Gregory Stafford MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  The disparity—I will put it no stronger than that—that my right hon. Friend mentions is stark. Anybody watching these proceedings outside this House will absolutely agree that the Government want to put extra burdens and regulations on business, but when it comes to the trade unions, transparency goes out the window. Why is that happening? The answer is simple and clear: unions have significant influence over this Government. While the Deputy Prime Minister and her Cabinet colleagues are pushing for these changes, they do not even do what the measures state. Key figures including the Chancellor, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary are all guilty of hiring under terms that are odds with the new regulations. Why would they introduce such a Bill when they themselves do not comply with it? Just like the more than 200 Labour MPs who have taken union donations, the Deputy Prime Minister has her own interests to consider. In her opening remarks yesterday, she proudly disclosed her union membership while conveniently admitting to the £13,000 in union donations that she has taken. It is clear that union influence is driving this legislation and most likely writing the speeches of Labour Members. The Government claim to be “pro-growth, pro-business and pro-worker” —[ Official Report , 21 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 46.]

• 12 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I will come to the hon. Gentleman in a minute. Yesterday, we heard that Labour clearly does not understand business, and today we get to what it really does understand: how it can support its trade union paymasters. Government Members have given us a masterclass in how to support trade unions. Opposition Members have mentioned the 1970s. When I heard Government Members speaking, especially the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery), John Williams’s score from “Jurassic Park” soared in my mind. But instead of Jeff Goldblum being savaged by the dinosaurs, the dinosaurs that walk among us today will be savaging our economy. We know that because the growing influence of the unions, especially under the Bill, impose a heavy burden on corporations, stifling their ability to operate efficiently. As new businesses struggle to adapt to the new regulations, which the Government’s very own impact assessment predicts will cost £5 billion to implement, industry leaders have publicly shared their fears—

• 12 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I have hardly started. There cannot possibly be anything that the hon. Gentleman wants to intervene on me for just yet, but I will come to him.

• 12 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  My right hon. Friend makes a key point. The change since yesterday has been interesting. Yesterday, Labour Members were clear about declaring that they were members of trade unions, but only today have they suddenly realised that they should be declaring the amount of money that they are receiving directly. We heard yesterday from the shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), that the legislation will allow unions to bypass current rules, such as the rules on opting out of political donations. It must be fantastic news to the Labour party that it will now receive donations from workers by default, while businesses will face reduced notice periods for strikes, leading to even more disruption and economic damage. It is clear to me, and to the hundreds of businesses that have pulled their support for this Government, that this is not about protecting employment rights, but about consolidating union power. Let us briefly look at some of the amendments. Amendment 292 would require trade unions to notify their members every year of their right to opt out of the political fund, and to obtain an annual opt-in. That change would ensure that unions do not continue to fill Labour’s piggybank, and do not lock workers into automatic donations unless they actively opt out, which is as much a memory test as an admin task. Unamended, clause 52 is not about transparency, but about keeping the money flowing to the political party with the most to gain. Likewise, there are new clauses and amendments that would have introduced transparency about the facilities provided to trade union officials, learning representatives and equality representatives. Clauses 54 and 56 are designed to reduce transparency and accountability for union spending, allowing union officials to continue to benefit from facility time without proper scrutiny.

