Peter Kyle MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The Government are investing in AI infrastructure, but also making sure that the regulatory and legislative landscape is up to date for the time we are living in. The hon. Gentleman wants to turn the clock back. The world is awash with AI technology. We cannot stop it coming to our country, but we can shape how it interacts with our economy and its people. That is why we are investing in the training of 7.5 million people throughout the economy, including a million students, to make sure we can seize the opportunities that AI presents but also protect people from the potential damage it could cause. Not only are we creating the conditions for new industrialisation, but we are ambitious for the success of Britain’s small businesses. Our “Backing your Business” plan is one of the most generous packages of support rolled out by any Government, with new hospitality zones and reduced red tape for bars and cafés. We have brought in an £11 billion lending package to help small firms to grow internationally and take advantage of the trade agreements we have negotiated with India, South Korea and the United States. This may trigger the Opposition, but we are also going to deepen Britain’s trading relationship with the European Union, Britain’s most significant international marketplace. That is what our European partnership Bill is all about.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am highly aware of my hon. Friend’s advocacy for those sectors; she is a true credit to them. The BIC scheme is about competitiveness. It has been designed in co-operation and partnership with business. Only one in 10 businesses in our country is exporting, but we have secured great trade deals with South Korea through to India, as well as the economic prosperity deal with America, and of course we are continuously rebuilding the relationship and creating new opportunities with the European Union—the most important trading bloc. I can assure her that the BIC scheme is part of making us even more competitive and more able to prosper on the global trading scene.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his work when he was in my Department, upon which I seek to continue. He is right to point to the closure of the fertiliser plant in, I believe, 2023. Those are the sorts of things that have stripped out resilience from our economy and society and which I have sought to rebuild in turbulent times. The automotive sector will qualify for the BIC scheme and other high energy- intensive industries outside automotive will also benefit from the supercharger before it does. I regularly meet automotive industry figures, and the Department is deeply engaged with the sector. He will know some of the outcomes of those conversations and that it is a sector that has this Government and me on its side.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman, who is a friend, for his kind words. We have designed a scheme that is for Great Britain, but we have not forgotten Northern Ireland—I do not think he would expect me to forget Northern Ireland in any aspect of my work. We are working with the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that we have a scheme that is appropriate and matches the scale of the opportunities that BICS presents to Great Britain, so that all parts of the United Kingdom can benefit in one way or another and the benefits are felt by those fantastic manufacturers he mentioned.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  The scheme we have designed is aimed at manufacturing. The figure the hon. Member quotes is for all businesses in the UK, whereas this is one scheme aimed at competitiveness within the manufacturing sector. I hope that when he reflects on his comments, he does not expect us to announce a scheme for every business in all circumstances. That is what Liz Truss did, wasting enormous amounts of money—a third of those billions went into the pockets of high earners. We need to be targeted and growth orientated and support the great businesses out there. I have invested £2.5 billion into steel. I am modernising steel and protecting it where I have to. I am proud of the strategy we have. There has never been a steel strategy or a quality piece of strategic thinking from the previous Government, which is why the strategy I announced was universally welcomed by the sector.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I remember that visit well, and I will reflect on my hon. Friend’s words, as I always do. The eligibility checker will go live in the summer, and the businesses she refers to will be able to check their ability to benefit from what she correctly describes as a highly impactful scheme.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his passionate intervention. I came into Parliament 10 years ago, and he came here just a short time afterwards. He has been raising these issues in Parliament for a very long time, about a sector that has long been under stress for various reasons, both global and domestic. I have been determined to ensure that my Department is connected, and as open as possible to listening, and to seeing how we can support the sector. There are monthly meetings with officials. There was a meeting just last week, attended by my hon. Friend, other MPs and industry figures from the sector. I have just discovered that no Secretary of State for Business has visited Stoke to meet ceramic industry figures for over five years. I am willing to do that, and in the coming days, my Department will reach out to the people running those companies to see if my going there, listening to the concerns and seeing what could be done would be of interest to them. If they would like that, I will be there. I want to stress that my hon. Friend has listed a whole series of very different components of the ceramics industry. It is a diverse industry with diverse inputs. Some of them—I admit, a minority—could be eligible for the BIC scheme that I have announced today. That diversity means that there needs to be a very focused, comprehensive look at the sector. I am willing to go there and meet the industry figures myself.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend speaks eloquently about the challenges that industry has faced in the de-industrialising period of a previous Conservative Government but also the opportunities that are there for the re-industrialising purpose of this Labour Government. Some of the companies she mentioned are, I imagine, in sectors that BICS will be very meaningfully able to support. I hope those companies will work with my Department to ensure that implementation is as effective as possible, and the eligibility checker, which will go live before too long, will mean that those companies can check their eligibility directly. In general terms, we are investing in industry in our country. We are working tirelessly with aerospace, automotive and other key parts of the industrial landscape. The fact that Ensus was mothballed and not allowed to go bust shows that we are thinking very deeply and carefully about resilience and economic growth, and not just for today but for the long term.