Rachel Reeves MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Household Budgets · Hansard source

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  The Government recognise that energy costs, inflation and global pressures continue to squeeze household budgets. That is why we have taken careful, targeted action through the great British summer savings package which launches on Thursday, cutting VAT on summer activities so that adventure parks, soft play centres, cinemas and theatres will be cheaper, alongside the work we are doing to maintain the triple lock and to lift children out of poverty.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Household Budgets · Hansard source

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  The measures I took in my Budget last year took £150 off energy bills by getting rid of some levies altogether and moving others to general taxation. If we look at the most recent inflation numbers, inflation in the UK was 2.8% last month, which compares to 3.2% in the eurozone and 4% in the US. Food inflation was at its lowest rate for 17 months.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Support for Industry · Hansard source

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  We are cutting electricity costs for up to 10,000 businesses through the British industrial competitiveness scheme, and expanding the supercharger scheme. We are also strengthening key supply chains and protecting jobs through the steel strategy, the new £350 million critical chemicals resilience fund, and the £120 million in support for our ceramics sector.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Let’s talk about my record: six cuts in interest rates; wages rising faster than inflation; trade deals secured; investment delivered; support for our energy-intensive industries; half a million children lifted out of poverty; record investment in our national health service; more money for local transport infrastructure right around the country; the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war; and an economy that has constantly beaten the forecasts—an economy that is growing, and an economy where inflation has come down. Compared with the disastrous 14 years when the Conservatives were in office, I would take our record any day.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  This Government have the right economic plan—the fastest growth in the G7 at the start of this year, the second fastest rate of growth in the G7 since the election, and inflation lower than forecast, with food inflation at its lowest level for 17 months despite the disruption in the middle east. Wages have risen faster than prices in every single month since I became Chancellor. I am tackling the cost of living challenges with rail fares, prescription charges and fuel duty frozen, and with money off energy bills. Our economic plan is the right one, and I will continue to deliver for the British people.

• 23 Jun 2026 · UK-EU Economic Co-operation · Hansard source

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  I have been working hard in this Labour Government to reset the relationship so damaged by the choices of the Conservatives. That is why we have committed to this second UK-EU summit, after the agreement between President Ursula von der Leyen and our Prime Minister last year to finalise the deal on food to help our farmers, on youth mobility to help our young people, and on emissions trading to help keep the cost of energy down.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Cost of Living: Wythenshawe and Sale East · Hansard source

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  The Government are committed to easing cost of living pressures for people in Wythenshawe and Sale East, and across the UK. Budget measures are already helping households; we are freezing prescription charges for the second year in a row, freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years, and taking £150 off energy bills, as well as protecting pensioners through the triple lock and lifting half a million children out of poverty.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I know that, as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the right hon. Gentleman will play a key role in scrutinising what the Government are doing. The reduction of more than a third in the rate of duty on red diesel will have an immediate and important impact on the costs for farmers. I also appreciate the fact that his party, like the Government, did not support the conflict in the middle east and recognised that it was a mistake that would have an impact on businesses here at home. That is why we are doing everything within our power to reopen the strait of Hormuz, to ease these pressures on consumers and businesses, including farmers, but also in the meantime to diversify supply and open up new refining facilities in the UK, to help businesses, including farmers, during these challenging times.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  The measures I have set out in my statement will absolutely help the hospitality and entertainment sectors in Battersea, whether zoos, cinemas or restaurants. My hon. Friend is right to point to the economic benefits—reducing inflation, and boosting jobs and growth—of a closer relationship with our nearest neighbours and trading partners in the EU. That is why we are currently negotiating an ambitious agreement to reduce the costs of bringing in agricultural, food and farming products from the EU, and increasing markets for British farmers in the EU. That is alongside a youth mobility scheme, Erasmus, and energy trading and electricity trading across the European Union.