John Baron MP welcomes Budget

MP continues to oppose National Insurance rise

Yesterday in the House of Commons the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, delivered the Budget and Spending Review.

In the Chamber, John said,

“The Chancellor has done a phenomenal job. He has been very sure-footed during the last 18 months, and that is what we have needed. He and the Treasury team have been absolutely right in ensuring that we minimise the economic impact of the pandemic.”

“There was lots of optimism in the Budget, that was quite justified. I liked the measures to help the lower paid, including the reduction in tapering on universal credit; I liked the green jobs emphasis; I liked the science and technology emphasis, and I liked the reform of how we levy duties on alcohol.”

“I particularly liked the introduction of a £9.50 an hour national living wage, as a result of which those working full-time will be something like £1,000 better off per year. That will particularly support younger and lower-paid workers and help the UK transition to the high-wage, high-skill economy that we need.”

“Having said all that, I do not think I am alone in being concerned that the level of spending increases forecast is nearly double the growth rate of the economy. If we think it through, that is unsustainable. It can only result in financial pinch points – perhaps the raising of taxes and the taking on of more debt. It can not be sustained indefinitely.”

“We have to look at rebooting growth, because at the end of the growth is the engine room when it comes to a prosperous economy, a prosperous society and helping to raise living standards.”

“I make no apologies in opposing the increase in National Insurance. We used to believe in the Conservative Party that it was a tax on jobs. We seem to have drifted away from that. I urge Treasury Ministers to think about that, because in the end an increase in National Insurance is reflected in lower pay and higher prices, which are bad for workers, businesses, customers and the economy as a whole.”

“The cladding issue was mentioned, and the Government have to look at that again. The problem is not the fault of leaseholders. It has been an extraordinary consumer regulation failure. I made my opposition known. The Government have moved a long way on this, but I still think it is wrong that we should ask leaseholders to pay anything when it has not been their fault.”

“The British Council All-Party Parliamentary Group recently fought a campaign to get the Government to think again. For the sake of an extra £10 million, the Government opted to compel the British Council to close 20 of its overseas offices. This will damage our soft power, and is the largest set of closures in the proud history of the British Council. If we want to give meaning to our concept of Global Britain and engaging with the world, we can not be closing 20 offices.”

Notes to Editors:

• John’s full speech is available online at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-10-27/debates/89CC24D0-0460-44E0-860F-C3B115D1A867/BudgetResolutions#contribution-D9323655-20F3-40CE-9FE3-E76217BACE3A.