Speeches by Reeves.

“Well, the question was also about de-escalation. One of the reasons why it was not in our national interest to be involved in that conflict is the impact here in the UK. That is why we made the decision that we did. Of course, the Treasury is always planning for different eventualities. We saw the impact of higher oil …”

“Yes. We are absolutely looking at a whole range of issues, where allies can work—”

“Yes, and it would be weighed up against other priorities, whether that is—”

“Well, obviously it was a Budget decision to do the threshold changes, wasn’t it, so—”

“No, actually. On the edge of my constituency is Castleton Mill, and in the centre of my constituency is Sunny Bank Mills, which employs as many people today as it did when it was a woollen mill, but now it is creatives and tech businesses.”

“Yes, we do look at those things, and as far as possible we try to reflect them in our forecasts. Sometimes things require an up-front cost to realise benefits further down the line. That is the whole approach that we have taken with more investment in capital. It is also why, in my answer to Mr Glen’s earlier question,…”

“Tomorrow, I will meet with the Competition and Markets Authority and petrol retailers.”

“On the electricity generator levy, that goes to the point I made earlier that less of the price of our energy bill is determined by the marginal gas price than it was when Russia invaded Ukraine. That means that those prices will not go up in the same way that they would have previously, because we are paying a set pri…”

“Both the energy profits levy and the electricity generator levy play an important role in stabilising the cost of any intervention. Both of those were set to only be activated when prices are at an elevated level. They were brought in by the previous Conservative Government to ensure that those packages of support were…”

“There absolutely is when we lack specific skills in the UK, but that should also be a wake-up call that we should be training people up in those areas. If there is a part of the economy where we do not have the skills we need, we should be training up more people who are already here to do those jobs and benefit from t…”

“Alongside the Budget last year, we published the new North sea oil and gas strategy, which, for example, allows tie-backs, so that more use can be made of existing fields. The previous Government brought in the energy profits levy when energy companies’ profits went through the roof after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. …”

“While only 4% of people in Great Britain use heating oil, I recognise that this is a particular issue for many constituents, and in Northern Ireland the figure is more than 60%. I am keen for the hon. Gentleman to take these issues to the meeting with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury tomorrow. We are working clo…”

“I am proud to be the Labour Chancellor who has overseen the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war. Just last week we announced a £1 billion helicopter deal with Leonardo, based in Yeovil, just down the road from my hon. Friend. Yesterday I confirmed to the House that the Ministry of Defence h…”

“First, everybody gets support with their electricity bill, regardless of how they heat their home. However, I do recognise the unique issues around heating oil; we had representations from the Labour group of rural MPs over the weekend, and my colleague the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is going to meet all MPs w…”

“We absolutely recognise the pressures facing families. Bringing stability back to the economy is the No. 1 thing that we can do for working families. There have been six cuts in interest rates since the general election, which has seen the average cost of servicing a mortgage come down by about £1,300 a year. The Rente…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question and pay tribute to my hon. and learned Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for all the excellent work that she has done to take this agenda forward. The lack of a bank account does make it harder for people to secure stable employment and stable housing. That is why our…”

“As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the plans that we inherited from the previous Government would have seen fuel duty go up just a few months after the general election. We did not think that was the right approach, so we reversed the Conservative plans that we inherited to freeze fuel duty and to keep the 5p discount …”

“The conflict in the middle east affects all of us, and I understand the anxiety felt by families and businesses. Rapid de-escalation in the middle east is the best way to protect businesses and working people from rising costs, which is why I continue to work closely with G7 colleagues to call for immediate de-escalati…”

“Debt is lower in every year of the forecast that I published last week than it was in the plans that I set out in the Budget just back in November. The fiscal rules that I introduced in the October after I became Chancellor said, first of all, that we had to balance day-to-day spending with tax receipts, and that is im…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The price gouging that we see is totally unacceptable, which is why we have already asked the Competition and Markets Authority to look at this. Whether we are talking about petrol at the pumps or heating oil, there is no excuse for any business to use this as an opportunity to r…”