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  When I became Chancellor, I extended the energy profits levy on gas and oil to 78%. We will be able to bring in money as a result of that. We have also increased the electricity generator levy by 10 percentage points to help to decouple gas and electricity prices. Because of the measures I took in my Budget last year, I was able to take £150 off people’s energy bills. I recognise the impact of the cost of living on families, pensioners and businesses, which is why I have introduced a further range of measures today, particularly targeting and helping families, energy-intensive industries, and those who drive a lot for work.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  In the Budget last year, I reduced energy bills by £150, and just a few weeks ago, I put in additional money to help people with the cost of heating oil. The issue around standing charges and those allocations is for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, but I will pass on the right hon. Lady’s concerns to the relevant Ministers.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Let me take the issues that the shadow Chancellor has raised. On fuel duty, when I became Chancellor of the Exchequer, the freeze in fuel duty was due to expire, under the plan set out in the Conservatives’ final Budget, within a matter of months. I have frozen fuel duty twice already and I have frozen it again today; indeed, I have frozen it with more than three months to go before the increase was due to happen, giving people plenty of time. I have always said, since the middle east conflict began, that I would keep an eye on what was happening to oil and gas prices and set out plans ahead of the change due to come into effect in September. That is exactly what I have done. I have also gone further in three specific areas, with additional support for hauliers, additional support for red diesel—particularly helping the rail freight industry and farmers—and the higher mileage rates. The shadow chancellor says he welcomes the changes on mileage rates. It is the first time they have been increased since 2011, so if he welcomes them so much, why did the Conservatives not increase them when they had 14 years in government? On the Iran conflict, let us remember that this is a war that the UK did not start and this Government chose not to join, whereas the Conservatives and Reform were cheering on the conflict every step of the way. The impact on the UK and global economies would be much more severe if we had heeded the pleas of Reform and the Conservatives to join that conflict. The shadow Chancellor talks about inflation and growth. Yesterday, the numbers showed that inflation had fallen; we are the only country in the G7 where inflation fell last month. The IMF has revised up our growth forecast and we had the fastest growth of the G7 in the first quarter of this year. The shadow Chancellor asks whether that will be paid for with new borrowing. No, it will not. If he had been listening, he would have heard the changes we are making around the foreign branch exemption. That will raise hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which is why we are able to afford the package that we have announced today. The shadow Chancellor mentioned high streets. Because of the Pride in Place money that I announced at the Budget, the banking hubs and the changes that we made to business rates, which have seen those rates for retail and hospitality come down significantly compared with the plans we inherited from the Conservative Government, we can reinvigorate our high streets. The shadow Chancellor mentioned borrowing. Borrowing has fallen below 5% for the first time since 2019 because of the actions that I have taken as Chancellor. Borrowing is expected to fall in every year of this Parliament—very different from what happened under the Conservatives. Employment and activity remain in the top half of the OECD and the G7. The biggest benefits boom came under the last Conservative Government, when the shadow Chancellor was the Work and Pensions Secretary. Oil and gas will play an important role in our economy for many years to come, but we also need to invest in renewable energy, which is why we announced yesterday restrictions in the number of judicial reviews, which are holding up investment in clean energy. It is a shame that the Conservatives voted against our Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and it is a shame that the Liberal Democrats abstained on it. We are determined to get Britain building, including building the energy infrastructure we need to get bills down. Just a couple of weeks ago, I announced changes around tie-backs to make it easier for oil and gas companies to exploit their reserves of oil and gas in the North sea. Jackdaw and Rosebank would have gone ahead if it had not been for the last Government messing up the way they legislated. We will shortly announce the decisions, which the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero will make. I am very clear that oil and gas will play an important role in the UK for many years to come, adding to our energy security alongside investment in nuclear, small modular reactors, floating offshore wind and onshore wind and solar, opposed by the Conservative party.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. I urge him and businesses and farmers in his constituency to look at the list of products and feed into the consultation over the next week or so. We are keen to bring the tariff reductions into effect to reduce prices in shops for all our constituents, but we want to do so in a way that is respectful of British farming. That is why we have chosen the tariff lines that we have. As he recognises, we are doing more to support farmers with the reduction in duty on red diesel. The best way, though, that we can help all our constituents, the farming sector and others is to bring the conflict to an end and reopen the strait of Hormuz. That is why the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary are working intensively with international partners to do just that, while at the same time we are working to diversify our supply of oil and gas so that fertiliser, to which the right hon. Gentleman rightly refers, is still available for our farmers.