Speeches by Madders.

“I have a question for you, Soumaya. Playing devil’s advocate for a minute, obviously we know that household budgets are stretched. What is wrong with giving consumers the best possible value options?”

“It would need someone to make a fairly forceful political argument that this was in the national interest.”

“Thank you. That is very clear.”

“Professor Murphy, how are the Government doing in terms of eliminating forced labour from supply chains?”

“In the face of the local election results last week, it is undeniable that what we have done so far is not enough. The long tail of austerity means that we have so much more to do. People see a world moving at a rate of knots and are frustrated at this Government’s slow pace of change. We live in a world where we can o…”

“It is nearly a year.”

“Just to follow up, a couple of you have given that specific example of the energy interventions, where some sectors have not been included. Could you illuminate us on the conversation that happens? What is the Government’s response to that legitimate concern?”

“When you present these issues and the Government explain, as you say, where the line is drawn, do you feel like you are having any influence as to how those decisions are being taken?”

“rose—”

“Adam, David, do you have any sense of whether there is a Government strategy to deal with the potential price shocks from the middle east conflict?”

“Can I come back to what both Murray and Matthew said? It was very interesting that you both gave similar answers—that to get to this target, we are going to need a new entrant into the market. Who in Government is leading the way in terms of attracting that new entrant? Is anyone doing anything to attract new entrants …”

“Could I jump in there? Please come back to what you were going to say in a minute. When you talk about developing our own oil and gas, do you mean preserving whatever is extracted for the UK market rather than putting it on the global market?”

“I state for the record that I am chair of the All-Party Motor Group, which SMMT is one of the secretariat for. Thank you for that. The industrial strategy hopes to significantly increase UK vehicle production by 2035. If we look at last year’s total figures of just over 750,000—the lowest since the 1950s—there were pro…”

“It is absolutely the case that the Government are doing a number of things to support the sector, but getting a review of this mandate brought forward is critical. Part of the problem the industry has is demand, is it not? There have been some initiatives to spike demand. What are the Government doing themselves in ter…”

“We are nearly a year into this now. Where are we doing well in terms of implementing the strategy? Where could more progress be made?”

“You are having the same conversations as you had when Russia invaded Ukraine, essentially. Are you getting the same responses?”

“I want to follow up on the review. It is absolutely crystal clear from what you have said that this is potentially existential for the industry. What possible reason could there be for the Government wanting to wait until next year for the outcome of the review?”

“The Chair began to ask you about the impact on energy costs from the middle east conflict. Do you have a sense that the Government have either a short-term or a long-term plan to deal with the potential price shocks from that?”

“I mean manufacturing. In terms of Government and public sector purchases of vehicles, how many are UK manufactured? How many are electric? Is there a drive within the public sector to support the industry through that?”

“Very quickly, DWP has some very ambitious plans in terms of NEET engagement. Has the council been able to engage with that?”