Ruth Jones: ...left people worried as they face higher mortgages and soaring costs, and have done nothing to show they understand how serious the situation is. On Friday, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng) was fired by the Prime Minister, who is his ideological bedfellow. They were in lockstep over every key element of Government policy announced since 6 September 2022. We do not...
Jeremy Hunt: ...expense in the growth plan and one of the most generous schemes in the world. It is a landmark policy for which I pay tribute to my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), and it will support millions of people through a difficult winter, reducing inflation by up to 5%. I confirm today that the support we are providing between now and April next year...
Aaron Bell: ...hon. Friend has said, this will have been a difficult decision for the Prime Minister, both politically and personally because of her loyalty of my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng). However, it is vital that we provide economic stability for the families and businesses in constituencies like mine and across the country. We have already seen that this morning...
Kwasi Kwarteng: The Bank of England decided to carry out temporary purchases of long-dated UK government bond (gilts) from 28 September through the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) on whatever scale is necessary to restore orderly conditions. These interventions will be strictly time limited, with auctions taking place until 14 October. I have therefore authorised an increase in the total size of the APF by...
Kwasi Kwarteng: Today I can inform the House that I have asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to bring forward the date of their next forecast to 31 October. Strong growth and sustainable public finances go hand in hand. Alongside the publication of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook, I will set out the government’s Medium Term Fiscal Plan. This will set out further details on the government’s...
Kwasi Kwarteng: My hon. Friend will know that the growth plan really was a very strong package for business and for small and medium-sized enterprises, and I am sure that many of his constituents will appreciate the strong measures that we introduced.
Kwasi Kwarteng: The hon. Gentleman will have seen that I have brought forward the publication of the medium-term fiscal plan to 31 October.
Kwasi Kwarteng: This Government are relentlessly focused on growing the economy. Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on gas prices so, with predictions of typical bills reaching between £4,000 and £6,500 a year, people needed immediate support to get them through this winter. Last month we set out the growth plan, which will focus on breaking out of the high-tax, low-growth cycle in...
Baroness Wheatcroft: ..., successive Governments have talked this talk. The problem has been delivery. There have been numerous initiatives. George Osborne cut corporation tax and raised the investment allowance, just as Kwasi Kwarteng has done. It did not increase investment levels. He announced the creation of 26 new or extended enterprise zones. The productivity gap remained. Nevertheless, we are now promised...
Baroness Smith of Basildon: ...this House had risen for the Conference Recess, the new Chancellor made his first Statement to House of Commons—and what a Statement it was. Then, and in the days that followed, Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng set out the package, which ended any pretence of fiscal responsibility or levelling up—or indeed of understanding the pressures on families, individuals and businesses across the...
Paul McLennan: ...Lothian. This week is challenge poverty week and that is exactly why we are here with this bill. They say that a week is a long time in politics. It is an old saying but still so true—just ask Kwasi Kwarteng. The cost of living crisis has been building for a long time and it is hitting the poorest in our community. Again, that is why we are here today. Of course, the Russian invasion of...
Bill Kidd: The mini budget announced by Kwasi Kwarteng prioritises lining the pockets of the rich through cutting corporation tax and cutting the 45 per cent tax rate that is paid by the wealthiest individuals in the UK. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that we need to focus on rebuilding our economy post-Covid, post-Brexit and in the current context of international uncertainty, rather than take...
Michelle Thomson: ...gilt buying operation will be a temporary measure in the defences that are required against an incompetent Tory budget. Former monetary policy committee member Professor Blanchflower said that Kwasi Kwarteng has “crashed the ... markets ... I’ve never seen such raging incompetence, ever.” Does the cabinet secretary agree that Scottish people can simply no longer afford to pay the...
Gillian Martin: ...who normally keep their own counsel. Not least, last night, as I was preparing for this debate, I read the words of former deputy governor of the Bank of England Sir Charlie Bean. He said that Kwasi Kwarteng’s measures “could finish”—I repeat, “finish”—“the NHS”. Wow! That warning should strike fear into every single one of us across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland...
Michelle Thomson: ...untrue; indeed, that is on a par with the statement, “The UK economy is strong and stable”. Therefore, I am delighted to support the Government motion. Last Friday’s budget statement by Kwasi Kwarteng and some of his subsequent interviews claimed that his approach is to tackle supply-side issues. That is why, he explained, he had to uncap bankers’ bonuses—so that London could...
Kwasi Kwarteng: I was very interested to hear the hon. Lady’s defence and I was very curiously affected when she said that Labour believes in wealth creation. That was the biggest fantasy I have ever heard. You cannot grow the economy if you keep taxing families. You cannot grow the economy if you see business as the enemy. We have to reiterate very clearly to our friends on the Opposition Benches that you...
Michael Matheson: ...face as a result of increasing energy costs; increasing extraction of oil and gas in the North Sea will not address that issue—that is not my comment but that of the United Kingdom Government. Kwasi Kwarteng, the former UK energy secretary, who is now Chancellor of the Exchequer, made such a point during a debate in the House of Commons earlier this year. The way to tackle the underlying...
Stephanie Peacock: I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way. Last September, I asked the then Business Secretary, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), why the Government signed off on the closure of the Rough gas storage facility. He dismissed it as not relevant and accused me of stoking panic and alarm. The Government are reportedly now reopening that facility. That does not...
Tobias Ellwood: ...his new position. He is a round peg in a round hole; I know how passionate he is about the environment. Will he join me in paying tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), who was previously in charge at BEIS? He is now in the Treasury and therefore perfectly placed to advance this idea. During the war there was an effort to create munitions, and we...
David Linden: ... the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) has just been appointed Prime Minister, not least because, if the rumours are to be believed, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng) will be her Chancellor. Even more worryingly, the right hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg) is set to be Secretary of State for Business—if it was 1 April, most...
