Rachel Reeves MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Today the Government have responded to the covid counter-fraud commissioner’s recommendations in a report that I commissioned, which confirms that the Conservative Government left the door open to more than £10 billion of pandemic fraud. That is money that could have gone into our NHS and our schools, and we have acted in the last two years to claw it back. Today we set out how we will go even further, launching a powerful new public authorities fraud investigation and enforcement service, with new powers to ensure that we get that money back directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts. Nearly 2,000 directors have been disqualified and 86 criminals have been prosecuted in actions that will bring more money back to the public purse. I want those who have defrauded the taxpayer to know: there is nowhere to hide; we are coming after you; you will pay that money back.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  To start with, let us remember that the plans we inherited from the last Government would have seen fuel duty go up straightaway; the plans that we inherited from the last Government would not have seen £29 billion of investment a year in our NHS; and the plans that we inherited from the last Government would have seen business rates for our high street businesses—our retail, hospitality and leisure businesses—go up straightaway. We did make the decision to change that inheritance because we thought it was the right thing to do, and we still do. The International Monetary Fund confirmed that we have the fastest rate of fiscal consolidation of any country in the G7, and our borrowing as a share of GDP fell to 4.3% in the last financial year and is due to fall in every single year of this Parliament. This is the first time that our deficit has been lower than 5% since 2019.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  What the right hon. Gentleman is basically admitting is that he would have gone ahead with the increases in fuel duty and business rates, and that he would take that money out of our national health service. We made those changes on the mandate that we got at the election, and at the same time we are reducing the budget deficit so that, for the first time in six years, it is now below 5% of GDP. As a result, the Bank of England has cut interest rates six times, helping all our constituents with their mortgages. This is very different from the hikes in mortgages that we saw under the previous Tory Government.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

  More

  In the past two weeks, we have announced up to 25% off energy bills for 10,000 manufacturers, starting this month. Today, we have announced tiebacks to exploit more of our energy resource in the North sea, which has been welcomed by OEUK, and we have announced an increase in the electricity generator levy to bring in money to help with the costs of energy. We are one of the few countries in the world where energy bills went down in April, because of the decisions that I made in my Budget. Since I became Chancellor, wages have risen by more than prices in every single month and interest rates have been cut six times. That is the difference we are making. It would be nice if the SNP used the record funding we have given it to cut NHS waiting lists, rather than seeing them rise and rise.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  Some 95,000 children in Scotland will be lifted out of poverty, and today we have been able to announce a further uplift in the budget available for the Scottish Government. We can only hope that it is a Labour Government, not an SNP Government, who have the chance to spend that money. Otherwise, I fear more increases in NHS waiting lists and worse results for kids at schools, because that is the SNP’s legacy.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  To be honest, when the SNP gets involved in infrastructure projects like trying to build a couple of ferries, it all seems to go horribly wrong. That is why, despite the fact that the SNP Government have had a record settlement from us, NHS waiting lists in Scotland continue to increase, while in England and Wales, under Labour Governments, they are falling.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  In last year’s spending review, we set out a record settlement for the Scottish Government, as well as for the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. I can tell the House and my hon. Friend that, because of the decisions that we are making, I am able to announce an additional £900 million in resource departmental expenditure limits spending, and £20 million in capital departmental expenditure limits spending, for the Scottish Government over the spending review period between 2026-27 and 2028-29. Like her, I very much hope that it will be Anas Sarwar and a Labour Government spending that money, rather than the SNP wasting it and presiding over longer NHS waiting lists.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  It is not Shakespeare, but I always say, “Save the best till last.” If we can spend less money on paying the interest on debt, we will have more money to spend on our NHS, on our defence and on keeping taxes down. That is only possible if we return stability to the economy, and the OBR forecast shows that we have the right plan. Inflation and interest rates are coming down, while Government borrowing costs, Government borrowing and Government debt are on a downward path. That compares with the situation under the previous Government, who lost control of the public finances and, as a result, lost control of family finances. In 18 months, we have begun to turn that around. Is there more to do? Absolutely—but we have started on that course. If we stick to the plan, the prize at the end is huge.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is right about the shadow Chancellor’s blood pressure—but, frankly, I am worried about his future employment prospects. NHS waiting lists are falling because of the money that we have put in, but my hon. Friend makes a point about overall investment in the economy. After lagging behind pretty much every other advanced country in the world, since the general election we have had the fastest investment growth in the G7.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  This Labour Government have permanently reduced the multiplier faced by small businesses and high street businesses—the business rates system that we inherited from the previous Government. The hon. Gentleman mentions VAT. When Labour left office in 2010, VAT was 17.5%, and the Conservative Government, with the help of the Liberal Democrats, increased it to 20%. It has been there for 15 years. If his party wants to cut taxes, it also has to explain which public services it is going to cut. We have increased spending on the health service by £29 billion. That was the right decision, but it was only possible because of the tax decisions we have made.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

