Speeches by Grady.

“There is probably a yes/no answer to this then. Politicians must be straightforward with people not only about the tax choices, but about the choices for growth. With things such as controversial planning permissions, which get you growth, you actually have to push them through. Otherwise, we will just stay in this fun…”

“On the point of kidding on, the OBR’s March report points to higher defence spending, climate change and the ageing population, and effectively says that unless we change our tax system and get a grip on public finances and/or get some growth, debt will rise to over 270% of GDP by the mid-’70s. We are not going to be a…”

“So you would say that politicians would do well to stop kidding people on that we can have lower taxes and a big state. That is just not happening.”

“So we need to start by facing into that fundamental fact. Ms Curtice, do you have anything to add to that?”

“So in simple terms, you are saying that we have a fairly average share of GDP in terms of tax and public spending, you cannot have higher public spending and lower taxes, and you could cut public spending but you are still going to have to get your health insurance or whatever.”

“The facility is located in my constituency. The report stresses the importance of engagement with the local community. Drug litter and public injecting very close to the facility are a cause of real concern for my constituents, whose worries are not being properly addressed. There are now suggestions that the facility …”

“Is it possible to identify any particular gaps in the competition regime? Chapters 1 and 2 of the Competition Act 1998 cover things like exclusivity arrangements, and so on. There is a regime for market studies, which would also enable this issue to be addressed, and, manifestly, this would be of serious consumer inter…”

“My hon. Friend makes a very good point, at the heart of which is the question of what work needs to be done to introduce anything along these lines. One would have to look at what the Financial Conduct Authority is doing, the existing service provisions, the costs, and how we smooth out implementation. There are a lot …”

“Has the hon. Gentleman considered some of the reforms that the FCA is considering, such as the advice guidance boundary review? I understand the thrust of what he is trying to do—to ensure that people get proper pension advice. Hopefully, everyone would agree with that, but I wonder how it fits in with the wider contex…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing the debate and I agree with everything she said. This is a time when children are starting school for the first time—a moment of optimism, pride and love for their par…”

“Would the hon. Member accept that pension trustees should, in accordance with their fiduciary duties, actively consider investing in such things as private equity, private patient capital and interests in land? The fact that so many people have agreed, under the Mansion House arrangements, to invest in such classes of …”

“Perhaps you could set out in writing how you follow it, and any thoughts you have on both fronts, because I do not want to take up too much time.”

“Of course, and it is not so much the, “Will it happen?” because none of us know. It is, “What are the consequences?” and, “How prepared would the Bank be for that sort of eventuality?””

“Thinking about the causes, weather takes you to climate change and so on, and what is going on in places like Spain. Changing global demand takes you to global economic growth, the rise of China and the ASEAN economies. None of those feel particularly temporary to me, so why are you confident that this is a temporary p…”

“We talked earlier about not being in the business of forecasting shocks and about the Ukraine shock. One thing that does worry people is China and Taiwan. What impact would a major crisis in that context, given rare earths in China and semiconductors in Taiwan, have on inflation, and has the Bank turned its mind at all…”

“What is driving the increase in the cost of animal feed? Is it energy costs?”

“We will see what we can do. On the prices of food, given these global factors, why is food inflation higher in the UK than in the eurozone? Do you have a view on that?”

“Food price inflation matters a lot, obviously, to my constituents. We have talked about global commodity prices—coffee, cocoa and beef. Ms Lombardelli, what are the underlying causes of that inflation? What is pushing it?”

“To explain the independence of central banks in a way that my constituents would immediately grasp, is your position, “Be careful what you wish for, because if you lose the independence of central banks, ultimately you will face higher prices, higher mortgages and higher costs of borrowing for social housing and busine…”

“Q With DC—defined contribution—schemes, as you know, savers themselves have discretion about where they put their money. The issue we face, illustrated by Dimson, Marsh and Staunton’s regular review of asset returns, is that people are not saving in things that will get them a long-term return, are they? The other issu…”