argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Greg Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper). It is rare for a Conservative to agree with a Liberal Democrat on much, but I agree with her on pubs. Even before covid, too many of our pubs were shutting down, particularly in village communities and small towns, with the Bell at Bierton and the George and Dragon in Princes Risborough in my constituency being two examples. I hope that all our local pubs will take part in the "eat out to help out scheme" and that we will all encourage our constituents to use village pubs and town pubs, as well as local shops and businesses. Now that they have reopened, it is crunch time, and if we want them to have a prosperous future, it is vital that we all support them I very much welcome the announcements made by the Chancellor today. This is yet another set of unprecedented measures to support our economy, retaining jobs and creating new ones, while ensuring that there are opportunities for young people in particular to enter the workplace and learn the skills they need. It is vital that we get our economy moving again at speed and, as the Chancellor said, return our public finances to a sustainable footing. Jobs are critical to both those outcomes, for the financial security of individuals and families and the flow of revenue into the Treasury. As the Chancellor prepares for the autumn Budget, I urge him to ensure that we keep taxes low on both individuals and businesses, because no high-tax economy has ever successfully come out of a financial crisis. I have one particular ask for my constituency. We are lucky to have two key hubs of technological innovators that are already creating the jobs of the future. They are part of the Aylesbury Vale enterprise zone, and the sites at Westcott and Silverstone Park are critical for our continued economic growth. It is because of their enterprise zone status that they have been so successful and instrumental in attracting inward investment, but that status is due to expire in March 2021. As businesses consider whether to invest, it would be life-changing for that enterprise zone status and tax relief period to be extended by at least a year, or perhaps through to 2024, to ensure that they can be part of the future prosperity of Buckinghamshire and the wider UK economy.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones). In a debate whose title is about the economy, too much of it has seemed to be a game of Top Trumps where every fiscal measure announced by the Government is met by a demand for them to do more—too frequently without regard to whether that will help and too frequently with little understanding of how to implement it in any case, so perhaps I can remind the House of two important things First, the growth of the economy relies on the private sector—its decisions, its actions and the risk taking by our private businesses and our private sector. The role of Government is to incite and encourage the private sector to act to preserve jobs. Secondly, I remind the House of the limits of Government in the economy. It is well accepted that the role of Government in public health is to mitigate public health risks, not to eliminate them entirely. Therefore, the Government should be on the front foot to reopen our economy at every possible opportunity We should also bear in mind the limits of Government in the capacity of international capital markets to accept borrowing. It might be of interest to hon. Members to know that the quantitative easing launched by Governments around the world so far this year is equivalent to $6 trillion—equal to half the amount that was put into public markets between 2009 and 2018 There is a limit to what Government can do in the economy in fairness to generations to come. We should not be in the role of passing on debts—enormous debts—to future generations to pay off. Furthermore, there is another limitation that we should all be aware of: the competence of politicians and the state in doing what they promise to do. Government work essentially as a big beast with a big foot in a complex jungle. Sometimes, when they put their foot down, that footprint can have big impacts on the smallest businesses in our community In my constituency, small businesses are yearning to be open and yearning to grow again. I applaud the efforts of my right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) in her campaign to open up beauty clinics and the beauty sector. That is something the Government should be doing as an absolute priority, and it would be welcomed in my constituency. My constituency has many freelancers and company owner-directors. I say to my hon. Friend the Minister, who has done an absolutely fantastic job in responding to MPs from across the country, please, please, please bear in mind the impact of Government policies on freelancers, particularly in the entertainment and theatre sector, by coming up with a specific date on which the theatre and live entertainment sectors can reopen Finally, it is important that the Government move forward on their reforms to how they deliver what they say they are going to do.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Abimbola Afolami (Conservative, Centre-right): Like everybody in the House, I welcome the Chancellor’s statement, and I think it is worth considering that we have a twofold economic problem here, which we will have to deal with over the next few months. The first difficulty is one of demand, as there is a chronic demand shortage. The Government have done their best to stoke and increase demand over the summer and autumn, and I think those measures will be successful, but there are other fundamental structural problems with the economy that this crisis has shown us One is accelerated technological change on the high street in retail, and in automation in the industrial sector. The second is skills. We talk about building infrastructure, building back better and a green recovery. None of those will matter—all the money from the Government will not deal with the problem—if we do not have people with the right skills who can do the work The third structural problem we have is within our financial sector, with companies not having sufficient equity, or rather having too much debt, so that when the crisis is behind us they will not be able to grow sufficiently fast. Again, that is a structural problem with the economy There are three things that the Government and the House should consider over the coming months. First, while the crisis is here, we should maintain a loose fiscal policy and loose monetary policy. That is very important, because there needs to be sufficient demand growth over a sustained period of time for businesses to expand with confidence and not think that it will be pulled away in a couple of months’ time. For them to expand with confidence, there needs to be sufficiently loose monetary and fiscal policy. If they can do that, spending will grow robustly enough for there to be demand to create private sector jobs without subsidy from the public sector over the medium term The second thing we can do is adapt our financial system to make sure we can get more equity into businesses and reduce the debt burden. I have proposed certain things in work I have done. The Chancellor referred earlier to my work "Unlocking Britain", which discussed how we can recapitalise the SME sector. Something like that needs to happen within our financial system so that we can reduce the debt burden for companies to give them equity so that they can grow The third thing, which connects with skills directly, is that we need to improve the ability of labour—people—and capital, money, to move from sectors and companies that are declining into those that are growing and have the potential to power forward our recovery. Those are the measures that the Government need to consider in the months to come.