• 12 Mar 2025 · Rural Communities: Government Support · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) on providing the opportunity to discuss the Government’s plans for supporting rural communities with the Minister directly. I take this opportunity to highlight the infrastructure challenges facing my community across Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere, Liphook and the surrounding villages. Those challenges have a significant impact on the daily lives of residents and businesses in our towns. It is crucial that the Government recognise the issues, particularly ongoing gaps in health, broadband, transport, banking and infrastructure. I hope that we can work together across the House to find sustainable solutions that will support my constituents. At the very heart of our rural villages lies the village pub. Only half an hour or so ago, I spoke in the debate on the Employment Rights Bill—another blow to the pub industry, which will severely impact the hospitality sector. On my pub crawl across my constituency, publicans and landlords pleaded with me to change the Government’s red-tape strangulation of these low-profit, high social value organisations, which are core parts of the community. Perhaps it is because the Government cannot nationalise the pub that they have no understanding of its social impact. Likewise, banking hubs are essential for my constituency. There is now only one bank and one building society for the whole of my constituency of over 100,000 people. While I welcome the banking hub in Haslemere and the one we will get in Whitehill and Bordon, that is simply not enough for people who need to access cash. Health infrastructure within the ex-military town of Bordon in my constituency is a real problem. Despite having written to the Secretary of State about that, and especially about the Chase community hospital, on numerous occasions—most recently on 28 January— I still have not had a response from the Department. On transport infrastructure for rural areas, I hope that the Government continue with the previous Government’s promise to upgrade Hickley’s Corner. I make a plea to the Minister to fund the Wrecclesham bypass in years to come. I will close there, but I would be grateful if the Minister responded to this: while investment pours into urban areas, rural communities are left behind to battle the infrastructure challenges I have mentioned. Does he share my frustration, and what are the Government going to do about it?

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  It is always a pleasure to follow the King. [ Laughter. ] I rise on behalf of my constituents in Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere and Liphook who are opposed to this fundamentally anti-business Bill. Nothing has highlighted more clearly than this debate the old adage that where we think the Labour party is wrong, it thinks that we are evil. Nothing that has come from Labour Members has given any consideration to the absolutely correct concerns that the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith), raised in his opening remarks. The Bill, which has been bodged both in Committee and today, has been put together simply to assuage the union paymasters that fund so many Labour Members. The Bill highlights Labour’s complete misunderstanding of how to help business, employees and, of course, the economy overall. We have a Government who talk about growth but legislate to destroy it. The Government claim to be pro-growth and pro-business, yet the Bill is precisely the opposite. The Institute of Directors has warned that it will lead to slower growth, deter investment and bury business under an avalanche of unnecessary regulation. Even the Government’s own impact assessment, which Opposition Members have mentioned on a number of occasions, concedes that business will face a staggering £5 billion in additional costs: an economic straitjacket that will choke innovation and job creation. Labour Members seem to have failed to realise that being pro-business, as the Conservatives are, is being pro-worker, because if businesses do not exist there will be no one to employ workers. In my constituency alone we have over 5,000 businesses, the vast majority of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. Many of them operate in the education, retail and hospitality sectors, which rely on flexibility to survive, yet the Bill’s attack on zero- hours contracts threatens to wipe out opportunities for students, part-time workers and those juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes a good point. I am happy for the Minister to come to Farnham and Bordon—or Haslemere, Liphook or any other of my villages—to meet all the people who tell me what a damaging effect the Bill will have on their small business. As my hon. Friend pointed out, the simple fact is that the Government have not consulted small business properly. If they had, the Bill would be scrapped. I think of the University for the Creative Arts students who rely on flexible work and the NHS paramedic in Farnham picking up extra shifts at the Nelson Arms, as I mentioned earlier. Those are real people whose livelihoods are at risk because of the Bill. That is why I support new clause 83 and amendment 283 on zero-hours contracts and employment tribunals. UKHospitality has been clear that for 90% of workers on zero-hours contracts, that is their preference. The sector relies on these contracts to manage fluctuating demand, and removing that flexibility could devastate those businesses and lead to job losses. There is no job security for those who do not have a job. The House of Commons Library briefing actually supports that, confirming that zero-hours contracts provide essential flexibility for both employers and, most importantly, employees. That is why I support new clause 83 and amendment 283, which would demand a review of the impact on employment tribunals of the provisions concerning zero-hours workers before the Government recklessly legislate against them. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has already made it clear that banning zero-hours contracts will hurt the very workers the Government pretend to protect. But yet again, Ministers plough ahead, blind to the economic damage that they are about to unleash. I turn to amendment 286 and new clause 86 on unfair dismissal and business confidence. The Government’s proposal to grant employees the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one is another reckless intervention, and one that is raised with me by small businesses day in, day out. The amendment and new clause seek to introduce an impact assessment before clause 21 and schedule 2 come into force. Without that, we have to be clear that businesses will be discouraged from hiring in the first place. Flexibility in employment is not one-sided; it benefits both workers and their employers. Similarly, the right to request flexible working must be assessed properly. New clause 84 and amendment 284 rightly demand that the Secretary of State assess the impact of clause 7 before it comes into force. Rushed policymaking will not help workers or businesses; it will create uncertainty and drive investment away. That is why it is essential that we accept new clause 87 in the name of the shadow Secretary of State, because we need an impact assessment of how the Bill will affect businesses. Madam Deputy Speaker, I fear the clock may not have started for my speech, so I will draw to a close. [Hon. Members: “More! More!”] In that case, I shall carry on! No, no; I am conscious of my hon. Friends who wish to speak. This Government seem to have learned nothing from history. We have heard history lessons from Government Members, most of which have seemed to take us back to the 1970s. Economic success does not come from shackling businesses with red tape or giving trade unions unchecked power. It comes from fostering an environment where employers can hire, invest and grow.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I visited the Nelson Arms in Farnham recently and met the publican, who employs a lot of people on zero-hours contracts, one of whom, in addition to working in the pub, works as a paramedic, because the flexibility allows him to do both jobs. These are the sorts of people who will be impacted by this legislation.

