Speeches by Tomlinson.

“If I may, I will try to make some progress so that other hon. Members are able to contribute. This Government are delivering growth and are focused on driving investment in our economy. As I said earlier, whole-economy investment has risen by 4.2% in real terms since the start of the year, outperforming the OBR’s March…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for his point. We do want to see farming businesses in rural communities and businesses up and down the country investing and growing for the future. On the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief, it is worth noting that the statistics suggest that up to 375 e…”

“I will give way, and then I will try to make some progress, so that other Members can get in.”

“I, too, welcome that change in the Budget, and I commend my colleague the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for the work she has been doing on that—I am sure we will hear more about it in her closing remarks.”

“The OBR was aware of the tax changes announced in the previous Budget when it made its forecast just a few weeks ago. It expects that employment will rise in every year of this forecast; that every year, the figure will be higher than it was in March; and that there will be over 35 million people in work by the end of …”

“I give way to my constituency neighbour.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention—the first from a Labour Member. I look forward to many more from Labour hon. Friends, as well as Opposition Members. This Government have also chosen to cut Government borrowing every year, so that interest rates, already cut five times since the election, keep falling.”

“This Budget will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty, because of decisions that we have made. This Government have made £10 billion more spending available to the Scottish Government, yet we still see public services failing up and down Scotland; the NHS is not working as well as it should north of th…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I look forward to contributions from Members on both sides of the House on the various measures in the Finance Bill. On the point that the hon. Member raises, this Government considered really carefully the reforms that were announced at the Budget last year, and have put forward change…”

“I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report—we had a bit of extra time to read it this year. He will know that according to that report, investment—both overall, whole-economy investment and private sector investment—has outpaced the OBR’s forecast from March thi…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On 26 November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at this Dispatch Box. This was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country, with no cuts to capital spending—which I am sure would have been implemented by…”

“I thank the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (James Murray), for his earlier remarks, which framed today’s debate rather well. As he set out, we have here an Opposition day debate, a chance for Members to really interrogate Government policy, to challenge our decisions, …”

“What the Treasury does accept is that at this Budget, the Government had to make the decisions to ensure that we could increase our fiscal stability and get borrowing falling in every single year. The previous Government were not able to control our public finances, and yet in every year of this forecast, borrowing wil…”

“I am going to make some progress, if that is okay, because my hon. Friend will know that many other Members have not yet spoken and I might give way to them later. It is worth recounting just how many times Conservative Members have chosen in the last few days to major on process rather than policy. They are very inter…”

“Indeed; I heard the point of order loud and clear. It is worth remembering that this is an Opposition day debate—I think it is within the remit to talk about the Opposition and the fact that they have lost all their players to the other team. I also think it is time to move on from talking about process, because on thi…”

“I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Too many Conservative Members defended the mini-Budget, which crashed the economy and added thousands of pounds to mortgages. In contrast, since this Government have come to power, the Bank of England has cut interest rates five times, taking £1,200 off a typical two-year fixed rat…”

“Go on—that’s helpful.”

“I agree that the Opposition are incredibly damaging for the economy. The clean-up operation of the disaster zone that was the last 14 years is well and truly under way. Our economic plan is working, with growth up, employment up, interest rates down and borrowing falling, with a Labour Budget focused on the British peo…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, who is a strong advocate of ensuring that we do all we can to support people, lift people out of poverty, and grow our economy and our towns and cities across the country. By contrast, the Opposition are stuck in the past, playing the songs of old again and hoping for a new audience. After …”

“One of the things we announced at the Budget is a rebalancing in the system away from properties that have large rateable values and towards the small businesses on our high streets. That shift from the large to the smaller properties is worth almost £1 billion and supports them in the business rates system, as part of…”