Speeches by Byrne.

“My hon. Friend is a brilliant member of the Committee, and she makes a brilliant point. We know that we must come to a strategic culture and defence mindset in this country, so that our industry can innovate as fast as the battlefield changes. We all know that there are defence manufacturers—drone manufacturers in part…”

“My hon. Friend is an extraordinary champion for the city he represents, and for the industry that has made that city great over the centuries. He is absolutely right: when the industrial strategy is published, we must understand whether it is driving growth and better wages, and whether it is transforming people’s abil…”

“My hon. Friend is 100% right. We heard businesses say to us loud and clear that they wanted radical and bold changes in the way that the skills levy was organised. The Government have moved to introduce flexibilities, and business want them to go further, faster. We also heard business say that there is a good environm…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this debate and all those who have spoken today. It was Václav Havel who said that the best defence against tyranny is to live in truth. On this third anniversary, we have the opportunity to repeat some truths to t…”

“The right hon. Gentleman and I have organised debates on this topic in the past. Does he share my view that we now need to get a lot faster in seizing this money, not only to pay for the munitions needed to win the war, but crucially, then to win the peace in Ukraine, making good the horrific scale of damage that Russi…”

“Yes, Chair. Apologies for being late; Lord Sedwill slightly ran over in his evidence, but it was so excellent I did not want to stop him in mid flow. Thank you for looking at this application. There are basically three reasons why we have put the application in, and we are conscious that you have got the devil’s choice…”

“We think there is plenty of material and interest across the House, so yes.”

“What is essential now is that this does not escalate. Widespread duties on UK exports to the US would be devastating for economic growth, bad for inflation and bad for interest rates. The whole House ought to wish His Majesty’s new ambassador, Lord Mandelson, the very best of luck in the conduct of his new tasks in Was…”

“I very much welcome the statement from my right hon. Friend, but the reality is that he has inherited a deal with the European Union that has knocked about 4% to 5% off our economic output each year. Certainly, the Business and Trade Committee heard in Brussels last week a clear message from the business community that…”

“I want to check something. On 23 February 2023, you said, “By the end of Labour’s first term, we will deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7.” That critical phrase, “By the end of Labour’s first term,” was not in the plan for change. Is it still the goal to deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7 by the …”

“Congratulations to the Secretary of State. This is excellent news for the people of Appledore and of Northern Ireland and for workers across the Harland & Wolff supply chain. He might want to confirm that the peril of providing a Government guarantee was the possibility of entailing a huge payout to a US-based hedg…”

“You are committed to negotiating an SPS deal—a closer veterinary deal—with the EU. That would probably rule out a grand bargain free trade deal with the United States, because we could not include something on agriculture in such a bargain. How are you going to put the two deals together—with Europe on the one hand and…”

“Did you discuss this?”

“Among the perils that we face next year is now the looming threat of tariffs. What are you going to do to dissuade President-elect Trump from imposing tariffs on the UK?”

“But we are landing three big changes at the same time. That is what is causing the howls of pain.”

“What businesses are really asking for now is a plan for growth, and they are struggling to see that. I appreciate the long-term virtues of the investment plan the Chancellor has set out; the challenge is that it is all quite long-term, and in the long term we are all dead. What is needed for the business community is h…”

“We are going to need to unleash business potential in order to hit that ambition, as you yourself have said. My Committee has talked to hundreds of businesses over the last month. What they say to me really clearly is that the combined impact of the national insurance contribution rise, the Employment Rights Bill and t…”

“But you have not put numbers on that ambition; you have just said that you want to see real household income go up. I think we have delivered that in every Parliament since 1955, so are you going to put numbers on how much better off people will feel?”

“Thank you—I get that. I just want to pin this down. The IMF, by 2029, has us at about third in the G7, behind Canada and the US. You are telling the Committee today that our goal is to beat both the US and Canada and be top of that league table by the end of this Parliament.”

“That is obviously not what the forecasters are predicting, but your goal is then to beat those forecasts.”