To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) impact of the (i) Spring Statement 2022 and (ii) October Budget 2021 and (b) combined impact of those fiscal events on (A) women, (B) Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, (C) disabled people, (D)...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) impact of the (i) Spring Statement 2022 and (ii) October Budget 2021 and (b) combined impact of those fiscal events on (A) women, (B) Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, (C) disabled people, (D)...

My Lords, I first put on record my appreciation of the good things the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement. He had an extremely difficult job on his hands when preparing it. The aftermath of the pandemic made things difficult enough before the horrors unfolding in Ukraine came on to...

My Lords, I first put on record my appreciation of the good things the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement. He had an extremely difficult job on his hands when preparing it. The aftermath of the pandemic made things difficult enough before the horrors unfolding in Ukraine came on to...

My Lords, over the past month the bravery of the Ukrainian people has inspired the world. In contrast, Putin’s savage and unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation has shocked us all in equal measure. This country stands with Ukraine. That is why we continue to support that brave nation with...

My Lords, over the past month the bravery of the Ukrainian people has inspired the world. In contrast, Putin’s savage and unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation has shocked us all in equal measure. This country stands with Ukraine. That is why we continue to support that brave nation with...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that exposition on the Budget, although I did not entirely recognise aspects of it. It is a Statement rather than a Budget; I need to watch my terminology.

One of my problems is that, normally, I would have been much further down the speaking...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that exposition on the Budget, although I did not entirely recognise aspects of it. It is a Statement rather than a Budget; I need to watch my terminology.

One of my problems is that, normally, I would have been much further down the speaking...

My Lords, the move on fuel duty is not in the right direction as far as the climate change agenda is concerned. Even where the Chancellor generally moved in the right direction, he did so in a very limited way—for example, exempting in his post-Brexit freedom VAT on certain energy...

My Lords, the move on fuel duty is not in the right direction as far as the climate change agenda is concerned. Even where the Chancellor generally moved in the right direction, he did so in a very limited way—for example, exempting in his post-Brexit freedom VAT on certain energy...

My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, and I agree with all he says. I will make some remarks about health and the environment.

We have not really even come out of this pandemic but we have indeed seen a spike in childhood obesity. We have...

My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, and I agree with all he says. I will make some remarks about health and the environment.

We have not really even come out of this pandemic but we have indeed seen a spike in childhood obesity. We have...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, who made some powerful points, if I may say so. I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Spring Statement and thank my noble friend the Minister for setting out aspects of it.

At the outset, it is worth...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, who made some powerful points, if I may say so. I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Spring Statement and thank my noble friend the Minister for setting out aspects of it.

At the outset, it is worth...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, who was a respected Minister in this House. When he stepped down, I and many others on a cross-party basis were very disappointed. He is also respected in Wales for his service there. I agree with the...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, who was a respected Minister in this House. When he stepped down, I and many others on a cross-party basis were very disappointed. He is also respected in Wales for his service there. I agree with the...

My Lords, the Spring Statement and its accompanying documents made for pretty depressing reading, not just because of the forecasts for anaemic growth, a fall in the trade intensity of GDP and debt interest rising, but because of the lack of ambition in the climate field that has been alluded...

My Lords, the Spring Statement and its accompanying documents made for pretty depressing reading, not just because of the forecasts for anaemic growth, a fall in the trade intensity of GDP and debt interest rising, but because of the lack of ambition in the climate field that has been alluded...

My Lords, as an economist myself—although I defer in that respect to the Treasury bloc sitting opposite—as well as a politician, I have always believed that the object of economic policy was to maximise economic growth and then distribute the rewards as realistically as is politically wise. I have to...

My Lords, as an economist myself—although I defer in that respect to the Treasury bloc sitting opposite—as well as a politician, I have always believed that the object of economic policy was to maximise economic growth and then distribute the rewards as realistically as is politically wise. I have to...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord, Lord Horam. It is more than 35 years since he and I were comrades-in-arms but he has just demonstrated that, although our political paths have diverged, our views remain similar in many respects.

