Lucy Rigby MP: speeches

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Speeches

23 Jun 2026 · Heathrow Airport Expansion: Economic Growth outside London · Hansard source
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Nothing was snuck out. A third runway at Heathrow means more than 60,000 good local jobs, and more than £40 billion for the British economy. The hon. Lady’s question rather highlights the Lib Dems’ curious approach to growth. When they were in government, they decimated our economy with austerity, and now they oppose all the investment in infrastructure needed for growth. This Government are taking a wholly better approach.
23 Jun 2026 · Heathrow Airport Expansion: Economic Growth outside London · Hansard source
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We have been clear that Heathrow expansion needs to benefit everyone, not just London. The Department for Transport has shown that expansion would deliver UK-wide support for trade, with 40% of the estimated GDP benefits from expansion being outside London and the south-east.
23 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The Pride in Place programme provides £5.8 billion of support to 284 neighbourhoods right across the country, including five places in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which she does so much to advocate for. We will set out more details of further funding in the Budget.
23 Jun 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Border Communities · Hansard source
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Effective transport links are vital to the prosperity and wellbeing of people across the country, including in our border communities. We have been working closely with the Welsh Government to deliver a plan for Welsh rail, and we continue to work with devolved Governments to ensure that border communities stay connected.
23 Jun 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Border Communities · Hansard source
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My right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) will speak for himself, but I am confident that his view is that growth extends far beyond the area that the hon. Gentleman referred to. Most importantly, this Government’s approach is to ensure that growth can be generated right across the country, rather than in just a few postcodes.
23 Jun 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Border Communities · Hansard source
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Border communities rely on strong transport links, and my hon. Friend is a strong advocate for the interests of his constituency and those in the surrounding area. The Government are delivering for people in all parts of the UK, including investments that will benefit those on both sides of the English-Welsh border. That includes the investment in places like Padeswood, on the Wrexham to Liverpool line, as part of the £445 million of investment allocated for rail enhancements in Wales at the 2025 spending review.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I have to tell the right hon. Member that we are not attempting to cap the prices in supermarkets and nor were we intending to do so. The Chancellor is having discussions with supermarkets, as she is with other sectors, with a view to putting downwards pressure on prices and helping people with the cost of living. As I have said repeatedly, we on the Government Benches recognise that there is a cost of living crisis out there, not least because of the inheritance we received from the Conservatives, and we are seeking to help people with those costs.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend’s comments again highlight that the Conservative party would have raced to war. When I said that earlier—Conservative Members are doing it again; they are shaking their heads at me. The reality is—
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. The point is that we have to manage the public finances responsibly. We cannot put in place measures that are not fully funded, and I wish that some of the proposals being put forward were adequately backed up and fully funded.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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My apologies, Mr Speaker. I had intended to say just then that the Chancellor will come to the House and give a full statement on everything, including the matters that we are discussing. I am sorry that the shadow Chancellor is so upset and appalled by the recent growth figures. I am in the business of talking this country up rather than down. Indeed, I am grateful to him for highlighting that growth has been revised up, interest rates are coming down, inflation is coming down and real wages are going up. As I said, that is because of the prudent decisions that the Government have taken, all of which are allowing us to take further action on the cost of living. The action that we are taking on fuel duty is very important. It will save millions of motorists across this country a lot of money. I will address the point on HMRC mileage rates: as I said, the Chancellor will come to the House later and talk about the full package.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises a really important issue, and I thank him for all the work that he has done in this space to try to bring down the cost for people across the country. In my old role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, I was closer to the work of the insurance sector and the work that the current Economic Secretary is now taking forward to try to ensure that prices are brought down, but I am more than happy to convene with the new Economic Secretary and take forward the work that my hon. Friend suggests.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I am grateful for the hon. Member highlighting the measures we are taking when it comes to red diesel. He mentions fertiliser costs. We know that substantially increased fertiliser costs, as well as fuel costs, are hurting farmers. That is exactly why we are taking these measures on red diesel, cutting the duty rate by over a third per litre from just over 10p to 6.5p, which, as I said, is the lowest rate for more than 20 years.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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Put simply, as I said, the shadow Chancellor’s party would have had motorists hurtling full speed towards higher fuel costs. It is only because of the action that this Government have taken that we have applied the brake to the hikes that his party would have introduced. The Conservatives would have introduced higher costs; we are keeping the freeze on fuel duty and protecting millions of motorists right across the country. Exactly as I said, we are taking further measures on red diesel and for HGV drivers. That is on top of additional action that we are taking on the cost of living. The shadow Chancellor and I saw each other in the studios earlier this morning when I was out there talking about the free, unlimited bus travel for children that the Chancellor will update us on—
