Emma Reynolds MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Sept 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions and will try to do them justice in the short time available. The Chancellor said this morning that Brexit has hammered British exports. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there is a link between the fall in exports and the barriers the previous Conservative Government put up with our nearest and biggest trading partner, which is exactly why this Government are renegotiating a reset with our European partners. We promised in our manifesto that we would not join the single market, but we will bring down those barriers at the border, particularly with the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement that we are currently negotiating with the EU—there will be further announcements on that in due course—which will benefit our agrifood industry by making it easier to export to the European Union. The hon. Gentleman asked about the fiscal rules. I do not agree with his analysis: we have brought forward the fiscal rules to apply over three years to get around some of the gaming that he talks about. We are serious about tackling our debt and, as I said in my statement, we are reducing our deficit at the fastest rate in the G7. I am always interested to learn from other countries; I think we should always be open to that. I would be interested to hear more about what the hon. Gentleman had in mind.