Speeches by Reeves.

“The Government are taking action to tackle child poverty, by removing the two-child limit and by expanding free school meals and breakfast clubs, including the seven breakfast clubs already rolled out in the Dewsbury and Batley constituency. As a result, 550,000 children will be lifted out of poverty in this Parliament…”

“We are on the right path with the right economic plan. Unemployment is down, the economy is growing, interest rates have been cut six times, and last year Government borrowing was lower than it was the year before and is set to fall by more than in any other G7 economy. At the same time, the Government are acting respo…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for all his campaigning in this area. I also pay tribute to the trade union USDAW, its former general secretary Paddy Lillis, and its current general secretary Joanne Thomas, for all their work in this area. Strengthening statutory sick pay is part of our commitment to implement our plan to make …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the excellent work city of Wolverhampton council is doing to help people with the cost of living, in particular the most vulnerable people in our society. The measures we are taking to reduce child poverty, and to increase the basic state pension and the new state pension, combined wi…”

“Conservative Members cheer, but they did not use any of those freedoms. It is this Government who are doing everything we can to buy, make and sell more in Britain. One of the best ways in which we can grow our economy is to work more closely with our friends, trading partners and neighbours in the European Union—wheth…”

“Just a couple of weeks ago, I hosted an event in Downing Street where I met people who are benefiting from the change in the two-child limit and people who had campaigned for that change. Mums told me that they were going to use the money to pay for their kids to go to after-school clubs with their friends, swimming le…”

“What the right hon. Gentleman is basically admitting is that he would have gone ahead with the increases in fuel duty and business rates, and that he would take that money out of our national health service. We made those changes on the mandate that we got at the election, and at the same time we are reducing the budge…”

“First of all, I offer my deepest condolences following the tragic death of two young children in my hon. Friend’s constituency. This will be an incredibly distressing time for the whole community and the thoughts of the whole House are with them. We recognise that everyday living costs remain too high, which is why we …”

“I am slightly disappointed that my hon. Friend did not mention that today is Staffordshire Day; Staffordshire oatcakes are available for Members from both sides of the House in the Tea Room. On the wider issue, we do need to buy, make and sell more in Britain, with more contracts going to firms in Staffordshire—not jus…”

“The fact that some 10,000 children in one constituency have been lifted out of poverty, by just one of the policy changes we have made to reduce child poverty, shows the difference that this Labour Government are making. Combined with the breakfast clubs, the free school meals, the extension of childcare, the Renters’ …”

“My hon. Friend speaks powerfully on behalf of his constituents. The response of this Government during this conflict is, first, to try to de-escalate it. This is not a war that we started, and it is not a war that we joined. Unlike the Conservatives and Reform, we are working to de-escalate, not ramp up, the conflict, …”

“The oil and gas sector will play an important part in our energy mix for many years to come, and we need to support it, as we are doing through tiebacks, for example. But it is important that the energy profits levy remains in place for now, because during this conflict we will be able to capture the profits made in th…”

“The Government are committed to improving living standards for people across the UK. Thanks to decisions I made in the Budget, the energy price cap reduced by £117 a year, on average, in April. We have extended the cut in fuel duty twice, and introduced an anti-profiteering framework to protect working people from unfa…”

“To start with, let us remember that the plans we inherited from the last Government would have seen fuel duty go up straightaway; the plans that we inherited from the last Government would not have seen £29 billion of investment a year in our NHS; and the plans that we inherited from the last Government would have seen…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that although Reform-led Worcestershire council said that it would cut taxes, it has instead put them up. That is why I urge people in Redditch and across the country to vote Labour on 7 May.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that question. While other parties—specifically Reform and the Conservatives—wanted us to enter this war, we stayed out of it, and are working to de-escalate the conflict and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The economy was growing, interest rates were coming down and inflation was falling. As a …”

“As my hon. Friend knows from sitting on the Treasury Committee, this Government have already taken action to reduce the cost of living and to bear down on inflation with the changes around energy prices, fuel duty, prescription charges and rail fares. I will do everything in my power and use every lever we have to bear…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on running his fourth London marathon this week for a cancer charity. I know that cause is dear to his heart. He makes an important point. I understand why people are calling for immediate support, but the previous Government’s untargeted support—I understand why the former Chanc…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for standing up for her constituents in Portsmouth. The purpose of decoupling gas and electricity prices is to reduce the volatility. We all know from our constituencies how much lower-income families and pensioners, in particular, struggle with volatility in gas and electricity prices, because e…”

“In Newbury, and indeed in all of our constituencies, people got £150 off their energy bills in April this year. There are very few countries in the world where energy bills fell in April; in most countries they are going up. That was possible only because of the measures I took in last year’s Budget. I have extended th…”