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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As I said in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne), I appreciate that this is a really important issue, and I know what an important issue it is to my hon. Friend and his constituency too. As I said, I am more than happy to take up the matter, and I will discuss it with the Exchequer Secretary.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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My right hon. Friend makes an important point. I know how passionate he is about these issues. He refers to changes made at the Budget, which were made with the best of intentions and from the point of view of encouraging the use of electric vehicles. I believe that the Chancellor may say something on that later on.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I am glad to hear that the measures will help the Malcolm Group in my hon. Friend’s constituency, as indeed they will hauliers right across the country. She raises, as other hon. Members have, an important point around welfare. She also alludes to freight crime, which has been discussed at length in this House and is something in which I am particularly interested, given the nature of my constituency. The Government are taking forward action to seek to deal with freight crime, as well as taking action on welfare, but I would be more than happy to convene a meeting with other Ministers and my hon. Friend on the issue.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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Mr Speaker, your comments have been fully noted, and I will ensure that they are fed back to the entire ministerial team. The Government are taking steps to support households and businesses with fuel costs in response to the conflict in the middle east. A rapid de-escalation in the middle east remains the best way to bring down fuel prices. The most impactful step, of course, would be to reopen the strait of Hormuz. That is exactly why the UK Government are playing a leading role in the international effort to get shipping flowing freely. Indeed, I contrast that with the position of the Leader of the Opposition, who would have rushed us to war. [ Interruption. ] Alongside this key step— [ Interruption. ] Mr Speaker, the boys’ club—
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises an important point about the critical nature of bus services to the entire country. That is exactly why we are providing more than £3 billion for buses over the next three years, to cap fares at £3 and maintain and improve services. That includes funding for local authorities to put in place local fare initiatives if they wish to do so, as I believe the North East combined authority has done. We are also making reforms to bus franchising, which will allow for new and better services.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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There is absolutely nothing humiliating about the action being taken by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister to protect millions of motorists across this country. Again, I have to remind the hon. Member that the plans we inherited from the previous Government would have seen motorists paying more.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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The hon. Member makes a really important point about the cost that farmers are facing, but that is exactly why we are taking steps to cut the duty on red diesel by more than a third to its lowest rate in over 20 years. As I said, that will help not just farmers, but other sectors, too, including in relation to freight. I am afraid that, as so often, we hear suggestions from the Liberal Democrats, “Cut this”, “Cut that”, “Try to bring things down”— [ Interruption. ] —but they are never funded. We manage the public finances— [ Interruption. ]
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I wholeheartedly reject any accusation or idea whatsoever that we are somehow going soft on Russia and Putin. That is completely wrong. The new package of sanctions that we have introduced is stronger today— [ Interruption. ]
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I am very grateful to the right hon. Member for his kind comments. I appreciate where he is trying to go with his remarks, but what we are doing with this announcement is saving the average motorist over £120 this year, compared with the plans that we inherited. By saying—as the Prime Minister has—that we are going to extend the cut until 31 December, we are trying to give people a bit of certainty and reassurance. We recognise that family budgets are really stretched at the moment, which is why we are introducing this measure, and plenty of others, to try to help people with the cost of living.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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We are supporting motorists in a meaningful way and it is really important. The hon. Member mentioned the Competition and Markets Authority’s fuel finder scheme. The intention of that is to save households that own a car up to £40 a year. She is right that the key principle behind that is competition. We know that competition is the way that we get to greater choice and lower prices for consumers.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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I am afraid that the hon. Member has entirely missed the fact that the plans that his Government left in place would have seen fuel duty go up. It is only because of the action that this Government are taking that millions of motorists across the country will save money.
21 May 2026 · Costs for Motorists · Hansard source
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Mr Speaker, the Chancellor will come to the House later on today, and she—

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