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to take part in the debate. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller), who spoke with such common sense. In the short time I have, I will concentrate on the self-employed, the financial world and all the businessmen and women who risk everything to create the wealth and prosperity that we need I repeat from Dorset business to the Front Benchers and the Treasury: thank you very much indeed for all the furlough scheme and the announcements made today. The thanks I receive is unanimous—despite what we may hear in other quarters, not least the media. People are extremely grateful for the thousands of jobs in South Dorset that are being saved and for the millions of jobs that are being saved around the country Today’s announcement is especially good news for the young, who face threats from this covid in getting into work—my own children included, of course, who are facing the same problem. I welcome that announcement, and the announcement for the hospitality sector, which in South Dorset in particular has been hit hard, because we rely so much on tourism and hospitality to make the economy go around. I will also touch briefly on taxation and the private sector, our armed forces if I have time, and Dorset Council and police if I have a little more time Never, in my view, has there been a better opportunity radically to overhaul the taxation system in this country. It is outdated, punitive and bureaucratic. I welcome the announcements made today on VAT and stamp duty. That is a start, but let us get rid of them altogether. Let us go much further—capital gains tax, inheritance tax. Look where our poll rating went when, if I recall correctly, George Osborne raised the threshold to £1 million. It is people’s money, and we have no right to take money off people unfairly The economy will only work if we allow the entrepreneurs, the businessmen and women, the financial sector, the self-employed and everyone else that my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire mentioned to generate the wealth that we need. From the Opposition Benches, it is the classic old, "Let’s tax them and tax them." They simply do not understand, and never ever will, that all those risking their homes, their livelihoods and their families generate the wealth that this country needs to generate the wealth, prosperity and jobs that pay for public services.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Labor
Laura Trott (Conservative, Centre-right): It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) There is much to discuss about the resilience of the economy, the demand-led recovery and the need for consumption. However, today, I will focus my remarks on women and what else we need to do to safeguard their jobs during this period There is no doubt that Government intervention has saved women’s jobs during this crisis. We know that women are disproportionately likely to work in the hospitality sector. We know that parents have been more likely to be furloughed and mothers more likely than fathers. So it is Government action in this area that has really helped women safeguard their jobs and what we saw this morning was that that help will continue The jobs retention bonus scheme will be incredibly important to make sure that women’s jobs continue in the aftermath of this crisis. The VAT cap for the tourism and hospitality sector as well as the eat out to help out scheme will disproportionately help women. That is very important and has been overlooked in the narrative we have had to date. So this support will be very important What else do we need to do to make sure that women come out of this crisis in a strong position? First, we need schools to go back in September. That is very important, and I am so pleased that the Government have pledged that that must be the case. It must, however, be full-time; we must make sure that all children are going back five days a week, to ensure that mothers and fathers can responsibly go back to work with a commitment that they know cannot be reneged on We must also look at whether, in future local lockdowns, we do actually close schools. The evidence is that children are less likely to get the disease and less likely to spread it, so there is a question in my mind, because of the economic recovery, as to whether we need to close schools when we do the local lockdown The other point I briefly want to make is about flexibility. The flexibility we have shown during this period has been a lifeline for women and women’s jobs, and I know that many want to see that continue. The model of local hubs, which would enable people to go in and out in a more flexible manner—and which I hope we can pilot in Sevenoaks—will be very important and will help to remodel our economy for the long term So I welcome what was announced this morning. It will be hugely beneficial for women in the workforce, and I think we need to ensure that we get schools back and a more flexible economy going forward.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Robert Peter Moore (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have cast their net wide and far to protect as many businesses and individuals as possible through this covid crisis. Many across Keighley and Ilkley have benefited through the business grants, the furloughing scheme, the business rates holiday, bounce back loans, tax deferrals and much more. I welcome this, and may I use this opportunity to reiterate the words of one of my constituents? Sue Watson Wood, who I saw in Ilkley only last weekend when she reopened her hair salon, Vanilla, told me that the Chancellor’s support provided her with comfort that all would be okay. She specifically asked me to pass on her thanks, so to the Chancellor, on behalf of Sue and many other hard-working businesses across my constituency—thank you Tough times require bold interventions, with fiscal policies that drive positive consumer behaviour, and I welcome the Chancellor’s announcements today. I want to see businesses across Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden and the Worth valley thrive, and jobs to be protected. The jobs retention bonus scheme and the temporary cut in VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors are most welcome. I am sure that the additional boost through the eat out to help out scheme will certainly help There