Speeches by Yang.

“I rise to welcome the Budget, because despite the difficult economic times we are in, the Chancellor has made decisions that are strong, sound and fair. It is a strong budget that more than doubles the fiscal headroom to £22 billion. It is a sound budget that improves the economic efficiency of some of our taxes and ma…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. Does he find it fiscally responsible that with his two Budgets, he left us with the lowest amount of fiscal headroom since the OBR was created at £8.9 billion in 2024? Is he proud of that? That left the current Chancellor and this Labour Government a mountain to climb to…”

“Given the hon. Gentleman’s interest in the bond yields, will he celebrate with me and other Labour Members today’s rally in yields, as well as the increase in the value of sterling and in the FTSE?”

“I, too, very much enjoy reading the Blue Book. While we are talking about our favourite passages, I wonder what the right hon. Gentleman makes of page 29, which says that “persistent weakness in productivity growth relative to the pre-financial crisis period is more likely to reflect underlying structural trends.” What…”

“rose—”

“Reading is proud to be a town of many immigrant diasporas, including Hong Kong BNOs who are seeking refuge here. Many of my immigrant constituents have lived in our community for years, and they work incredibly hard so that they can put down roots, much as my parents did when I was a child. Will the Minister acknowledg…”

“14. Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of exempting British national overseas visa holders from the proposed extension of the settlement qualifying period on levels of net migration.”

“Thank you, Professor Leunig. Mr Donnell, you are smiling. Could you comment on the impact of Professor Leunig’s proposal? What impact do you think such a proposal would have on the market?”

“Just to be clear, in your proposal, when you say that there needs to be a change to the way that the Government set out their accounts, it seems to imply that there needs to be a change in the fiscal rules. Are you saying that that does not—”

“I appreciate Mr Donnell and Ms Allsopp’s points about young families being prevented from moving into houses of the appropriate size, because I see that happening in my constituency in Reading. Professor Leunig, you have made a proposal for an annual national property tax. That would mean that rather than the Governmen…”

“Professor Leunig, you said just now that all sources of income should be taxed equally. There are many renters in Reading and across the country—my younger brother, for example—who are paying higher effective rates of tax than their landlords, who do not pay national insurance contributions on the rental income that th…”

“Can I clarify two separate things that I think have got confused in this discussion? One is the discussion of broadening the CGT tax base; in this case, as Professor Leunig mentioned, that could include not exempting main residences—or charging CGT on main residences—which is not case. The question I actually wanted to…”

“But if there was indexation to inflation or to some other index, what would the pros and cons be?”

“This question is to Ms Willis and then to Professor Leunig. We have just been discussing stamp duty land tax, which is charged when you buy a house. I want to turn to capital gains tax, which is charged on some properties when some owners sell a house—primary residences are currently exempted. Ms Willis, could you spea…”

“What is that in prices?”

“I see what you are saying. Thank you, Professor Leunig. Mr Donnell, there have been numerous proposals for some version of a proportional property tax, such as Professor Leunig’s. Some of those would require revaluation of properties on a constant basis rather than at the point of sale, where the sale price is a clear,…”

“Can you give a rough idea of the figures for those different low and high ends that you think are more difficult to value?”

“Apologies; you have been an apolitical policy advisor, and you have worked very closely in Government. What do you think have been the obstacles to the kinds of changes in the taxation and fiscal regime that you just described?”

“Professor Leunig, you have been a special adviser—”

“But that is not what residents will feel.”