Speeches by Glen.

“Let’s look at defence spending, with the Government’s stated goal to get to 3.5% of GDP; health spending maintaining its long-run average growth rate, and education spending being held flat in per-pupil terms. The Resolution Foundation has said that the announcements in the Budget mean there will be £6.4 billion of rea…”

“So you do not recognise the pressure on other Departments in the period 2028-29 to 2029-30.”

“Do you recognise that, if you look at the distributional analysis, increasing the headline rate of income tax is more progressive than threshold freezes?”

“Your consultation on gambling taxes began with a desire to simplify, and indeed this Committee looked at the matter as well. After your measures in the Budget, we are now in a position where online betting duty is higher than on the high street; where duty on betting on UK racing is lower than for betting on Irish raci…”

“It does raise taxes for working people.”

“Why did you decide to change the decision on raising the rate of income tax in those 10 days?”

“I just want to try and clarify that there were more meaningful data points between 4 November and 13 and 14 November.”

“Did you make that decision or did the Prime Minister?”

“Thank you, Chancellor.”

“Okay, very well.”

“I understand your logic, but some of the companies are configured with cross-subsidies in different parts of their business. In essence, do you expect to see a consequential restructuring in the industry? It seems likely that some will not find it viable, because of the nature of the subsidy from different parts of the…”

“What led to those being meaningfully different?”

“What you are saying is that there will be no more money for those other Departments beyond what you have set out already in 2028-29 to 2029-30.”

“Governments have to make choices—we all understand that—but the choice that this Government made was not to cut spending on welfare, which has limited their choices elsewhere. There is a real choice. If the Conservatives had been in power, we would not have made those choices over the summer, and the hospitality sector…”

“Chancellor, I totally recognise the integrity of the spending review process. I am just saying that if you align the reasonable expectations of health spending, education spending and your aspirations on defence, all the other Departments have a pressure that pretty much resonates with what happened between 2010 and 20…”

“The clear impression left by the scene-setter press conference on the 4th was that income tax was going up. That was what every newspaper was saying—income tax was going up—and then 10 days later it was not. What can you tell us about your decision-making process during those 10 days?”

“I welcome the changes to the listings review, but will the Minister look at what is happening with research and development tax credits and the efficiency of the delivery of those tax credits, because when the system does not work well enough, businesses are struggling before they get to listing?”

“In the near term.”

“Could I draw your attention, then, to the immediate few weeks before the Budget? What do you think could account for the movements seen around the Chancellor’s scene setter on 4 November, and the stories in the press about the OBR forecast on 14 November? Do you recognise anything in the market behaviours that could be…”

“Thank you. May I bring in Dr Mann?”