is no stronger advocate of Keighley than I. We have some fantastic manufacturing, technology and engineering businesses, passionate people who are proud of what we in Keighley have to offer and young people who just want to crack on and thrive in life. Of course, challenging times lie ahead, but with the Chancellor’s announcements today on supporting businesses to take on trainees and provide apprenticeships, and the introduction of the kick-start scheme, all of this will help Of course, I look forward to developing our allocation of up to £25 million from this Conservative Government to invest in Keighley through our towns fund project, focusing on urban regeneration, improving digital and physical connectivity and, perhaps most importantly, improving skills, innovation and collaboration between the education and business sectors. The great thing is that, under good stewardship, we can use these public funds wisely to kick-start, crystallise and galvanise private sector inward investment into our town. Now is the time to level up and, through good projects, we can use good infrastructure schemes to create jobs, jobs and jobs I welcome this Government’s agenda and their economic strategy to bring places such as Keighley, which for far too long have sat in the shadows of Bradford and Leeds, back into the light. I use this platform, and I will of course continue to use it, to keep banging the drum for Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden and the Worth valley and to say to businesses, individuals and investors who want to come to my patch—we are open for business.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Christopher Lionel John Loder (Conservative, Centre-right): Today the Chancellor has put forward another excellent set of measures to help the UK, and no more so than in West Dorset, where 97% of our businesses are small or micro-sized. We need urgent attention to our connectivity, with 1.42 megabits per second broadband speed compared with 200 megabits per second here in London, and single railway lines across the county with a three-hourly rail frequency. Our economy in West Dorset could have its sprinting potential thoroughly unleashed, not only by the measures the Chancellor has announced today but with further infrastructure investment The current wave of remote working presents an enormous opportunity for West Dorset. It has shown that business and commerce does not have to revolve around London, or, indeed, other cities. People can be even more productive from their kitchen table in West Dorset than in urban office blocks. Why have conditioned and recirculated air from the polluted cities when you can breathe the fresh air of West Dorset? If sustained, this shift in working habits can be the catalyst in levelling up the rural and coastal communities of this nation, creating many well-paid opportunities for local people—but we need fast and reliable broadband that is accessible at home and at work Local enterprise partnerships should be coming into their own at this point, but from my experience in West Dorset, LEPs vary in their capability to deliver any economic benefits through infrastructure investment. May I therefore urge the Minister, perhaps along with his colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to review the LEPs’ deliverability against their remit and, where necessary, drive the radical reform required to deliver the Government’s agenda I welcome the Chancellor’s announcements on stamp duty. However, rural economies are not well served by building enormous new housing developments like the one planned for the outskirts of Dorchester. These developments quash the economic potential of building modest numbers of new houses in our villages, which is what will ensure the future of our local schools, shops, pubs, garages and parish churches The economic damage inflicted by coronavirus is indeed tragic, but it now presents us with the opportunity to build back better—to stimulate the economy and to address rural isolation, social deprivation and the issues that have challenged our rural and coastal communities for many decades.
The Economy — House of Commons, 2020-07-08
Topic: Macroeconomics
Suzanne Webb (Conservative, Centre-right): I will keep this short and sweet, Mr Deputy Speaker, as time is precious and you do not need me to reiterate what we know is a bold and decisive plan—a plan for jobs; a plan with people and their livelihoods at its heart. The Chancellor has yet again acted with a keen eye to preserving employment and our fiscal and economic capacity. As we recover from covid-19, the No. 1 priority of the Government has always been to protect jobs. Just as the virus scythed through society and did not articulate who it was going for, any economic impact will cut deep swathes. It will not discriminate; it will cut across us all. What we must remember is that this time it is not an endogenous shock triggered by huge imbalances; it is not man-made, as it has been in the past by Labour Governments. This is a slowdown necessitated by covid-19 and we have seen decisive action by this Government, who for the last few months have given us stabilisers to protect our livelihoods and who now recognise that we need to get the economy back into a higher gear My No. 1 priority as the MP for Stourbridge has always been to protect jobs. As a youth in the early ’80s, I saw the impact of unemployment on young people. That, combined with my strong belief in the nobility of work, means that I am over the moon about the Chancellor’s kick-start scheme, which will give 16 to 24-year-old youths the best possible chance I make an unabashed plug to get nail bars and beauty salons open. They are often run by people who have been on traineeships themselves and who now run their own businesses, proving that traineeships work—they are capitalists at their finest and of the future. Please, let us get them open This Government are giving us the tools to enable, facilitate and empower us all. The virus is not of our making, but we must make the best of it. We must be transformational and dig deep in the spirit of entrepreneurism. If you cannot sell it, online is your new high street and your new export opportunity. This is about being entrepreneurial, about foraging for opportunities and of course about jobs, jobs, jobs. This has been at the heart of my recovery plan for Stourbridge. I also welcome the joint announcement today from Andy Street and the Department for Work and Pensions that youth hubs will be set up, helping to join up local employment and training services and to ensure that they are targeting young people. This builds on the already great work being done by our jobcentres across the west midlands The Government’s support throughout the crisis has been decisive, and it will be a major factor in how we will come out of this period It is clear from the actions that the Government have taken that they are not a Government who leave people behind. They are a Government who put people and their livelihoods at their very heart. However, this will depend on our shared responsibility to contain the virus and, of course, on whether a vaccine—