May 2026

I know that, as Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the right hon. Gentleman will play a key role in scrutinising what the Government are doing. The reduction of more than a third in the rate of duty on red diesel will have an immediate and important impact on the costs for farmers. I also appreciate the fact that his party, like the Government, did not support the conflict in the middle east and recognised that it was a mistake that would have an impact on businesses her

I thank my hon. Friend for the work she does on behalf of all her constituents, particularly those impacted by what is happening at Denby. It was my privilege to come to Amber Valley with her last year to meet businesses across her constituency. We are backing UK ceramics. We want to find a future for Denby, and we will continue to work with my hon. Friend to achieve just that.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. I urge him and businesses and farmers in his constituency to look at the list of products and feed into the consultation over the next week or so. We are keen to bring the tariff reductions into effect to reduce prices in shops for all our constituents, but we want to do so in a way that is respectful of British farming. That is why we have chosen the tariff lines that we have. As he recognises, we are doing more to support farmers with the red

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that there is nothing progressive about piling up the debt that future generations will have to pay; that is why our fiscal rules are getting the debt and deficit down while enabling us to invest in our country’s infrastructure and public services. On helping people with the cost of driving, we have frozen fuel duty until the end of this year, but recognising that some people rely on their cars and vans more than others, we have also taken off the HGV tax for t

It is important that we help our constituents with the cost of living. The tariff reductions that I have announced today will save the British shopper £700 million. That is a significant reduction in the cost of the weekly shop for families across our country. We have chosen the tariff lines carefully. The full details will be published, and we will consult over the next week or two to ensure that we get them exactly right, but we have worked hard to make sure that the reductions do not affect B

I pay genuine tribute to my hon. Friend for his work on behalf of businesses and working people in his constituency, to the other Stoke MPs, and to my hon. Friends the Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) and for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth). They have made the case powerfully and convincingly. I absolutely commit to working with Ceramics UK, the GMB, the MPs and the wider sector to ensure that the ceramics industry thrives in the UK.

I thank the hon. Lady for those questions. I am not sure whether she welcomes the changes around the foreign branch exemption, which is what will pay for the policies announced today by ensuring that companies pay their fair share of tax in the UK. Unless we can say where the money will come from, all that results is higher inflation and interest rates in the future. That is why I have always been clear that everything I will announce will be fully costed and fully funded. On food, the hon. Lady

I agree with my hon. Friend that we will take no lessons from the Conservatives on inflation, when it reached more than 11% when they were last in office. On VAT in the leisure sector, we are making the changes from 25 June right until 1 September to help boost the hospitality sector but also, crucially, to help families during the summer. Our expectation is that this will cost taxpayers money, but it is funded through the changes that we are making around the foreign branch exemption, so compan

Let me take the issues that the shadow Chancellor has raised. On fuel duty, when I became Chancellor of the Exchequer, the freeze in fuel duty was due to expire, under the plan set out in the Conservatives’ final Budget, within a matter of months. I have frozen fuel duty twice already and I have frozen it again today; indeed, I have frozen it with more than three months to go before the increase was due to happen, giving people plenty of time. I have always said, since the middle east conflict b

Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s economic response to the war in Iran and the action that we are taking to support families and businesses with rising costs. The Government have the right economic plan. I said I would grow the economy, and last week the Office for National Statistics confirmed that Britain’s economy was the fastest-growing in the G7 for the first quarter of this year. We beat the Office for Budget Responsibil

Parliamentary appearance by Peter Kyle

Parliamentary appearance by Peter Kyle

Parliamentary appearance by Peter Kyle

Parliamentary appearance by Peter Kyle

Does the hon. Member agree that perpetrators should not be rewarded through the court process with reduced sentences when they change their plea to guilty at the last minute? It is just a continuation of the coercive and controlling behaviour that they have already displayed.

Parliamentary appearance by Peter Kyle

I have a constituent—I am not going to name him today—who has been illegally arrested in international waters, and I agree with the Minister that there should be early, indeed immediate, consular access. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to Egypt’s role in peacemaking in the region, particularly in seeking to bring peace and to rebuild Gaza? He mentioned the Israeli chargé d’affaires. May I counsel the Minister gently that, as the agrément progresses, whatever the choice of Israel, it

May I just say for the record that I have not made any formal application to be a trade and investment envoy? I previously was a trade and investment envoy under Prime Minister Theresa May, who is now in another place. What I am concerned about is the fact that this particular programme is not cross-party. It was set up by David Cameron, now Lord Cameron, and its strength, I felt, was in the fact that it was cross-party rather than full of mostly Labour Members and Labour peers. I just wanted to

They’re Labour.

I was interested in the hon. Gentleman’s comment about the shortage of welders. Does he agree that the Government’s plan for construction colleges of excellence, including the one in Bury St Edmunds, will be crucial for the provision of welders?