Speeches by Lowe.

“T6. A staggering £10.1 billion of the £61.2 billion spent on universal credit in 2024 was gifted to foreign nationals. Does the Minister agree that the solution is really quite straightforward? We should ban all foreigners from claiming any benefits, remove from our country those migrants incapable of financially suppo…”

“I think I am right in saying, having read Gareth and his team’s excellent report as usual, that you are committed to a cap of £45 billion, plus RPI or CPI. I am not sure which of those it is.”

“But it will not be out for a bit?”

“I think we would agree about that. Having run a Premier League football club, I know about the east-west rivalries—particularly the Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds rivalries, which are always very powerful. I do not think that we disagree on what you are saying, but we might disagree in that I think the job of the Gove…”

“So no wolves in sheep’s clothing today.”

“Jo, I think I am right in saying that you basically committed to undertaking a review of the rail infrastructure costs, which we have not yet seen—is that right?”

“I will carry on, because I smelled what I considered to be possibly a wolf in sheep’s clothing when I read more deeply. On the face of it, it sounds good. The idea is to improve transport from east to west in the north, which you would think is the objective, so that people can get from one side of the country to the o…”

“It is a quote from her in 2025—a direct quote.”

“I have two more questions. You are probably aware that construction costs—I run construction businesses—have historically outstripped any form of inflation yardstick. Most Government inflation yardsticks understate inflation, particularly building-cost inflation, which has gone up and is likely to continue to go up. Do…”

“Right, okay. I then read little heffalump traps in figure 9 on page 36 of the Report: “Previous programmes have lacked budget discipline, with expectations that budgets could be increased. The programme team should draw out lessons on cost efficiency mechanisms used in other programmes.” I also found suggestions on pag…”

“I read it more as a war on motorists, and perhaps the climate change agenda driving things.”

“This is a very important rail link across the north; it is almost more important, in my view, than the HS2 heffalump trap and vanity project. When I built the Southampton stadium, local politics played a huge part in crabbing logic. You have local councils—some Labour, some Tory and some Lib Dem—that find it hard to ag…”

“I could not help asking because I think it is quite important.”

“That is quite important, because it might be her intention but they need to understand how to deliver against that intention. It is all very well to have intentions, but you are asking museums and galleries to try to deliver against a ministerial wish list, and it is not clear how you are going to judge them. You need …”

“But what is an inclusive national story? How do you create an inclusive national story? History is history, isn’t it?”

“Let us at them. “Growth and good jobs in every place” is verbal baby food. What does “Richer lives with choices and opportunities for all” mean? Does that mean you are going to hire people on merit, or through ability? I am not clear. I am of adequate intelligence—I am not very clever—but that is not entirely clear to …”

“It came from the Secretary of State. You hand out £484 million to these 15 institutions, or you did in ’24-25, and I think I am right in saying—unless you tell me differently—that in January 2026 you had not clarified how you intend to assess whether the museums and galleries are delivering against those three prioriti…”

“I would be careful not to damage a model that, as you said earlier, is very successful.”

“Are they clear on what they need to do? Presumably, you will skew your grant funding towards those who deliver on your objectives. You are, after all, the master and they are, ultimately, receiving gifts. I am not sure from your answer that it is entirely clear to them.”

“First, I agree that it is a cracking Report from Gareth and his team.”