Jo Stevens MP: speeches 2025

130 published records · newest first.

Speeches

29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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It is certainly not. The right hon. Gentleman will have heard of tax planning, and so will the people he has been talking about. Investment is up in Wales and we have had record inward investment in Wales, with a 23% increase on the previous financial year and a 30% increase in jobs created. The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year. Businesses are growing, developing and creating jobs under this Government.
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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I am very happy to meet with the right hon. Lady.
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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Plaid Cymru’s disastrous plans for independence will cost Wales £21.5 billion every year— over £11,000 for every working-age person in Wales or over £7,000 for every adult and child in Wales, every single year. The people of Wales deserve to know what public services Plaid Cymru will cut or what taxes it would raise to pay for its divisive, separatist plans?
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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Through the pride in place initiative, we are putting power and resources directly into the hands of local communities, from Conwy to Carmarthenshire, giving them the ability to decide the priorities that matter most and the funding to pay for visible and lasting change. In Wales, 14 communities will benefit from £20 million of investment, alongside a further £34.5 million benefiting every single local authority across Wales. Together, the investments will help revitalise high streets and improve public spaces and community facilities, which is a central part of our mission to boost the economy and break down barriers to opportunity.
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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Economic growth is the No. 1 priority for this Government. The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year. Wages are up, inward investment is up, inactivity is down on the year and interest rates are down. This Labour Government are delivering for working people all across Wales and the United Kingdom.
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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I thank the right hon. Lady for her words about our late colleague Hefin David. I congratulate Lindsay Whittle on his victory and on becoming a Senedd Member; I am sure that he will work very hard for his Caerphilly constituency for the next six months. As she will know, I am not going to comment on discussions between myself and the Chancellor ahead of the Budget. She will have to wait and see what the Chancellor says on 26 November.
29 Oct 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source
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I am very glad that the hon. Lady knows the name of the Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd, because clearly her colleague the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), does not. They must have ended their fight about who is the actual leader. We are delivering for the people of Wales. We have ended Tory austerity, and we have the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution, with nearly £5 billion extra to spend on public services over the next three years. We are creating jobs, and we have increased the minimum wage and the national living wage for 160,000 Welsh workers. We are fixing the foundations and the chaos that the hon. Lady’s party left behind.
29 Oct 2025 · Cost of Living · Hansard source
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I am not sure whether the hon. Member has ever been to Caerphilly or even to Wales. If he has, that is good; if he has not, he needs to be careful about what he says about the people in Wales. He absolutely does not know what he is talking about. His party’s record in Scotland is nothing to boast about. Nationalists will divide the United Kingdom, costing Wales £21.5 billion every single year.
29 Oct 2025 · Cost of Living · Hansard source
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I have regular discussions with the Chancellor and Treasury Ministers on a wide range of issues, including the cost of living. This Labour Government are on the side of working people. That is why we have already taken action by increasing the national minimum wage and the national living wage for 160,000 workers across Wales. We have frozen fuel duty and extended the warm home discount. There is more to do, and we are determined to put more money into people’s pockets right across Wales.
29 Oct 2025 · Cost of Living · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend, the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, is absolutely right. Our pride in place programmes, the local growth fund, the city and growth deals, the investment zones and our freeports are all the result of having two Labour Governments working together for the benefit of everyone across Wales. Taken together, they will boost the economy, draw in further investment, create thousands of jobs and raise living standards across Wales. They demonstrate this Government’s commitment to growth—practical, visible, long-term investment that empowers local communities and delivers real benefits for them.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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I apologise to the right hon. Lady; I am afraid I did not hear the start of her question. On tax and what the Chancellor has talked about, we stand by our manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, employee national insurance contributions or VAT. The Chancellor has said that it would be irresponsible to write future Budgets months in advance, especially given the global situation. There are clearly costs and implications to every decision this Parliament makes, but we remain focused on growing our economy in Wales and across the UK.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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My understanding is that the just over £200 million figure that I referred to in my evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee relates to the combined mayoral authority announcements that were made prior to the spending review.