Economy, Welfare and Public Services

In the House of Commons, the Shadow Chancellor delivered a statement responding to the King's Speech. He began by moving an amendment to the Question, expressing regret that the Gracious Speech did not mention the improved economic conditions the Government is inheriting, such as the fastest recorded growth in the G7, inflation at the Bank of England's target, and unemployment at half the rate it was in 2010. The Shadow Chancellor also regretted the lack of mention of how to make necessary savings on welfare, and urged the Government to meet the commitment set out in the Labour Party's manifesto not to raise taxes on working people. Additionally, he regretted that the Gracious Speech failed to make a commitment not to use changes to reliefs to raise taxes, and called on the Government to increase income tax thresholds to prevent income tax from being charged on the State Pension. The Shadow Chancellor then congratulated the new Chancellor on her appointment, noting that as the father of two girls, he warmly welcomed the smashing of a glass ceiling by Britain's first female Chancellor. He acknowledged the Chancellor's stated commitment to fiscal responsibility, stability, and economic growth, and commended the Treasury officials she has inherited, expressing gratitude for their excellent work during his time as Shadow Chancellor. While the Opposition will not oppose for its own sake, the Shadow Chancellor welcomed a number of Bills in the King's Speech, including the focus on growth and the improvements on planning. He noted that the last Government had introduced 110 growth measures in the previous year's autumn statement, and that any boost to house building is welcome, as the previous Government had delivered 1 million homes in the last Parliament. However, the Shadow Chancellor cautioned the Chancellor against over-relying on top-down targets, as changing attitudes to new housing is crucial. Regarding the Budget Responsibility Bill, the Shadow Chancellor expressed pride that a Conservative Government had set up the Office for Budget Responsibility, and commended the work of Richard Hughes and his team. He hoped that the Chancellor would confirm that she would not fiddle with the five-year debt rule to allow increased debt through the back door, and that she would commission the OBR to do 10-year forecasts of the UK's long-term growth rate to bake long-term decision making into Treasury thinking.