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Businesses in Hartlepool and across Teesside will be among the biggest beneficiaries of these changes around chemicals. The Minister for industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald), is now in his place, and I pay tribute to him again for his help in setting out this package of measures. The Department for Business and Trade will shortly set out the details of the chemicals scheme, but I can assure my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash) that it includes help with capital and day-to-day costs, with the aim of making the sector more sustainable and less energy intensive in the future. That will make it increasingly competitive. We recognise the chemical sector’s important role in the UK, and we are determined to ensure a bright future for it.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  The best way to reduce cost pressures on families and businesses is to get the strait of Hormuz reopened and those vessels carrying oil and gas flowing again, but of course in the meantime I will keep under review the support necessary to support businesses and families in Banbury and across the country.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s economic response to the war in Iran and the action that we are taking to support families and businesses with rising costs. The Government have the right economic plan. I said I would grow the economy, and last week the Office for National Statistics confirmed that Britain’s economy was the fastest-growing in the G7 for the first quarter of this year. We beat the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast in the spring, with economic growth at 0.6% in the three months to March. And because of the resilience of our economy, this week the International Monetary Fund upgraded Britain’s forecast for this year. I said I would cut borrowing. Borrowing last year was £20 billion lower than the previous year, and the latest forecasts show it falling in every year of this Parliament. The IMF has backed our economic plan, saying that the Government’s fiscal framework strikes “a good balance between deficit reduction and growth-friendly spending”. I said I would cut the cost of living. Since the election, interest rates have been cut six times; real wages have continued to rise in every single month since I became Chancellor; and yesterday the ONS confirmed that inflation fell faster than expected in April, making the UK the only G7 economy where inflation fell last month. We have the right economic plan, but the conflict in the middle east poses a significant challenge to the world’s economy, including our own. I have not shied away from my criticism of the war; I believe it to have been a mistake. Nor have I ignored the costs that it will bring to bear on the British people. I have been clear-eyed about my duty to do what I can to support families and businesses; to be responsive to a changing world, and responsible in the national interest. Next week, Ofgem will confirm the level of the energy price cap that will apply from July. I know that any increase will be felt by families. Because of the decision I made in last year’s Budget to cut £150 from energy bills, we have lessened the impact of rising prices, and current external forecasts suggest that the cap from July will be at a similar level to the cap in April last year. We stand ready to act if market conditions worsen significantly later this year, and I have been leading cross-Government contingency work on the design of potential future targeted and temporary support. For businesses, any support will also need to be carefully targeted at the firms most exposed to the crisis, but although many firms have been insulated from recent price rises through fixed-price contracts, there are sectors that face particular structural issues related to energy costs. That is why we have already increased support for our most energy-intensive industries through the British industry competitiveness scheme, which we have brought forward. It is also why we have built resilience in our critical infrastructure and industrial strategy sectors, where supply chains are critical for growth and security. Following representations from my right hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Anna Turley) and my hon. Friends the Members for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) and for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan), and building on the good work of the Minister for Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald), I am today establishing a £350 million critical chemicals resilience fund to support strategically important producers. Having listened to hon. Friends, including my hon. Friends the Members for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams), for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner) and for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth), as well as workers represented by the GMB union, I am today announcing a new £120 million fund to help our historic ceramics sector, helping it to increase efficiency and drive down energy costs. We will always stand up for British industry and British jobs. This week, the Government have also set out additional, targeted support for those businesses most exposed to rising fuel costs. We are granting