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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I thank the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee for her question. Monday was a really significant day for Welsh steelmaking. I was at the groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction of the electric arc furnace, which will be one of the largest in the world, securing 5,000 jobs and the future of steelmaking in Port Talbot for years to come. It has been made possible by £1.25 billion of investment, including £500 million from this Government, as well as our £80 million to support workers and the wider steel community, and will benefit not just Port Talbot but downstream sites. This has been a really challenging time for steelworkers across Wales, but I think this week marks a real turning point, securing a bright future for years to come.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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Through the spending review, we are providing a record £22.4 billion per year on average for the Welsh Government; investing at least £445 million in Welsh rail; investing £211 million a year in local growth funding; and providing £118 million of new funding for coal tip safety. This Labour Government are investing in Wales’s economy, public services and people. We have ended Conservative austerity.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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I very much agree with the hon. Lady about the benefits to the Union of the significant investment that this Government are making in transport. I am very happy to take away her comment on Lumo and open access, and talk to the Rail Minister on her behalf.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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The Government’s investment in the electric arc furnace shows how serious our commitment is to the steel industry, not just in south Wales but across the UK. It is why we have slashed energy costs for steel producers and other energy-intensive industries through the industrial strategy, strengthened procurement rules to use even more UK steel in construction, ensured that the UK is the only country in the world not paying 50% tariffs to the United States, and boosted trade defences to protect the sector against foreign imports. The steel strategy, which we will publish later in the year, will also deliver up to £2.5 billion of investment to help to maintain jobs and growth.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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At the autumn Budget, we demonstrated our commitment to our fiscal rules while maintaining high levels of investment to rebuild our public services—an investment in farming as well—after the mess that the Tories left behind. We have repeatedly said that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden, and that has been reflected in the decisions that we have taken so far. Tax changes, as the right hon. Member knows, are a matter for the Chancellor.
16 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source
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I am very sorry to hear about Melanie’s situation. However, I would say to the hon. Gentleman that his party were in government with the Conservatives during the coalition years. That Government delivered horrible austerity on Wales, which lead to public services in Wales being degraded. His party was the architect of that.
16 Jul 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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We are investing at least £445 million—an historic investment—in Welsh rail, to right the years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and to unleash Wales’s economic potential. This funding will support the permanent closing of level crossings on the north Wales main line, enabling increased services across north Wales that will improve cross-border connectivity, create jobs and boost economic growth.
16 Jul 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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No, I will not.
16 Jul 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for his question—and for his very good Welsh. The first phase of the midlands rail hub will enable additional trains between Birmingham and south Wales, strengthening cross-border connectivity between Wales and England. That is absolutely what this Government’s investment is about: creating jobs and growth and connecting Wales and England.
16 Jul 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why I was pleased to see the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Ken Skates recently launch Network North Wales in Wrexham. That really exciting plan will better connect communities in north Wales and north-west England through more rail and bus services and greater integration. Benefits will include 50% more timetabled services on the north Wales main line, boosting cross-border connectivity and driving economic growth between north Wales and north-west England. In addition, the investment in rail infrastructure will boost capacity on the Wrexham to Liverpool line.
16 Jul 2025 · Oxford to Cambridge Rail Line · Hansard source
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The Opposition’s decision to vote against the additional funding was inexplicable, as was their decision to vote against extra money for the NHS, for education and for businesses—I could go on. They stand here and criticise this Government while they vote against extra money for Wales.
16 Jul 2025 · Oxford to Cambridge Rail Line · Hansard source
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The hon. Member will know that that was an error made under the previous Conservative Government. Heavy rail infrastructure is reserved in Wales and, like every heavy rail project in England, Barnett consequentials do not apply. The UK Government’s rail network enhancements pipeline funds East West Rail—or Ox-Cam rail, as it is more commonly known—and also directly funds projects in Wales, such as the historic at least £445 million investment in rail in Wales that was announced in the June spending review.
16 Jul 2025 · Oxford to Cambridge Rail Line · Hansard source
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As I have just explained, an error was made by the previous Conservative Government. Heavy rail was and always is reserved. The Welsh Government will not be required to re-pay any Barnett consequentials provided to them as a result of any error that took place under the Conservative Government.

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