  More

  The view of the electorate just 18 months ago was that it was time to get rid of the Conservatives, because of the broken system that they had left, whether that was student finances, the NHS, our prisons or our crumbling schools. As a result, the hon. Member is sitting on the Opposition Benches, where I expect he will be for many years to come.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Covid fraud and error under the previous Government’s mismanagement cost the taxpayer £10.9 billion. They played fast and loose with the public purse and left the front doors wide open to fraud. That is why I have appointed a covid corruption commissioner to carry out the independent review. This Government are doing everything to recover taxpayers’ money. We have already got back around £400 million, with more to come. That money belongs to the British people in our communities and in our NHS. We welcome the publication of the commissioner’s independent report and will respond fully in the new year.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we are backing Grangemouth and have put money into the Acorn carbon capture and storage project. We are taking £150 off people’s energy bills in Scotland. In England and Wales, NHS waiting lists are falling. I wonder why they are still increasing in Scotland.

• 9 Dec 2025 · EU Exit: Economic Growth · Hansard source

  More

  The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU. However, alongside the trade deals struck with the US and India, the Government are resetting our relationship with the EU to get better deals on, for example, food and farming, as well as on electricity trading. The hon. Member’s party talks about how leaving the European Union has been costly and disruptive, but somehow thinks that Scotland leaving the UK and its internal market would be magically effortless and cost free. I must say that the SNP is no better than those who promised the public an extra £350 million a week for the NHS. It is all talk, but no delivery.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Financial Statement and Budget Report · Hansard source

  More

  It is my understanding that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s “Economic and fiscal outlook” was released on its website before this statement. This is deeply disappointing and a serious error on its part. It has already made a statement taking full responsibility for its breach. We are rebuilding our economy. Over the last 16 months, we have overhauled our planning system to get Britain building; forged new trade deals with the United States, India and the European Union; reformed our visa system to bring the brightest and the best to Britain; changed the fiscal rules that we inherited from the Conservatives; and raised public investment to its highest level in four decades. In last year’s Budget, I raised taxes on business and the wealthiest to close the £22 billion black hole in the public finances left by the Conservative party. We used that money to fund the biggest ever settlement for our national health service. Those were the fair and necessary choices. We faced opposition to them—from opponents to planning reform who will always demand that the future is built somewhere else, not in their backyard; opponents to trade who want to take us down the path of isolation and division; opponents to investment who believe that the only good thing a Government can do is get out of the way; opponents who insist that the only way to balance the books is to cut public spending; and opponents who say that we do not need to balance the books at all. But we made these choices for a reason: because after 14 years of Conservative Government, working people demanded—and deserved—change, with investment, not cuts, to our public services; stability for our public finances, which is the single most important factor in getting the cost of living down; and economic growth, which is the best means of improving wages, creating jobs and supporting public services. That is what our plan, this Government and our Prime Minister are all about. Today’s Budget builds on the choices that we have made since July last year to cut NHS waiting lists, to cut the cost of living, and to cut debt and borrowing. No doubt, we will face opposition again, but I have yet to see a credible or a fairer alternative plan for working people. [ Interruption. ] These are my choices: the right choices for a fairer, a stronger and a more secure Britain.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Financial Statement and Budget Report · Hansard source