hauliers a 12-month road tax holiday for heavy goods vehicles, saving the typical heavy lorry up to £912. To support farmers and the rail freight industry, I have decided to cut duty on red diesel by over a third until the end of this year, and having heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) and the trade union Unison, I can today announce a 10p per mile increase in tax-free mileage rates, backdated to April 2026. This will benefit those who need to drive for work, from care workers to plumbers. When a country faces challenges because of higher oil and gas prices, we must ensure that those who benefit from increased prices and volatility pay their fair share. In my first Budget, I extended and increased the energy profits levy. Last year, I announced a new permanent windfall tax regime on oil and gas prices. Last month, I increased the electricity generator levy, alongside further action to weaken the link between high gas prices and electricity prices. Today, I am bringing forward specific changes to the taxation of foreign branch profits, changing how companies are taxed in relation to their overseas activities. Currently, some oil and gas groups that operate overseas through foreign branches have structured their tax affairs in a way that ensures they pay little or no corporation tax on their UK energy trading profits. Today, we are putting an end to that practice. We expect these reforms to raise hundreds of millions of pounds a year and fund the package of measures set out today, with costings certified by the OBR forecast in the usual way. I know the pressure that family finances are under, which is why I have already taken action to provide help. I have increased the national living wage and the national minimum wage to their highest rates ever, frozen prescription charges for two years in a row, and frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years. I have also taken £150 off energy bills, which contributed to last month’s fall in inflation. However, I want to go further, and today I am taking further action to ease the burden on family finances. First, on fuel duty, I have already extended the 5p cut twice since the election. I can confirm today that there will be no rise in fuel duty this year, recognising the pressure that the war has put on fuel prices. Secondly, I know that the cost of the weekly shop is often one of the biggest worries for families, so last month I met supermarkets to urge them to do all they can to keep prices low. Today I am taking action by suspending tariffs on over 100 different foods sold in supermarkets. I am clear that I expect supermarkets to pass those savings on in full to their customers. Thirdly, I will not tolerate any company exploiting the current situation to make excess profits at consumers’ expense. As such, I am bringing forward tough new powers so that the Competition and Markets Authority and other regulators can take action when firms break the rules. Fourthly, for many families, driving is not always an option. Buses are the most popular form of public transport in Britain, with over 4 billion journeys made last year. I have already extended the £3 bus fare cap to March 2027, and today I can confirm that bus travel across England will be free for children aged between five and 15 throughout August. Finally, I recognise that what matters for families is not just getting by, but being able to enjoy time together without worrying about the next bill. That is why I am launching the great British summer savings scheme, to help families and to support our hospitality sector. I can today announce a temporary cut in the rate of VAT on summer attractions from 20% to 5% over the summer holidays. This will apply to ticket prices for both adults and children, covering attractions such as fairs, theme parks, zoos and museums. It will include children’s tickets for cinemas, concerts, soft play and the theatre, and it will also cut the cost of children’s meals in restaurants and cafés from 20% VAT to 5%. These changes will apply across the UK from the start of the Scottish school holidays on 25 June and will run until the end of the school holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 1 September. This Government have the right economic plan. We promised to grow the economy, and we have. We promised to cut inflation, and we have. We promised to cut the cost of living, and we are—promises made by a Labour Government, promises delivered by a Labour Government. I commend this statement to the House.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and all the MPs involved in helping to put together this scheme of support for ceramics. Like her, I welcome the work of the TUC and GMB in this. Innovation and ensuring that the industry is sustainable and competitive for the future is absolutely essential. This is not just a sticking-plaster policy; it is about setting up the industry for the future, including investment in innovation and R&D and also the diversification of energy supplies.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  I am sure that my hon. Friend’s constituents in Edinburgh North and Leith will benefit from being able to enjoy attractions in the Scottish school holidays. People from the other nations and regions of the UK, or from further afield, will also be able to enjoy the attractions of Edinburgh this summer. On the specific issue of delinking gas and electricity prices, this is both a short-term and long-term measure. In the short term, we have increased the electricity generator levy by 10 percentage points to bring in more money this year. We are renegotiating contracts to move electricity prices on to contracts for difference in order to have greater certainty about electricity prices, so that the gas price does not set the electricity price so frequently, giving greater stability of energy prices to businesses and families.