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  With permission, I would like to make a statement on industrial energy costs. When I became Business Secretary, I said that we needed to be bolder, to go further and to move faster to support British enterprise. Today, I want to set out what that means for reduced electricity costs for British industry. The events of recent days and weeks serve to demonstrate the strategic weaknesses and the economic threats inherent in Britain’s over-dependence on the geopolitics of the global oil market. It is high time that Britain gained energy independence by ending that dangerous over-reliance and instead transitioned to become a clean energy superpower. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is overseeing that transition; however, British manufacturing continues to have some of the highest electricity costs in Europe. That undermines our manufacturing base, impacts our manufacturing jobs, and damages the lives and livelihoods of cherished communities across the country. The Government were elected to halt and reverse Britain’s industrial decline. That is why our modern industrial strategy addresses high electricity costs for British businesses. As part of our British industry supercharger package, I have already increased support for over 550 of the UK’s most energy-intensive businesses—those in our heavy industries. We have increased the network charging compensation scheme discount from 60% to 90%, saving companies up to £420 million a year on their electricity bills, and we have started building the UK’s first small modular reactor in north Wales, laying the groundwork for manufacturers to benefit from reliable, low-carbon electricity. Last year, I launched the consultation on the British industrial competitiveness scheme, or BICS—our plan to bring industrial electricity costs more closely in line with those in other European economies. I am grateful for the support of the Chancellor in establishing BICS. The response to our consultation, which we are publishing today, shows overwhelming business support for BICS. The scheme has been endorsed by the Confederation of British Industry and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Our partners have done more than just support the policy; they have been co-creators, helping us to shape the scope and scale of the scheme. BICS is bigger, bolder and better as a result of their hard work and partnership. I am announcing today that BICS will benefit 10,000 electricity-intensive manufacturing businesses—those best equipped to drive growth in our economy. Those 10,000 businesses will save up to £40 per megawatt-hour from next year. They will be exempt from paying the indirect costs of three other schemes: the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market. BICS is designed to support eligible businesses across all regions of Great Britain. The eligible sectors collectively employ 900,000 people, of whom 700,000 live outside London and the south-east. That is a real advantage for working families and communities around the country, and it gives British businesses a real competitive advantage in the global economy. That is the difference that a Labour Government with an activist industrial strategy makes. This is not just about high hopes or warm words; it is real action to reduce energy costs and increase industrial competitiveness. I pledged not just to be bolder and to go further, but to act faster in the interests of British businesses. Business is keen, as I am sure the whole House is, for the benefits of BICS to take into account the challenging economic reality that we face. I can announce a one-off payment for businesses eligible for BICS, covering the 2026-27 period, and reflecting the support that businesses would have received had the scheme been in place this year. It will be delivered next year, and my Department will set out more details shortly. Our focus now is on making sure that BICS is as strong and significant as possible, and that it delivers for our car industry, aerospace and defence—the best of British manufacturing. My Department is inviting businesses to help us finalise the operational details of BICS. I invite all companies that can benefit from it to go to the Department for Business and Trade’s website, submit their views, and help us prepare for this final phase together. This is a major industrial intervention and financial commitment by this Government. I am determined to get it absolutely right from the start. We said that our industrial strategy was never about a single publication or a single moment in time. It is a marked departure from the old economic orthodoxies of Thatcherite de-industrialisation and a failed free market ideology that let whole towns, regions and communities go to the wall. Ours is an activist industrial strategy, supporting British businesses when they need it, intervening when circumstances demand it, and investing in wealth creation and opportunity for all. We recognise the instability in the global economy. As the Prime Minister has said, the conflict in Iran is not our war, but we must do everything in our power to shield British businesses from the worst effects of it. Businesses are rightly concerned about the impact of the conflict in the middle east. The Chancellor will set out the principles guiding the Government’s thinking as we consider our response. Today’s announcement of our bigger, bolder scheme is proof positive of our commitment to backing British businesses for the long term. It sits alongside our continued focus on short-term impacts, on which we will not hesitate to act where needed. We will continue using our activist industrial strategy to create the right conditions for British firms to succeed and grow. We do so because we know that when the Government and enterprise work in partnership, we can make Britain stronger, wealthier and more resilient. I commend this statement to the House.