“I am comfortable with the choices I have...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord, Lord Horam. It is more than 35 years since he and I were comrades-in-arms but he has just demonstrated that, although our political paths have diverged, our views remain similar in many respects.

“I am comfortable with the choices I have...

Promising a tax cut tomorrow while allowing benefits to fall today as prices soar just is not serious policy-making. But I suppose that at least the Chancellor acknowledged that he had made choices; his neighbour, the Prime Minister, does not appear to believe that choices ever really need to be...

Promising a tax cut tomorrow while allowing benefits to fall today as prices soar just is not serious policy-making. But I suppose that at least the Chancellor acknowledged that he had made choices; his neighbour, the Prime Minister, does not appear to believe that choices ever really need to be...

I welcome the opportunity to talk about the Spring Statement. I take a slightly different angle because I am rather cheesed off with the debates that I have been in and which I have seen in the period that I have been in the House, which is now six years,...

I welcome the opportunity to talk about the Spring Statement. I take a slightly different angle because I am rather cheesed off with the debates that I have been in and which I have seen in the period that I have been in the House, which is now six years,...

My Lords, this is a very interesting debate. Virtually every speech from this side of the Room has been somewhat critical, so my noble friend Lord Northbrook has quite something to live up to as the last speaker from this side. It is always a pleasure to follow the noble...

My Lords, this is a very interesting debate. Virtually every speech from this side of the Room has been somewhat critical, so my noble friend Lord Northbrook has quite something to live up to as the last speaker from this side. It is always a pleasure to follow the noble...

My Lords, this is my third encounter in two days with the Minister. I am not sure whether she will be pleased about that, but I shall not repeat the detail of the criticism that I have made in our previous encounters of the increase in national insurance contributions, a...

My Lords, this is my third encounter in two days with the Minister. I am not sure whether she will be pleased about that, but I shall not repeat the detail of the criticism that I have made in our previous encounters of the increase in national insurance contributions, a...

My Lords, it is pleasure to participate in this debate. If I had had more time, I would have liked to dissect every sentence in the Chancellor’s Statement. However, that opportunity is not available, so I will concentrate on just a few things.

First, the Statement is really bad news for...

My Lords, it is pleasure to participate in this debate. If I had had more time, I would have liked to dissect every sentence in the Chancellor’s Statement. However, that opportunity is not available, so I will concentrate on just a few things.

First, the Statement is really bad news for...

My Lords, just before the Bells rang, I was referring to the plight of our senior citizens, who are facing food price rises of 15% and energy price rises of 54%. Already, 2.1 million of them live in poverty; millions more will now face hardship. It is disappointing that the...

My Lords, just before the Bells rang, I was referring to the plight of our senior citizens, who are facing food price rises of 15% and energy price rises of 54%. Already, 2.1 million of them live in poverty; millions more will now face hardship. It is disappointing that the...

My Lords, a number of what Jane Austen would have called “truths universally acknowledged” have slipped into public debate about economic policy, but many are fallacies. I start with the contention that it is pointless developing the UK’s oil and gas reserves because this will not reduce the price. It...

My Lords, a number of what Jane Austen would have called “truths universally acknowledged” have slipped into public debate about economic policy, but many are fallacies. I start with the contention that it is pointless developing the UK’s oil and gas reserves because this will not reduce the price. It...

My Lords, from looking around, I think I am the last Back-Bench speaker.

Before I say anything about the Spring Statement, I want to make an ad hoc statement. This is nothing to do with the topic but I still want to say it: there is a rumour that we have...

My Lords, from looking around, I think I am the last Back-Bench speaker.

Before I say anything about the Spring Statement, I want to make an ad hoc statement. This is nothing to do with the topic but I still want to say it: there is a rumour that we have...