Speeches by Glen.

“My constituent Kate Szymankiewicz’s daughter, Ruth, tragically died in a mental health in-patient unit. She has been told by the Government that the law as it stands already provides adequate protections to ensure that family contact and visits can happen, but that plainly did not happen in this case, with tragic conse…”

“You had it as decreasing labour supply by 50,000 in ’24.”

“Could we turn to unemployment? Professor Miles, you mentioned in a previous answer that we have seen high unemployment. For certain age segments, particularly young people, it has reached quite worrying levels. What are your thoughts about the labour market and what is happening structurally? Some people would posit th…”

“Thank you.”

“My last question, before I pass over to Mr Murphy, is on this AI business. There is quite a wide discrepancy of predictions, as you have just said, but also a discrepancy across different economies—between the US and the UK. Would you like to say something about how relatively well the UK is placed with respect to AI?”

“What does it do for an employer who is anxious?”

“Chancellor, you have talked about your youth guarantee and apprenticeships to help deal with the record youth unemployment, but I want to turn to AI. How do you see AI? It could have a massive effect on the economy and employment. Could you tell us what assessment you have made and what the Treasury is doing to evaluat…”

“I do not really disagree with any of that, but my point is that there is rapid change. People are saying that in two years call centres will not exist. There could be significant segments, both geographically and across the age distribution, of jobs that do not exist. Can you give us any more information about what the…”

“I will pass over to my colleague in a moment, but can I just challenge you? In fairness, there are significant measures out there that suggest that there is greater positivity in some sectors of the economy. The PMI surveys in manufacturing and services were at significant highs in January. Does that not suggest that y…”

“It was different then.”

“I understand the emphasis you put on policies with respect to investment and growth capital, some of which were started during my tenure as Economic Secretary, and I agree with them, but I am suggesting to you that the impact of the jobs lost in the immediate term is real and significant. You can talk about training pe…”

“We have listened carefully to the measures and activities that you set out yesterday and again this morning. My question is simple: do you rule out addressing the fuel duty at all?”

“So it is possible that you could address it.”

“Yes. It is also the impact on growth. It is very marginal in 2027 and ’28.”

“I do not dispute that. Having worked, as you know, under four Chancellors, I recognise the difference between the theory of where we would like to be and the political reality of where we are. I would put it to you that what we are seeing at the moment might necessitate an action that might not be desirable—as it was n…”

“What is it saying? What are its initial findings?”

“Chancellor, could we turn to growth? You are 20 months into a five-year term—a third of the way through. You have talked about the National Wealth Fund, planning reform and a new industrial strategy as some of the things that you have done to drive growth, but if we look at some of the OBR’s assessments, obviously ther…”

“Can I just interject there briefly? I do not think anyone would dispute the potential for those things to make a meaningful difference, but we have to address the immediate context that the country faces, which includes the cost of employing people and the behaviours that we see on the ground. The OBR has talked about …”

“0.1% next year and 0.1% the following year?”

“I was not going to say that.”