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  As I have said in previous answers, I recognise the role of oil and gas in the UK and its importance to the UK for many years to come, which is why we have changed the rules around tiebacks and put in place a permanent mechanism for taxing windfall profits. But the hon. Lady has to answer the question: are she and her party in favour of the foreign branch profits exemption or not? If not, they cannot back the support we are giving today to help people with the cost of living and the support we are giving for ceramics. This exemption means that we are moving in line with how other countries treat foreign profits. At the moment, we have the absurd situation where losses overseas can mean that businesses avoid paying their fair share of corporation tax in the UK. This moves us in line with what other countries do. It is closing a tax loophole, and the hon. Lady and the Conservatives should welcome that.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Closing tax loopholes has been a feature of the first two Budgets I have delivered as Chancellor—for example, the loophole whereby private schools did not pay VAT or business rates. I increased the energy profits levy and the tax on private jets, and there has been a range of other measures to ensure that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share of tax. The Competition and Markets Authority is already, at my behest, carrying out a review of heating oil to make sure that customers using heating oil are treated fairly. We are introducing the fuel finder to ensure that customers can always get the best deal when filling up their car with petrol.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend knows from sitting on the Treasury Committee, this Government have already taken action to reduce the cost of living and to bear down on inflation with the changes around energy prices, fuel duty, prescription charges and rail fares. I will do everything in my power and use every lever we have to bear down on the cost of living, including for people in the private rented sector. That is why we have already introduced the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. People who have mortgages have seen cuts in their mortgage rates since we came into office, and we will also do everything we can to help people in the private rented sector too, because we must ensure that this conflict in the middle east does not result in our constituents being poorer.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The oil and gas sector will play an important part in our energy mix for many years to come, and we need to support it, as we are doing through tiebacks, for example. But it is important that the energy profits levy remains in place for now, because during this conflict we will be able to capture the profits made in the UK through the windfall tax. The Conservatives and Reform oppose this tax, which would just mean even higher profits for oil and gas companies. As my hon. Friend knows, we are also delinking gas and electricity prices by increasing the electricity generator levy, so that no energy company can make excess profits because of the conflict.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Conflict in the Middle East: Cost of Living · Hansard source

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  Fuel duty was never lower at any point under the previous Conservative Government or, indeed, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government. We are keeping under review what happens from September, but it is important to note that in the first three months of this year, revenues from fuel duty were no higher than they were just a year ago. With regard to the profits of energy companies, that is exactly why we extended the energy profits levy: to ensure that windfall profits could be taxed appropriately. BP and other oil and gas companies play a really important part in our energy mix, and our important British companies are representing our country in the US this week, but it is important that windfall profits are properly taxed, whether that is through the electricity generator levy or the energy profits levy.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Conflict in the Middle East: Cost of Living · Hansard source

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  I welcome the hon. Lady’s question. Like her, I regularly see pupils and local teachers in my constituency. As she knows, from this month we have got rid of the two-child limit in universal credit, which is lifting 450,000 children out of poverty. We are also expanding free childcare for children aged between nine months and five years, helping parents in work with the costs of balancing family life with work life. In addition, we have taken £117 off energy bills, we are freezing rail fares and prescription charges, and we are helping people—particularly those in rural areas—with the cost of heating oil.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Conflict in the Middle East: Cost of Living · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Baker Hughes, an important employer in his constituency, is a good example of how this conflict is affecting businesses and families here at home. As he knows, we have stepped in to defend our Gulf allies who have been attacked, unprovoked, by Iran. We are working with our allies in the Gulf, whom I speak to on a very regular basis, to ensure that we are not only defending them now but helping them to rebuild their infrastructure. Here in Britain, both the supercharger and the British industrial competitiveness scheme are helping businesses with the cost of their energy.