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I could have listened to the hon. Lady for much longer, because she is listing important areas across the sector. I am very aware of the challenges and opportunities in an economy that is full of great enterprise and a lot of highly profitable businesses doing great things with great entrepreneurs. Listening to her, we would think that the economy was not full of people and businesses that are thriving. She only focuses on the challenges. Let me be clear on how BICS happened. It came about through consultation with the very businesses that the hon. Lady is asking us to listen to. They have been part of designing the system. We will release and implement a targeted scheme that will have maximum benefit. We will announce over the summer an eligibility checker, so that businesses can see their eligibility for the scheme. Of course, as we move forward, we will make payments for costs that may have been incurred this year. Let me be really clear, however, about how those businesses are working. Most of the businesses—I include the business that was on the Radio 4 “Today” programme this morning; Sharon from Tees Components up in Teesside was on the programme—have entered into a contract with fixed prices for the coming year. Most companies in the categories that we are targeting, which have manufacturing processes in which electricity is a high-component cost, are either hedging, or are in contracts, so that they have some stability into the future. We have designed a scheme that takes that into account, will be there when they need it, and supplies support for costs that they would have had this year. On CO 2 and the issues that are in the news, six months ago, within days of becoming Secretary of State, I mothballed Ensus up in Teesside—a fantastic company. I have had to un-mothball it, and I did so in the first couple of days of the strikes in Iran to ensure resilience in key parts of our economy. That was leaked; we do not normally comment on leaks, but that is out there now. These are the things that I am doing. I am being bold and creative, and am acting in the interests of the whole of society and the economy to make sure that we have the resilience to carry on doing business, and come out of this with growth in our economy.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the shadowy Business Minister for his greatest hits performance for the House today. He says that supporting 10,000 businesses is nothing. I can tell him that it means a hell of a lot for those businesses getting that support, because it will mean a 25% reduction in their energy costs. It is being paid for, of course, by reducing some of the tariff charges and by some of the other Government schemes that offer relief. It is also paid for partly by the Exchequer, which is funded by people who pay their taxes.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for the scheme. I know it is qualified support, but where that qualified support exists, I am grateful for it. Let us be very clear about the scheme, which I have been designing for quite some time: it is a competitiveness scheme, and it is targeted; it is not a general scheme for the entire economy. It is to increase the competitiveness of businesses, so that they can compete globally and be more profitable domestically. The scheme will be highly impactful for those businesses. Many of them are already profitable and doing great work. Through the scheme, we can turbocharge their ability to be competitive, both domestically and internationally. I have announced a range of other schemes, including the supercharger for energy-intensive sectors, and I have made other interventions, just in the six months that I have been Secretary of State. The hon. Gentleman was gracious in praising parts of the scheme. He could have also mentioned that the growth figures that came out today show that we approached the challenges in the middle east by busting the forecasts and exceeding expectations for growth. That is good for every single business in the entire country. Growth is the No. 1 mission of the Government, and that is what we have been getting on with. That, of course, means that, going into this challenging period, we have more resilience and success in the British economy. The hon. Gentleman asked about funding. As I said in my statement, the scheme is being funded through reliefs on three schemes, and through support from the Exchequer. It is fully funded and within the fiscal rules, and that is fully set out. More details will flow as we work with business to ensure that we get the implementation absolutely right. The hon. Gentleman went on to call for a whole set of measures that he would like to see. I would like him to hold himself to the standard to which he holds me, and to set out how he will fund all the commitments he is making.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his passionate intervention. I understand the pressing needs and am fully aware of the issues facing Denby, which is partly, I believe, in his constituency. I have been in touch with the regional mayor about it numerous times since that situation unfolded. I certainly wish the workforce well and hope that the interventions and the partnership that the Government have been providing alongside the regional mayor will mean that a buyer can be found, which I am convinced is perfectly possible. When it comes to the long-term regeneration of the Potteries and the ceramics industry, as I have said already, I am willing to meet the industry itself to listen to and learn from their insight and the challenges they face, but also the opportunities they have as we rebuild our economy after the damage caused by the previous Administration and ensure that we get growth back into our economy.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I was down in the south-west just last week at Agratas, one of the largest battery production plants for electric vehicles in the whole of Europe. The sheer scale of manufacturing development in the south-west is typical of the renaissance and the capability of the region. The Agratas plant also shows the Government’s securonomics approach in action, with 230 tonnes of British steel being used in the production. From the roof, we can look across and see Europe’s largest nuclear power station being built. It is a real testament to the vibrancy, ambition and capabilities that we see right across the south-west.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend gives voice to the hospitality sector, and she is absolutely right: the hospitality sector is important for so many reasons. For many people, it is the most interaction they have with the frontline of the economy. It is the place people go for light relief and fun—and, my goodness, we deserve more fun as a country more often. It is also often the first part of the pathway into the economy, because many people’s first job is in hospitality. I recognise that hospitality is an incredibly important part of our economy, for all those reasons. What the hospitality sector needs first and foremost is economic growth, so that people have more money in their pockets to spend. That is why today’s news that we reached economic growth of 0.5% in the quarter leading up to the end of February is so significant. Embedding the foundations for growth in our economy is what hospitality needs more than anything else. Of course, I meet UKHospitality regularly and I have roundtables with the sector. I represent Hove, which has a thriving hospitality sector, where I meet people on the frontline all the time. I always enjoy engaging with my hon. Friend on these issues too.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has had meetings with several of my Ministers, and of course I am always available for him too.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I have done more in six months than his Government did in 14 years. If I am not bold, what the heck was his Government?