• 10 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I want to be clear about what the hon. Member said a moment ago. Is she saying that climbing on and desecrating our war memorials is acceptable behaviour, and that she would be happy for that to carry on? That seems to be what she is saying. I am sure that is not the case, but I would love to hear her clarification.

• 6 Mar 2025 · North Sea Energy · Hansard source

  More

  The Minister has previously said that energy security is national security. Why, then, is she cutting energy jobs in the North sea, yet imposing and buying from energy technology companies in China—at best one of our competitors, at worst our enemy—instead of investing in this country for high-paid, high-skilled jobs in the North sea?

• 6 Mar 2025 · Ministerial Appointments · Hansard source

  More

  15. Whether the Cabinet Secretary has issued guidance on ministerial appointments.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Ministerial Appointments · Hansard source

  More

  Since July, three Ministers have had to resign for everything from fraud through to unwise entanglements in foreign affairs. What steps will the Minister take to strengthen the ministerial code so that the public can have confidence in the Ministers that this Prime Minister appoints?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I agree entirely with what my hon. Friend says, but has she seen anything from this Government that suggests that there will be a significant shift from acute care in hospitals to community care, despite the rhetoric that we have heard from the Government Benches?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister, and welcome her to her place. This, I think, is the fundamental point that Conservatives are making. We all accept that we want to see a shift from acute hospital provision to social care, but when the Chancellor’s Budget does not reflect that and when the national insurance rises hit the social care end of the spectrum, how can the public have faith that what the Minister says is anything more than rhetoric?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  Does my hon. Friend remember, as I do, that when the Secretary of State was in opposition, he was very clear that there would be no pay increases unless there were productivity gains and reforms to the way the NHS operates? Now that Labour is in government, that seems to have completely evaporated.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I entirely agree with the point the hon. Lady makes, but does the impetus not have to come from the top? Unless the Government are making strides to shift moneys from healthcare to social care, why on earth should any of the ICBs follow suit?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  As a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I know that there are serious challenges facing our health and social care system, particularly in the context of current and future funding. We all know that the NHS is under immense pressure. Our population is ageing, health needs are becoming more complex and the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt. If we want a system that works for everyone, we need to address these challenges with smart, strategic and effective solutions. Before I became a Member of Parliament, I worked in healthcare, most recently as part of the NHS Getting it Right First Time programme. This programme focuses on improving patient care by studying what works best, comparing data and making practical changes. Through that work, I saw where the system was bogged down by excessive bureaucracy, poor organisation and feeble productivity improvements, leading to unacceptable and unwarranted variations in care. Those problems waste time and money instead of helping patients. We need to streamline processes, modernise services and focus on patient outcomes rather than bureaucracy. When the last Government were in charge, we increased NHS funding to record levels. In 2023-24, the NHS’s day-to-day budget was nearly £180 billion, and there is even more being spent in the current budget. But the real question is: where is this extra money going? Despite this additional spending, NHS England’s chief financial officer admitted to the Health and Social Care Committee that almost all of this year’s £10.6 billion uplift will be consumed by pay settlements, increased national insurance contributions and rising costs of treatments and medicines, meaning that very little, or