  More

  I am happy for them to shout as much as they like, Madam Deputy Speaker, as long as they do it from the Opposition Benches, where they cannot cause any more damage. I said that there would be no return to austerity, and I meant it. This Budget will maintain investment in our economy and in our national health service. I said that I would cut the cost of living, and I meant it. This Budget will bring down inflation and provide immediate relief for families. I said that I would cut debt and borrowing, and I meant it. Because of this Budget, borrowing will fall as a share of GDP in every year of this forecast. Our net financial debt will be lower at the end of the forecast than it is today, and I will more than double the headroom against our stability rule to £21.7 billion, meeting our stability rule, and meeting it a year early. These are my choices—not austerity, not borrowing, not turning a blind eye to unfairness. My choices are a Budget for fair taxes, strong public services and a stable economy. That is the Labour choice. Growth is the engine that carries every one of our ambitions forward, through stability, investment and reform. It is the platform from which British ambition can finally get moving again. Growth does not just appear out of thin air; it is built, patiently and stubbornly, by people who take risks; by founders who bet their savings on an idea; by firms breaking into new markets, developing new technologies and creating new jobs and new opportunities; and by the men and the women who work hard every day, in all parts of our country. Our job is not to watch from the sidelines, but to partner with them, backing them every step of the way, and to match private enterprise with public ambition. I thank my team of officials at the Treasury for their hard work in preparing this Budget. In the spring, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that our economy would grow by 1% this year. I said then that Britain would defy the forecasts, and defy them we have. The OBR has upgraded Britain’s growth for this year from 1% to 1.5%, reaching the same conclusions as the International Monetary Fund, the OECD and the Bank of England, which have already upgraded their forecasts. Today, the OBR has published the result of its review of the supply side of the economy. It is clear that this is not about the last 14 months; it is about the previous 14 years, the legacy of Brexit and the pandemic, and the damaging decisions by the Conservative party, which cut public spending, leaving communities and entire regions behind, starved our economy of investment, and weakened our public services. As a result of its review, the OBR is reducing its expectations for productivity growth by 0.3 percentage points to 1% by the end of the forecast. It says today: “Real GDP is forecast to grow by 1.5% on average over the forecast period…due to lower underlying productivity growth.” There is an impact on our public finances too. The OBR says that its productivity forecast will mean £16 billion less in tax receipts by 2030. Those forecasts are the Tories’ legacy, not Britain’s destiny. [ Interruption. ]

• 26 Nov 2025 · Financial Statement and Budget Report · Hansard source

  More

  The Tories do not want to hear what they did to schools like mine, but I will tell them. Textbooks were rationed, libraries closed and kids herded into portacabins in the playground. I came into politics to change that. The money that I allocated at the spending review will fix the crumbling classrooms that the Conservatives left behind, and build the schools they promised but never delivered. Today, thanks to representations from my hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge) and for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards), I will provide £5 million for libraries in secondary schools, building on the £10 million commitment to ensure that every primary school has a school library within this Parliament. Thanks to representations from my hon. Friends the Members for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) and for Luton North (Sarah Owen), I am providing £18 million to improve and upgrade playgrounds across England. Let there be no doubt that this Government are on the side of our kids and will back their potential. I will not allow the legacies of Conservative neglect to stain our society. Last year, I made changes to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme to ensure that its members receive the fair pensions that they are owed. This year, with thanks to the Minister for Pensions for all his work on this subject, I can go further. I have heard representations from Labour coalfield MPs, including my hon. Friends the Members for Bassetlaw (Jo White), for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery), for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) and for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith), and I can today announce that I will transfer the investment reserve fund of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme to its members, so that the men and women who worked in our coal industry get a fair deal in their retirement, too. And there is more. Having heard representations from my hon. Friends the Members for Banbury (Sean Woodcock) and for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur), I will index for inflation on pensions accrued before 1997 in the pension protection fund and the financial assurance scheme, so that people whose pension schemes became insolvent—no fault of their own—no longer lose out as a result of inflation. Last year, I also provided funding to compensate the victims of the infected blood scandal, after the previous Government failed to budget for the costs of compensation. This year, I have listened to representations from my hon. Friends the Members for Eltham and Chislehurst (Clive Efford) and for Edinburgh South West. I thank the Minister for Employment for her representations over many years on this subject. As a result, I will exempt all payments from the infected blood scheme from inheritance tax, regardless of the circumstances in which those payments are passed down. That is how we should be spending taxpayers’ money: on dealing with injustices and building strong public services, not on waste and inefficiency. At the spending review, I set out an ambitious target for £14 billion of efficiencies per year by 2029. I am grateful to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for driving that work forward, realising savings through artificial intelligence and automation, and by scrapping NHS England and reducing back-office staff by 18,000. At this Budget, I will find a further £4.9 billion of efficiencies by 2031, by getting rid of police and crime commissioners, cutting the cost of politics and local government, and selling Government assets that we no longer have any use for. These savings will be required across Government, but for our national health service, I will invest all those savings back into the care that people rely on—more nurses, more GPs and more appointments, restoring the services that faltered under years of Conservative decline and investing in the future of our national health service. Today, I am announcing £300 million of investment in technology to improve patient service, and 250 new neighbourhood health centres, expanding more services into communities so that people can receive treatment outside hospitals and get better, faster care where they live. More than 100 of those centres will be delivered by 2030, including in Birmingham, Truro and Southall. The Labour party founded our national health service, and we will renew our national health service. I will take the same approach for defence spending that I take for NHS spending, reinvesting savings back into our national security. In our age of insecurity, Britain will continue to stand with our allies, working in collaboration to secure a sustainable ceasefire for Ukraine, and maintaining our commitment to NATO, with the UK set to spend 2.6% of GDP on defence by April 2027. The public rightly expects that we stamp out fraud, error and waste, and put that money to good use in our schools, hospitals and other frontline services. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has already announced that she will claw back excess profits from the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, as we phase out the use of those hotels entirely. And we will consult on reforms to indefinite leave to remain and access to taxpayer-funded benefits. The introduction of digital ID will break the link between illegal migration and illegal working, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the fair work agency will crack down on the illicit businesses that blight our high streets and undercut legitimate firms, enforcing the minimum wage, investigating dodgy businesses and increasing scrutiny of the gig economy, as well as tracking down fraudulent business owners who vanish without paying their taxes. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) and for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) for their representations on this subject. I will take further steps to prevent and track down unpaid tax. Together, these reforms will raise nearly £10 billion a year by 2030, including through new powers for HMRC to pursue the promoters of tax avoidance schemes. I am building on our successful use of targeted checks on welfare claims to root out fraud and error and to prevent public money from being paid to people who are not entitled to it. I thank Tom Hayhoe, the covid corruption commissioner, for his work in helping to chase down nearly £400 million from dodgy pandemic spending and contracts. Tory contracts handed out by Tory Ministers to Tory peers and Tory friends— [ Interruption. ] That money belongs in our schools, in our hospitals— [ Interruption. ]

