Jeevun Sandher MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

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  Madam Deputy Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to speak for the next hour, while there is no time limit. [ Laughter. ] Buckle in! I want to start today’s speech by first addressing what the Conservatives said and why we need state support to help end child poverty in the technological era we are in. I also want to make clear why we are ending the two-child limit. In the economic sense, yes, it is a pounds and pence issue—we save more money by feeding kids today—but far more importantly, morally no child in this country should be going hungry. Before I get to that, I would like to share with the House where I spent two years of my life between 2016 and 2018, when I was the economist working in Somaliland’s Ministry of Finance. I was there during what was then its worst drought in living memory. When drought came to Somaliland—one of the poorest nations on earth—it meant failing harvests, dying livestock and rising hunger. I will never forget what that hunger looked like and what it felt like for a whole nation. I could understand what was happening in Somaliland, even if it was incredibly difficult, but I was shocked and appalled on returning to this country to see children going hungry here—in the fifth richest nation on earth. Those children went hungry after the introduction of the two-child limit. Poverty went up in the largest families, who were affected by the two-child limit, and child hunger went up. Food bank parcels were unknown in my childhood; there were a million handed out in 2017, and three million by the time the Conservatives left office. Most shamefully of all, child malnutrition has doubled over the past decade. That is the shameful legacy of the two-child limit and what it meant for child hunger in this country.

• 21 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We face an affordability crisis in this country. In the short term, our dependence on fossil fuels has led to a rise in energy bills, and in the longer term, the aftershocks of Thatcher mean that there are not enough good, non-graduate jobs. That is why today’s warm homes plan is such good news: batteries, solar, home insulation; getting bills down and wages rising; making life affordable. But we must go further, so can I ask the Prime Minister to do even more to make sure that life is affordable for my constituents—

• 21 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 21 January.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Offshore Wind · Hansard source