indeed none at all, will be left for improving patient care. The Government are pouring billions into the NHS, but without demanding productivity reforms the money is being absorbed by the system instead of reaching the frontline where it is needed the most. In my constituency of Farnham and Bordon, which includes Haslemere, Liphook and the surrounding villages, we have challenges in ensuring fair access to services across our different areas. In Bordon, rapid housing developments continue, yet healthcare provision has failed to keep pace. The ICB is pushing ahead with proposals for a new health hub, but there are concerns that it will not meet the future demands of a growing population. Residents who rely on the Chase hospital need assurance that new facilities will provide long-term, sustainable care. In Haslemere, the hospital has made great strides in expanding services, reducing pressure on nearby GP surgeries and major hospitals such as the Royal Surrey County hospital, but ongoing support is needed. Upgrading equipment, increasing staffing and ensuring continued investment will allow Haslemere hospital to remain a cornerstone of our local healthcare provision. Farnham, meanwhile, faces persistent issues with both healthcare and access to dental services. The shortage of NHS dentists is an escalating crisis, leaving many residents without the care they need. Too many people are forced to travel long distances or go without treatment entirely. Indeed, across the constituency, transport links to places such as Frimley Park hospital remain a concern. As a regional hub, Frimley Park plays a vital role in serving Farnham and beyond. However, for many residents, particularly those in rural areas, accessing treatment there is a challenge. I have worked closely with the local authorities and Frimley Park to improve transport connections, including through the expansion of the Waverley Hoppa service. If the Government truly want to expand services, they need to look at this holistically: not just at the buildings but at how patients can access them. Labour’s tax increases on GPs, pharmacies, care homes and social care providers are putting vital services at risk. The Royal College of General Practitioners has warned that these changes could force some surgeries to close or reduce their services. In my constituency, that was amply demonstrated to me when I visited Badgerswood GP surgery and pharmacy. I have also spoken to Dr Kabir from the Hampshire primary care network and Tim Corry from Guardian Angels. They told me that these changes are forcing small healthcare providers to cut staff hours, downsize operations and even lay off employees. Hospices are also struggling, with projected cost increases of £30 million. I am lucky that the Phyllis Tuckwell hospice in my constituency is currently going through a major rebuild, but others are not so lucky. The Government need to focus on real reforms that improve productivity and modernise healthcare. If the Health Secretary is serious about making the NHS better, he must explain how he plans to integrate those innovations into his 10-year plan. The reality is that this Labour Government have failed to build the new hospital programme and to implement the Conservative Government’s cap on social care costs. Labour has no plans to fix the NHS. Instead of returning to the futile model of “Whitehall knows best”, the Government should be looking at actively devolving funding to local systems, with the provision of punishment if they fail. Ultimately, they must have an honest and open conversation with the public about how we deliver, provide and fund healthcare.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  If we want prevention, we have to invest in social care, but the Government are putting almost all the investment that the hon. Member talks about into the NHS, rather than social care. Surely there needs to be a rebalancing.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I did mention this in my speech, but I think the hon. Lady was there in the Health and Social Care Committee when the chief financial officer of NHS England said that the extra £10.6 billion allocated for this year would be entirely eaten up by other costs, including national insurance rises, and that there would be almost no extra money for frontline patient care. Does she remember that?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Minister give way?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Relief · Hansard source

