage, coupled...

Amendment of the Law: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (13 Mar 2008)

Stephen Byers: I would not go so far as saying that my heart was beating a little faster, but a smile may have played around my lips— [Interruption.] Yes, it is pretty good going really; it is progress. The Prime Minister's words are a clear indication of the direction in which he wishes to go, and they reflect the fact that, over the past few weeks, he has come to recognise the importance of public...

Orders of the Day: Clause 8 — Commencement (5 Mar 2008) has video

Stephen Byers: As someone who had a part to play in drawing up the little red book for the 2005 election, I hope that my hon. Friend will refer to the clear commitment given in May 2005, before the general election, about the new constitutional treaty. At that stage, we knew exactly what the new constitutional treaty was. He is right to say that in April 2004 that was not so, but by the time of the...

Orders of the Day: Clause 8 — Commencement (5 Mar 2008) has video

Stephen Byers: I agree with my right hon. Friend. I was not in the House to hear the then shadow Foreign Secretary accurately articulate the position. To go beyond our manifesto commitment, the constitutional treaty was, of course, killed off by the votes in France and Holland at the end of May and beginning of June 2005. There was an attempt to resurrect the constitutional treaty. Some talked about...

Orders of the Day: Clause 8 — Commencement (5 Mar 2008) has video

Stephen Byers: I shall, with pleasure, for a small commission.

Orders of the Day: Clause 8 — Commencement (5 Mar 2008) has video

Stephen Byers: Yet again, I must disagree with the right hon. Gentleman. The promise for a referendum referred to the new constitutional treaty, and we can then discuss what people believed that it stood for and so on. However, the promise concerned the new constitutional treaty, which, as we have heard, was voted down by voters in France and Holland and an attempt to resurrect it was effectively killed...

Orders of the Day: Clause 8 — Commencement (5 Mar 2008) has video

Stephen Byers: No, I do not agree with that. Interestingly, there are different constitutional situations in different countries. My understanding is that nine countries planned to hold referendums on the old constitutional treaty, of which one was the United Kingdom. Because it was regarded as a constitutional matter, not just a political decision, many countries were legally obliged to do so. Because the...