Darren Jones MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  I will not give a running commentary on my conversations with businesses or constituents in my constituency, but what I have heard from businesses in the defence and infrastructure sectors is welcome news regarding our long-term spending commitments, our reform of the planning system and our commitment to spending more on capital across our country, which will generate good jobs and good skills in every part of the country.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  The Chancellor has confidence in the OBR.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  As a consequence of the Chancellor’s decisions, we gave Scotland the largest real-terms spending increase since devolution began, and the only radical change that we are now looking for is the Scottish National party to be kicked out of Holyrood next May.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  The Treasury obviously monitors all OBR forecasts and considers them in detail. As the hon. Gentleman knows, it is right and proper that the Treasury looks at OBR forecasts in an orderly way when it produces its forecast in line with the fiscal forecast. That is how we bring stability back to the public finances, and that is what we will be doing.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  The Government are committed to the independence of the OBR. We will keep setting out future fiscal plans at one fiscal event a year.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  The Treasury engages with business leaders and investors all the time, and the one thing they tell me is that they are grateful this Government have brought back long-term, multi-year budgets, that we have the fiscal rules in place, and that we are reforming things like the planning system to make it easier to do business in this country. As a consequence, business confidence is increasing under this Government, having dropped enormously under the right hon. Member’s Government.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  I agree. As the House knows, when the Chancellor presented the Budget last year, she said that this Government “chooses investment over decline” for Britain. That was reflected in our spending review, which was investing in the renewal of Britain, unlocking billions of pounds as a consequence of the fiscal rules that the Chancellor had set out in the Budget—which were non-negotiable, and will therefore stay in place.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  I do. It is good that my hon. Friend has been able to raise that testimony from the Transport Committee, because it reminds us why the British people were so angry with the Conservative party after 14 years of failed promises, and why this Labour Government will always make sure that we deliver on our promises.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing investment in his constituency from this Labour Government. He is right to point out that in the past his constituents have been given failed promises, whereas this Labour Government are delivering on their promises.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  The Chancellor was very clear that the last Budget was a once-in-a-generation Budget because it had to deal with the sheer scale of negligence and mess that we had inherited from the party opposite. I am very grateful now that we are one year into a Labour Government we do not have to keep clearing up their mess year after year.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Treasury Committee for her question. The way I would describe it to the public is that when the Government lose control of the public finances, as the Conservative party did in government, it affects not only the accounts in the Exchequer and the Treasury but the family finances in every house across the country. People are still paying for the consequences of the last Government not sticking to their fiscal rules and acting irresponsibly. That is why our fiscal rules are non-negotiable, and we will stick to them.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Government Performance against Fiscal Rules · Hansard source

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  Because the Conservative party had not done a spending review since 2021 and let inflation go through the roof, and the cost of doing business was higher, along with a whole string of broken promises from the Conservatives. The sooner they reflect on their mistakes and apologise to the country, the better for all of us.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Ten-year Infrastructure Strategy · Hansard source

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  The 10-year infrastructure strategy is a key part of this Government’s growth mission, committing to a minimum of £725 billion of investment over the next 10 years in local transport, affordable homes, and modernising schools and hospitals in every part of the country.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Ten-year Infrastructure Strategy · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady will know that we are waiting to receive detailed proposals from Heathrow for the development of the third runway. The Government will consider those proposals in due course and make further announcements when decisions have been taken.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Ten-year Infrastructure Strategy · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for championing the Dorset clean energy super cluster opportunity, which was announced by her council at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum only recently. Offshore wind, hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage are frontier technologies and industries that are at the heart of our clean energy sector plan, and they will create opportunities in every part of the country, including in the south-west.

• 1 Jul 2025 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I extend the thoughts of the House to his constituents and the communities that he represents. He will know that I have always kept the service and sacrifices of the mining communities in my mind, both in opposition when campaigning for changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme, which this Government implemented at the last Budget, and now in considering proposals from the BCSSS. I will be looking at those issues in more detail over the summer, and I hope to say more in the autumn.

• 1 Jul 2025 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Minister for Industry recently met the trustees of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme to consider their proposals, and I have been monitoring the developments closely.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  On behalf of the House, may I thank social care workers for the service they provide in all our constituencies? As a result of this Labour Government commitment’s to social workers and the social care system, we will have increased funding for social care by £4 billion by 2028-29 through the local government settlements, and we will bring forward a fair pay agreement to make sure that there is a fair deal for those people serving our constituents on the frontline.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  This Labour Government in Westminster are delivering for the people of Scotland. As a consequence of our spending review, Scotland will receive an average of £50.9 billion per year over this Parliament—the largest real-terms increase in funding since devolution began. The only reason there is a black hole in the budget in Scotland is because of the SNP Government, and the people of Scotland need a new direction with a Labour Government in Scotland.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Government agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. At the end of the current Parliament, people will be better off as a consequence of the decisions that this Labour Government are making. We have already increased the national living wage by 6.7% to benefit 3 million people, while full-time workers are seeing an increase of about £1,400 a year in their wages.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Barnett Formula: Scotland · Hansard source

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  One thing I can tell the Scottish people, and indeed the House, is that it is this Labour Government who have given the largest real-terms increase in spending to the Scottish Government since devolution began—billions and billions of pounds of extra money is going to the Scottish National party Government in Holyrood. On devolved matters, it is for the SNP Government to be accountable for the delivery of public services to people in Scotland, where they are failing on everything from the NHS to welfare and the economy.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Barnett Formula: Scotland · Hansard source

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  There are currently no plans to review the operation of the Barnett formula. The Barnett formula has stood the test of time because it is simple and efficient, and it provides a clear and certain outcome. It is a key part of the arrangements for pooling and sharing risks and resources across the United Kingdom.

• 19 Jun 2025 · UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for championing not just his own constituency, but the region in which it sits. He is right to raise the fact that many communities have lost out on funding over many, many years because of the chaotic approach under the previous Government. Our approach to this long-term strategy, with long-term funding and partnering with private capital, is essentially set up to try to drive investment in the places that have missed out. I would be delighted to work with him to try to unlock those opportunities.

• 19 Jun 2025 · UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy · Hansard source

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  It seems that I have a list of bids for place-based business case pilots, which we will take away and consider. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight why this issue is important. When the Government are spending a lot of money on a particular thing, including through industrial policy or defence spending, we need to ensure that that translates into good jobs and good pay, with housing and good public infrastructure, so that people can access those opportunities and help drive the economy forward.

• 19 Jun 2025 · UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy · Hansard source

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  I hope that Stepping Hill will be able to bid into the new, longer-term maintenance fund so that we can get work done more quickly than it has been done in the past. On the place-based business case pilots under the Green Book review, we have not yet made any decisions about where we will pilot them or how, so we now have to do that work. As I said in my statement to the House, the intention behind them is to look across different types of spending to make sure that we are creating functioning places that have the relevant public service infrastructure, transport infrastructure and house building in one place. We will be able to come to the House with more detail on that in due course.