Speeches by Dean.

“I understand the sentiment, and I know that the IMF made recommendations to this effect. It wanted to de-emphasise the concept of headroom in public debate, but the reality is that if they are seen to be off-track, and there is no repair made in the spring statement, the markets are going to react accordingly, aren’t t…”

“So in reality you are not making a formal assessment, but we are still going to have that assessment? The speculation will remain the same and the reaction to that figure will probably remain the same.”

“Ordinarily, as you know, the Treasury has the OBR and economists in before we have the Chancellor in. Will the economists be able to tell us the answer?”

“My question is, will you determine the figure but just not put it in the EFO this time?”

“In the previous budgetary process in the spring, we had the late adjustment to welfare policy scoring. It seems to have prompted a change, this time round, with the movement towards one assessment of the performance against the fiscal rules, with two forecasts. Can you explain to me what the impact of that decision wil…”

“Will you come to that figure internally but not publish it?”

“When we cut through it all, the central choices in this Budget were to increase the fiscal headroom and spend more on welfare, and to pay for it via an income tax threshold freeze. I am not sure why Labour Members are reluctant to describe it in that way, because it does contain some legitimate political choices. I wel…”

“The right hon. Member mentions that bet365 is based in Stoke. Could he explain to us why it is also based in Gibraltar and Malta?”

“First, I associate myself with the comments made by the Leader of the House about the fire in Hong Kong. I have many constituents from Hong Kong who will be thinking about their family and friends. I also note that this is UK Parliament Week. I know you are very actively involved, Mr Speaker, and I thank you for your o…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) for securing this debate. We are colleagues on the Treasury Committee, and I always find his contributions extremely thoughtful. He has the best interests of the country at heart, so I thank him for securing this debate. We probably all agree that the UK investmen…”

“It seems that the urgent question has been in part fuelled by rampant pre-Budget briefing, but I would argue that it is a symptom of wider dysfunction in our Budget scrutiny process. Parliament is generally relegated to the sidelines and has no real power to challenge or amend the Budget, unlike in other democracies. W…”

“I thank the Home Secretary for her confirmation about the five-year pathway for Hongkongers—that is a promise kept to them. The statement was otherwise a series of push measures. I am always fascinated by how much more difficult it gets, when it comes to the individual decisions made within the system. To push the Home…”

“I join the Leader of the House in thanking Mr Speaker for the seriousness with which he is taking Chinese interference in our democracy. I represent many Hongkongers in my constituency, and they are deeply concerned about this issue. It was a relief to hear confirmation that the Budget will be taking place on the Floor…”

“The Minister is right to point out that speculation ahead of a Budget is not abnormal, but we have had speculation throughout most of this year. I wonder whether he will accept that part of the reason for that is how the Chancellor has both constructed and applied her fiscal rules. She set them up, with good intentions…”

“Residents in the Woodcote area of my constituency have been living with the misery of being opposite an illegal waste dump for years. Despite all the photographic and video evidence that they produce, nobody seems to be able to shut the site down. Can the Minister look into what level of proof is required to take actio…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I join the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House in thanking you and all the staff for playing a role in organising the remembrance events of the past week? I, too, would like to focus on Ukraine this week. Russia’s war is rumbling on and we are about to enter a long and cold…”

“I want to come in on that exact point, because some economists say that, actually, you should be trying to value not the property but the land itself. I don’t know whether you want to come in on that point, Professor Leunig. If it was possible just to pull out the value of the land, rather than the value of the propert…”

“Finally from me, given that you have served under different Governments, why do you think Governments continually bottle the question of property taxation?”

“Can I be clear on who pays this tax? Is it anybody who lives in the property or only the owner?”

“I will briefly say that it took far too long—since May. Professor Leunig, I am sure you have been itching throughout this discussion because you also have a proposal for an annual local tax. Will you explain that to us, and address specifically why you include a cap of properties valued at £500,000 or more and a floor …”