Speeches by Kyle.

“Tariffs will be there for as long as they are needed, but we are working very carefully with our global partners on the global forces that are necessitating tariffs and more measures in the first place. The EU is a very similar landscape for steel and overall economy as the UK, and America similarly, and all are taking…”

“As you are being such a brilliant advocate for Weston-super-Mare, I will say that, if there are singular issues that you think are impacting the economy, economic wellbeing and security or the potential for growth in your area over which I could have any agency, while you batter me over the phone fairly often anyway, y…”

“Unintended consequences are something that I have been extremely mindful of from the outset, every step of the way. I am worried about coalescing around targets, as happens in lots of other circumstances when you have targets. I am concerned about these aspects of it, which is why we need to get it right.”

“The EU reset was a seismic moment not least because of the relationships that it started to rebuild. Coming into office in my previous role, when the previous Commission was in place, the relationships were broken. They were highly strained.”

“Thanks to the Committee for asking me back, and for Amanda as well, who has done an outstanding job as interim Permanent Secretary. One observation I have from my time in this job is just how outstanding the Department and its officials are. This is a quite turbulent period in global economic life, and Departments such…”

“I have only taken one lesson from President Trump, in that he moves very quickly and is not bogged down by convention. President Trump has taken equity stakes. The Administration in the most free market economy in the world has started taking equity stakes in companies that it sees are important to national life and ec…”

“There are other sectors that face specific challenges. I am frustrated that hospitality finds itself in a position where it faces specific challenges. Every day you turn on the news in the morning and hear about another sector, whether it be defence or universities and student fees, facing issues because of the inherit…”

“When it comes to the number of pubs going under—one type of small business—we have slowed the pace, even though I am not saying that slowing the pace is where we need to get to, because we need to stop the pace in its tracks.”

“I have not read the report from the IFS or seen how that has been calculated or how that ties in with where the Treasury figures are. I am very happy to review that report myself, look at it and see where it stands with the overall direction of travel with business rates.”

“As you know, that is an HMT decision. We have reformed them, lifted a third of hospitality companies out of business rates, and on top of that introduced 15% business rates relief. These are the first steps. That is now frozen for two years into the future. This gives us the footprint to think about where we go next. A…”

“We are two years into a five-year Parliament and taking steps down that road, but we are not at the destination yet.”

“We are engaging as much as we possibly can. Yes, we have the small business plan, but we also have the SME team in my Department, who have been out on safari in towns right around the country, having sessions with small businesses deep into communities, so that my officials are as connected to the frontline of this sec…”

“These are things that are balanced by Government in the transition to zero, if you are manufacturing. For example, if you are an automotive manufacturer, we will have DRIVE35. We will have a £4 billion fund to help with that transition. There will be parts where, because of the increased profitability that will go with…”

“These are very important ones. When it comes to automotive, we have DRIVE35, but also energy support. We have the supercharger and BICS.”

“Yes. I am not here to say that everything is perfect. We want to get energy costs down for every consumer and every business, and get them down in a sustainable and universal way that is secure into the future. We are having to do it from having come into government at a point at which the infrastructure for energy gen…”

“Do not forget that, earlier in this year, ahead of the Iran war situation, we had started to lower bills by up to £150 by shifting some of the burdens of regulatory and other costs.”

“We already have in the BICS area.”

“It is domestic bills. No, of course. Already we are drifting out of DBT-held policies here and into areas that are fully owned by DESNZ. We have to do everything we can do to lower the cost of energy for our country. We are uncompetitive. It is extraordinary that we have been able to incentivise the amount of inward in…”

“I am trying to phrase this right. You cannot change the fundamentals of our nation, which is a country of 73 million people, and all the businesses, the advanced manufacturing and the high energy-intensive sectors that we have, with their energy needs, in 18 months. I understand your frustration. Believe me, I share it…”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong, we have already passed the test that the US has set. I am looking at something that would make a tangible difference. In these situations, I will be presented with submissions from officials, based on what other countries are doing, to keep us aligned. I am determined to look at what I believe …”