Speeches by Reynolds.

“Does the shadow Minister agree that if this Labour climbdown is happening, it is not enough for there to be a smaller increase than the one that was planned? There needs to be no increase in business rates.”

“I will be brief—the Minister might even be able to give me a one-word answer. In 2024, the Chancellor said that she had come to the conclusion that extending the threshold freeze would hurt working people. Does the Minister agree, then, that he is proposing to hurt working people?”

“rose—”

“Has the Treasury done any analysis of the amount of that tax increase that will be passed on to renters, and if it has, what has it come out with?”

“Citizens Advice notes that the warm home discount has not kept pace with rising energy bills and will struggle to touch the sides for families in energy debt. Will the Minister therefore commit to a Government review of whether the £150 discount provides sufficient support for the families who really need it right now?”

“The hon. Gentleman is right to say that this is about choices, but will he accept one of the choices that the Chancellor has made? Even though hospitality employs less than 7% of people in the UK, since she has come into office, the number of jobs lost in that sector is almost 100,000—50% of total job losses? The Chanc…”

“Vaccination rates among the over-65s are not where we would like them to be, so will the Secretary of State adopt an emergency vaccination scheme in village halls, supermarkets and—if needed—jab vans to get to the people who have been missed?”

“Carmen Lau is a Hong Kong democracy campaigner, and a constituent of mine. Earlier this year, her neighbours received letters asking them to take her to the Chinese embassy in exchange for £100,000. Last month her neighbours also received fake sexually explicit photographs of her, with a Macao postage stamp. May I ask …”

“In reality, we need to look at the positions that were on the table at the time. The hon. Gentleman knows as well as I do the positions that both our parties took when the votes were happening. Obviously I was not in the House at the time, but I recall watching and listening to colleagues on the Labour Benches opposing…”

“Let me be clear at the outset that the Liberal Democrats support the Bill. We do so because we recognise that British businesses need backing to compete globally, and both the industrial support package and the export finance package have vital roles to play in that. The increases proposed in the Bill represent a major…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman understand that his Government are yet to abolish the hereditary peers—”

“What steps will be taken across Government while this inquiry is ongoing to ensure that the victims of these horrible crimes are given proper support during the process?”

“It took the Government a year and a half to confirm that they were going to scrap the two-child benefit cap. What estimate has the Minister made of the number of children who, during that time, were unnecessarily kept in poverty because of it?”

“The Chancellor announced in the Budget that she would legislate for only one assessment of the fiscal rules every year, instead of two, which is the case at the moment. In the light of the change in the OBR’s leadership, will the Minister commit today to seeking the views of the incoming chair of the OBR about the econ…”

“On the fact of DBT shifting the trade promotion staff to the FCDO—”

“That might all be true, but from day one, the UK will remove tariffs on 99% of Indian goods, whereas, where we are at the moment, 28% of the UK goods that are being exported to India will be tariff-free on day one. It does feel like there is a massive give from the UK from day one.”

“Do you think that the DBT has a plan for that specifically?”

“On day one of the implementation of this deal, 28% of UK trade to India will be tariff-free. The other way around it will be 99%. After the full 10 years’ implementation, the UK will get to 66%. With the absence of a detailed implementation plan and a cut in staffing at DBT, and the trade promotion staff moving to the …”

“The FTA with New Zealand does have binding climate agreements, but India’s does not. Why do you think it does for one but not the other?”

“Is the DBT currently geared for showing those opportunities to British companies?”