Speeches by Tomlinson.

“We should make progress. I step back for my final three numbers. Let me briefly set out how some of the long-term decisions the Government are taking are paying off. Figures today show that inflation has fallen to nearly 3%, with wages up more under this Government than in the first decade under the Conservatives. In t…”

“I happily give way—I look forward to it.”

“The hon. Member said that he is not sure whether I believe what I am reading. I did write this myself, and I do very much believe it. We will have plenty of time to debate the business rates measures when we consider the relevant pieces of legislation and in Committee, I am sure. They are not specifically in the Financ…”

“That is very kind of my hon. Friend. I know that he and others on all sides of the House have made representations over many years on behalf of their constituents affected by the loan charge. I have met some of those affected and members of the all-party parliamentary group. In the months that I have been in this role,…”

“My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for his constituents and the businesses based in his part of the world. Those businesses contribute significant revenue to the Exchequer, and this Government are asking them to contribute a bit more in order for us to be able to continue to fund our public services in a sustainable w…”

“I am happy to discuss those numbers with the right hon. Member in more detail, either afterwards or I can come in and discuss those points with him, although I did not quite follow all of the maths—[Interruption.] I thank Members on the Conservative Front Bench for their intervention about that. Increasing taxes on onl…”

“I will give way—persistence pays.”

“Our proposals on APR and BPR mean that those with business or agricultural assets will have both the additional £1 million allowance and a tax rate that is half the rate that others within the system pay. My understanding is that the system will be more generous than the one in place before 1992, throughout the whole t…”

“I give way to the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), who was the first to catch my eye on that occasion.”

“If I may, I will try to make some progress so that other hon. Members are able to contribute. This Government are delivering growth and are focused on driving investment in our economy. As I said earlier, whole-economy investment has risen by 4.2% in real terms since the start of the year, outperforming the OBR’s March…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for his point. We do want to see farming businesses in rural communities and businesses up and down the country investing and growing for the future. On the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief, it is worth noting that the statistics suggest that up to 375 e…”

“I will give way, and then I will try to make some progress, so that other Members can get in.”

“I, too, welcome that change in the Budget, and I commend my colleague the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for the work she has been doing on that—I am sure we will hear more about it in her closing remarks.”

“The OBR was aware of the tax changes announced in the previous Budget when it made its forecast just a few weeks ago. It expects that employment will rise in every year of this forecast; that every year, the figure will be higher than it was in March; and that there will be over 35 million people in work by the end of …”

“I give way to my constituency neighbour.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention—the first from a Labour Member. I look forward to many more from Labour hon. Friends, as well as Opposition Members. This Government have also chosen to cut Government borrowing every year, so that interest rates, already cut five times since the election, keep falling.”

“This Budget will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty, because of decisions that we have made. This Government have made £10 billion more spending available to the Scottish Government, yet we still see public services failing up and down Scotland; the NHS is not working as well as it should north of th…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I look forward to contributions from Members on both sides of the House on the various measures in the Finance Bill. On the point that the hon. Member raises, this Government considered really carefully the reforms that were announced at the Budget last year, and have put forward change…”

“I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report—we had a bit of extra time to read it this year. He will know that according to that report, investment—both overall, whole-economy investment and private sector investment—has outpaced the OBR’s forecast from March thi…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On 26 November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at this Dispatch Box. This was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country, with no cuts to capital spending—which I am sure would have been implemented by…”