  More

  We disagree on whether this change is going to raise any money. However, I want to understand the policy point being made here, namely that to raise the money to fund the state education sector, the Government have decided to raise tax on the independent education sector. Why did they decide to raise money from the education sector rather than from any other sector, or from any other rich individuals?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Relief · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) on leading today’s debate. I declare an interest as the father of children who currently attend an independent school. I am afraid it is not a pleasure to speak today about the vicious, vindictive and, ultimately, financially valueless policy that the Labour Government have brought in. As has been said, no other country—no serious country—in the world taxes education. The sorts of schools being taxed are faith schools; arts, drama and music schools; single-sex schools; and independent schools to which armed forces parents send their children. As a side note, a member of our armed forces said to me last week that, in their view, this policy was a breach of the military covenant. This is not about a tax break, as Labour Members have said. Tax has never been levied on education in this country, so this policy is an additional tax on education. It is not a tax break. As other hon. Members have said, parents who make the sacrifice to send their children to the independent sector are saving money for the state sector. Across my constituency of Farnham and Bordon, including Haslemere, Liphook and the surrounding villages, we are lucky to have 11 excellent independent schools that cater both to junior and to senior pupils. But unfortunately, only last Friday we discovered that one of those schools will close at the end of this academic year. The Royal school in Hindhead has been a cornerstone of education since 1840. It was formerly the Royal Naval school, and was specifically set up to educate girls—the founder had the ambition for girls to become independent members of society, and it was a pioneering school in that effort. As other hon. Members have said, single-sex education has worked wonders for girls in terms of not only their education but their social mobility. The school became co-educational more recently but, as my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) said, this is a real problem. I recognise that the school had ongoing financial difficulties, but it is deeply unfortunate that the Labour party’s policies on low-fees schools—those that charge around £3,000 per term—seem to have been the final blow to the school’s long-standing viability. The Royal school has been not only a significant education institution for generations of pupils but a key part of the fabric of our community, employing people and helping the state sector with areas where it cannot produce. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to its dedicated teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly over the years, and to acknowledge the sense of loss felt by all of us in the Haslemere community. However, it is equally important to highlight the profound impact that the closure will have on the parents and families who are now faced with the difficult task of finding alternative provision. Mr Chancellor, a single father of an adopted child, spoke to my office only this morning. He took on the financial strain of a fee-paying place at the Royal school to allow him to drop his child at school and know that, between the hours of 7.45 am and 5.30 pm, his child would be cared for, fed and looked after. That allowed my constituent the flexibility of extra time to work on his small business. That is the sort of impact there is on the hard-working local people the Labour Government profess to want to support. Families such as Mr Chancellor’s will either have to seek places in other independent schools or, regrettably, be forced to turn to an already overstretched and underfunded mainstream education system. Although Mr Chancellor has commended the work of Surrey county council admissions team—who were also left in the dark about the school’s closure—there is clear anxiety for parents whose children’s fate is currently unclear. State schools across Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere and Liphook are already bursting at the seams. The fees charged by independent schools are often only a quarter, or even perhaps half, of the cost of state school provision per pupil. That has meant that for decades independent schools have taken huge strains from the state system in educating a percentage of pupils from nursery age until they are young people. Last October, following a meeting I organised in my constituency with the then shadow Chancellor—my right hon. Friend the Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt)—and my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), I wrote to the Department for Education and the Treasury. The Exchequer Secretary’s reply emphasised that the policy was supposedly forecast to raise around £1.8 billion, but realistically, even if that were true—the Opposition dispute that heavily—that is a mere drop in the ocean for Government spending, particularly when TaxPayers’ Alliance research reported that the policy comes at a net loss for the Treasury, as state spending has been forced to stretch per