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  Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Affordability is the biggest issue facing our country and climate change is the biggest issue facing our planet. That is why today’s announcement is such, such good news: wind power 40% cheaper than natural gas. Bizarrely, Reform called that lunacy. The shadow Secretary of State used to agree with us and she used to support the Climate Change Act 2008, but now she agrees with Reform. Does the Secretary of State believe that the shadow Secretary of State may be planning to join the best and the brightest of her former colleagues and become defector No. 21?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  Was my hon. Friend surprised that Opposition Members spoke about the complexity of implementing clause 4 when it is simply a measure changing the rates of dividend taxation and does not lead to any more burden when filing taxes?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  On that point, will the Minister give way?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  I believe it will lead to more investment in this country. I will say this as well: the reason why people across the world invest in this nation and create great companies is because they want the return after tax. If an economy is growing and has more investment, that means more sales and more money in people’s pockets. I do not accept the hon. Gentleman’s proposition that raising this taxation rate somehow means less entrepreneurship and less investment in our economy.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am not sure I quite follow the hon. Gentleman’s point there, to be perfectly honest. It is true that most people’s main savings investment will be through the pension funds they own, which will be their biggest savings vehicle; that would not be subject to dividend taxation in the same way because people will buy out at the end and ensure that they have a payment for their products. I am not sure I quite follow, but, to be fair to the hon. Gentleman, it is possible that I misunderstood his point. I can see there are lots of people trying to get in, Ms Nokes. [ Laughter. ] I will end my speech now to allow them to do so. It is a thrilling topic, as I am sure everyone across the Committee would agree. This is the right thing to do to balance taxation between earnings and payments from wealth. It is a long-needed update to our taxation system. I am proud of a Government who do that, as I am sure we all are. With that, I will close.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  I have no doubt that Conservative Members would also like to intervene after I have made my intervention! Does the Minister agree that we in this House prize the contribution of business people and that we are here to work productively to ensure that workers and businesses contribute to the prosperity of this nation? I am really proud of what business people do. I come from a family of business people who have invested, who have created a nation and who have created employment. On the other side, we must ensure that the benefits are paid both to them and to our wider economy.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  Before I speak, I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. It is a pleasure to speak in this packed Chamber, and to the millions of people no doubt watching at home. I will speak to clause 4, but first I wish to thank the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson). I seem to recall making a slight mistake last year in a debate on the Finance Act 2025 by not speaking to a specific clause. He very graciously saved me, callow youth that I was, and I thank him very much. I certainly remember that today. Britain faces an affordability crisis, with record numbers unable to afford a decent living standard. On top of that, we face a military crisis; we have to defend our nation as we have not had to for almost a century. As a nation, we are deeply divided between those who can afford decent lives and those who cannot; because of that, we are unable to stand united as one nation to meet this moment and those challenges. That is why today I speak in favour of clause 4. Yes, it is a tax that hits the wealthiest, but it also ensures that we can help grow the economy, and it is easily implementable. I will cover why that is. People in this country are deeply frustrated and angry about where this nation is. Record numbers of people cannot afford a decent standard of living; just one third feel comfortable with how much they can afford. That is lower than in the financial crisis, and lower than during austerity—it is the lowest rate in our lifetime. That is why we see such anger on our streets and screens. We constituency MPs feel it viscerally. Meanwhile, we have also seen the wealth in this nation grow dramatically. We have seen wealth as a proportion of GDP double since the 1980s, the amount of dividends paid out more than doubling since 2010, and owner-managers able to reduce their tax liability by not drawing their income from earnings. That is why it is right that we rebalance the tax burden between earnings and income earned from elsewhere, and especially income earned from dividends. Our taxation system has not kept up with how our economy has changed; wealth has become far more important in this nation, but it has not been taxed commensurately. While income tax and national insurance have increased as a share of GDP, the same has not happened for taxes on profits. While the amount of wealth as a proportion of GDP has doubled, the income tax from that wealth has increased by only 30%. The income taxes in this nation are being levied on earners, not those who get their income from wealth. That is why it is entirely right that, through this Budget and this clause, we tax dividends at a greater rate. I will set out how this measure will improve growth and ensure that we hit the richest, and will show that it is easily implementable. We know that it improves growth because, as we have seen in France, dividend taxation stops payments going out of companies, instead ensuring that money stays in and is invested. We know that it hits the wealthiest, because one fifth of those who gain dividends are in the top 1%. We know that it is an easily implementable tax, because we are seeing it implemented in this Bill.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  To be clear, we have seen this happen in France, where that is exactly what happened. The incentive then was for payments to go back inside the company rather than being drawn out in dividends. In addition, owner-earners in this nation are currently able to reduce their tax liability by 13% by paying out in dividends. It is a form of income that is effectively earnings, but is not being reported as such. So yes, I would say that that is the case. Not only would I say that is the case, but I would say it is shown by international evidence. I take the theoretical point the hon. Gentleman raises, but in practice, we have seen that raising dividend taxes keeps the money in the company and leads to rising investment rates. This is the most important Parliament in a century. Like those in this House a century before us, we face deep challenges: like those in this House almost a century ago, we are seeing the far right on our streets because people cannot afford a decent living; like those a century before us, we face a military dictator in Europe who wishes to redraw borders by force; like those a century before us, we in this continent must ensure that we defend ourselves. It was almost a century ago in this House that a Conservative Prime Minister increased taxes on the wealthiest to pay to defend our nation. It was almost a century ago that we taxed the wealthiest to ensure that every single person in this country had a good job. It was almost a century ago that we built a welfare state to ensure that every single person could have a decent living and a stake in this nation. For our nation to meet this moment, we have to be united; to be united, every single person has to have a stake in this country; to have a stake in this country, people have to see and believe that democracy can deliver for them and that they can earn a decent living. That is why, by taxing the wealthiest on dividends—taxing those who gain their payments from wealth instead of earnings from pay-as-you-earn—clause 4 will help to ensure that we raise the revenue we need to get investment and growth going in a way that is easily implementable.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  I believe the hon. Gentleman wants to get in again.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituents, like those of many Members across the House, have been horrified by the wreckage we have seen in Gaza. While there has been a ceasefire, there is still violence, and aid is struggling to get in. I thank my constituents who have raised the issue with me, and I thank Members for raising this issue, too. Can the Leader of the House assure me that this Government will do everything we can to help rebuild Gaza and ensure that aid goes in?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Ukraine and Wider Operational Update · Hansard source

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  We are clearly facing the most dangerous times in almost a century in this country and across our continent. Since 1945, our safety and security have been guaranteed by being part of the most powerful military alliance in the history of humankind and sacrosanct borders in Europe. Times are clearly changing. Can the Defence Secretary assure me and this House that we will fulfil the aims of the strategic defence review in full, and fully fund it to protect both ourselves and our continent?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Energy Transition · Hansard source

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  Happy new year, Mr Speaker. We are facing an affordability crisis in this country, and indeed across high-income nations, because of our dependence on fossil fuels. That is why energy prices here have risen by 40% since 2021. Our constituents feel that this is damaging our country and, more importantly, it is damaging the faith that people across this nation have in our democracy to deliver for them. Can the Minister set out how our transition to fossil fuels will help to resolve the affordability crisis and restore faith in this place?