The Economy

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:18 pm on 24 October 2019.

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Photo of Vernon Coaker Vernon Coaker Labour, Gedling 2:18, 24 October 2019

Well, there you go—Neil Woodford. I have still never heard of him. We read about Terry Smith, Nick Train and Anthony Bolton, and millions of pounds of investors’ money. The money that we—hon. Members on both sides of the House—pay into savings, trust funds and pensions is put together and invested on our behalf by a system that has short-term interests and profit at its heart rather than the long-term benefit of communities. It cannot go on.

It cannot be right that my own brilliant BEIS Committee reported that the average FTSE 100 chief executive is on £4 million a year compared with the average worker on £30,000. It cannot carry on. All I wanted to hear was a Chancellor of the Exchequer who put at the heart of his Queen’s Speech contribution equality, a responsible capitalism, a change to the fast buck, and a change to those people who seek to make money rather than putting people first. That is what I wanted to hear and it was seriously lacking.