capita to facilitate 35,000 pupils now expected to be educated in the mainstream schooling system. Last week, Surrey county council admitted to me that it does not have enough state school places to accommodate children transferring to state schools. When will the Government understand that these policies are crippling local authorities that are trying immensely hard to cope with the volume of displaced children? It is not just about the fact that there are not enough places in the state sector. My right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire will know all too well that Alton Convent school in his constituency closed last year. During the general election campaign, I knocked on the door of a gentleman whose children had just got a place at that school, only to find that they now would not have it. But they could not get a place in the local state school because he had not sent his children to the local junior feeder schools. He would not have been able to get a place at the local school even if there had been one. In my constituency, no group has been more profoundly affected by the Government’s damaging policies towards independent schools than the parents and families of children with special educational needs and disabilities. The closure of the Royal School and the narrowing of available educational options serve only to exacerbate the already significant challenges faced by these families. Across my constituency, we are fortunate to have three special schools: Undershaw, Pathways and More House. Since my election, I have met multiple headteachers, including Jonathan Hetherington, the headteacher at More House, a renowned SEND school for boys in Frensham. Only this morning, I attended a meeting with 25 parents from the Last Wednesday SEN support group in Farnham. Because Wednesdays are not great for Members of Parliament, they were charitable enough to change their name to “First Monday” this week, just for me. I joke, but one lady was in tears this morning about the impact that this spiteful policy will have on her child. Many will be forced to navigate a new school and new academic curricula, all while receiving little to no support and without a formal education, health and care plan. Some of my constituents, across both counties—Surrey and Hampshire—are having to wait 24 months to receive their EHCPs. Between 2019 and 2024, the uptake of EHCPs increased by 63% in Surrey and 93% in Hampshire —both well above the national average. When he responds, can the Minister tell us what is being done, and what conversations he is having with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education to expedite that process? In my local area, I am genuinely concerned about the fact that 17% of independent school pupils receive SEND support, but only 6% of them have a formal EHCP. I want to quote the Prime Minister, who shared the Government’s supposed plan for SEND pupils who do not have an EHCP, or who are in the process of acquiring one. In June, the Prime Minister told LBC listeners: “Where there isn’t a plan, then that exemption doesn’t apply.” So there is no assurance for those children and those parents. I did not receive any assurance in last week’s debate on SEND education support, so I ask the Minister to confirm that the 93,000 children in the independent sector who receive SEND support but do not have a formal EHCP will not be included at all in the SEND education support plans, as the Prime Minister seemed to outline in June. Increasing VAT on independent school fees to 20% is not just a fiscal policy; it is a direct assault on the educational choice and social mobility of our constituents. This policy threatens to attack thousands of students in an already strained system, undermining the very fabric of our diverse educational landscape. The influx from the independent sector will exacerbate existing pressures, leading to larger class sizes and diminished resources for all. Is this really the legacy that this Labour Government want to leave: a society in which educational diversity, which leads to educational excellence, is sacrificed at the altar of a misguided and malign fiscal policy fuelled by class envy? I urge the Minister to reverse this punitive tax and champion a system that upholds choice, fosters excellence and truly invests in the future of every child.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Relief · Hansard source

  More

  If I understand the hon. Lady’s point, it is that because the Labour Government now have a stonking majority, this policy is therefore approved by the British people. Is she therefore saying that in 2017 they rejected this policy, in 2019 they rejected this policy, and then suddenly in 2024 the majority of the population converted to supporting this policy? Or is she really saying what we all know, namely that the British people did not vote for Labour based on this policy and they did not understand the effect that it will have, not just on the independent sector but on the state sector?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Family Businesses · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Having listened to most of the debate, I make the allied point that while Labour Members have justified the need to raise taxes—which, like him, I entirely disagree with—we have heard not a single word from them about the impact of tax rises on family farms, family businesses and employers.