• 4 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  A working person is somebody who goes out every day to earn their income. They rely on prices that are affordable in the shops, low interest rates and taxes that are as low as possible, but also public services that work for them, like the NHS, where waiting lists have already come down by more than 200,000.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  May I first pay tribute to all those who responded to Saturday’s horrendous attack: the quick-thinking driver, the emergency services, and the heroic LNER staff member Samir Zitouni who bravely saved the lives of passengers? The Government were elected to break a cycle of decline. We have returned the public finances to a firm footing, invested in Britain and begun to rebuild our economy. But times remain challenging: global uncertainty is dampening growth and increasing the cost of borrowing; while inflation remains too high and productivity too low. In the face of those challenges, my task is clear. At the Budget later this month, I will continue to build the strong foundations to secure Britain’s future, protect our NHS, reduce our national debt and improve the cost of living for a fairer, more prosperous Britain with an economy that works for everyone.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  When we came into office last year, there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. The reserve that is set out for genuine emergencies had already been spent four times over only three months into the financial year. That is the reality. We increased taxes in the Budget last year to stabilise the public finances and to put a much-needed injection of cash into our public services, principally our national health service. Since then, anyone can see the big challenges facing the world, as well as the productivity that never materialised under the past Government.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  The NHS will remain free at the point of use for as long as there is a Labour Government. That is not something that Reform is able to promise. As usual, Reform does one thing and says another. In Kent, the party said that it would find efficiencies to keep down council tax, but it has not found a single one and that is why the 2 million people who live in Reform council areas will get a council tax rise next year.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Business Impact · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the right hon. Lady for that question, and 43% of employers—almost 1 million—will pay no employer national insurance this year. That is an increase because of the changes we made to the employment allowance. Over half of employers with NIC liabilities will see no change, or will gain overall, and businesses can employ younger people—those aged under 21 and apprentices under 25—without NICs. However, the Conservatives must decide whether they will stick with this change to national insurance. If they are not going to, they will have to admit that they will not be able to put the money into the national health service.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Business Impact · Hansard source

  More

  The previous Government left a £22 billion black hole in the public finances, and in the Budget last year I had to take urgent action to ensure our public finances were on a firm footing and to properly fund our public services, including a £29 billion investment every year in our national health service. The Opposition cannot support more investment in our public services unless they support the tax changes to pay for it.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Business Impact · Hansard source

  More

  In the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, the number of people waiting more than 18 weeks for an appointment has also fallen. That is exactly what that money is being used for. He needs to be clear, and so do those on the Opposition Front Bench: if they want to reverse the increase to national insurance, they must also accept that there will be less money for our national health service. That is a choice, and it would be interesting to hear whether it is the Opposition’s choice.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Business Impact · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. In his own constituency in the Isle of Wight, the six-monthly waiting list figures show that 5% fewer people are waiting for 18 weeks or longer. That is only possible because of the money we put into the NHS because of the tax changes we made. On retail sales and the impact on shops, retail sales have increased for the last four months in a row, with the most recent numbers for August and September outpacing expectations.