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentioned palaces—is he living in a palace, I wonder? Given the success he has outlined in his career in manufacturing, who knows? I can assure him that manufacturers across his constituency will benefit from the BIC scheme. In the summer, the eligibility checker will confirm which businesses can benefit, but this is about competitiveness. He is describing businesses that are already competitive and will become more competitive on the back of the BIC scheme and therefore be able to export and be a real credit to our country and economy.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am extremely grateful for my hon. Friend’s representations and reflections. I can assure her that the BIC scheme is being calculated on the electricity intensity threshold. It is for those manufacturing businesses that have electricity as a significant part of their costs of doing business. In the summer, we will announce an eligibility checker so that every business can go and check their own eligibility for the scheme going forward. I am keen to stay in touch with her because her area around Derby, of course, is part of the manufacturing renaissance, creating great opportunities for not just her region, but the whole country.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for getting the Lea Valley Growers on the record, and I am keen to meet him to hear more about it.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am thankful for the right hon. Member’s acknowledgment of the work we are doing to invest in Wales—not only the small modular reactor, which we are already starting to construct the site for, but the investment in two AI growth zones. This is a Government that, since we came into office, take investment into Wales and the reindustrialisation of Wales incredibly seriously, and both those things are starting now. On food and agriculture, I spoke just yesterday with the Environment Secretary. We are in touch over these issues and sit in the same committees where we talk about all the specific challenges as we scenario plan for impacts that may or may not result from the conflict in the middle east. That work will continue, and she can rest assured that farmers, alongside other key sectors in our economy, are at the forefront of our mind.

• 16 Apr 2026 · British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s thoughtful words. I can assure her that the ceramics sector and the subsectors she mentions are in my mind. I said in my statement that the Chancellor will set out in the near future the approach that we will take for industries that have been put into distress as a result of the action in the middle east—a war that we did not start, but a war that we are having to respond to. I am happy to stay closely in touch with her and the industries for which she is being a magnificent voice to ensure that we get any response right.

• 19 Mar 2026 · UK Steel Strategy · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend speaks to many different sectors and industries, all of which we have stepped in to support since coming into office. We are investing in their modernisation and putting them on a sustainable footing for the future. He asks me to redouble my efforts—I have redoubled my efforts every day in this job. He will see from how my Department and I acted when Jaguar Land Rover had its hour of need and when Grangemouth needed support and investment, and from today’s steel strategy, which I announced on a visit to Port Talbot just yesterday, that this is a Government who seek to modernise and to protect where necessary, but always to invest in the future.

• 19 Mar 2026 · UK Steel Strategy · Hansard source

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  In the many years I have observed my hon. Friend contributing to these debates, he has always been thoughtful and powerfully on the side of the steel sector. I can reassure him that the Government are investing in infrastructure on an unprecedented peacetime scale. The new runways and the 1.5 million homes that will be built as a result of this Government, and the building out between Oxford and Cambridge, to name a few, will all require enormous amounts of steel. This Government’s policy is to increase the supply of domestic steel from 30% to 50% of the requirement. We will use all the powers we have in policy and incentives to ensure that British steel producers benefit from all these opportunities.

• 19 Mar 2026 · UK Steel Strategy · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman mentioned waiting for the steel strategy. The truth is that the steel sector has been waiting 80 years for a steel strategy, and this is the first time that one has been delivered. I think that showing a little bit of gratitude for what has been delivered today, on behalf of the sectors and businesses that he talked about, would be most welcome. I also point out that the 80 years over which there was no strategy included 2010 to 2015, when his party was in government. Yesterday I was at Tata in Wales. The management, the ownership, the workers and the unions universally welcome this strategy and the £500 million that has already been put in to help transform the industry. That is the example of how we will move forward—with boldness, creativity and urgency.