Jo Stevens
LabourMP for Cardiff East · Since 2015
Speeches (33)
Economic Growth
My hon. Friend is right to say that this Labour Government’s more than half-a-billion-pound local growth fund will fuel economic growth in every corner of Wales. It will support people to start and grow their businesses, it will help people to secure new skills and jobs, it will revitalise Welsh communities, and it is a great example of what can be achieved with two Labour Governments working together.
Clean Energy
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: achieving energy independence is crucial for Wales and we will be better off because of it, with more jobs created and bills brought down. That is why we have made the investments at Port Talbot and Wylfa that I mentioned. The Greens oppose the investment at Wylfa and would scrap the 3,000 jobs it will bring, and Plaid Cymru is silent on it because party members cannot agree among themselves whether they support it. Labour is the only party working to achieve
Clean Energy
Clearly, we need to continue our drive to invest more in energy infrastructure. We will deliver that energy independence only through the building of infrastructure. That is why we have made the announcements on grid, infrastructure and planning over the past few weeks.
Clean Energy
The simple fact is that those who oppose the building of renewable energy infrastructure risk blocking investment and job creation, while at the same time making their constituents’ bills more expensive. Upgrading and expanding the electricity network is not optional; is a national imperative and we cannot afford to delay—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman asked me a question, so he might want to listen to the answer.
Job Creation
That is exactly what we are doing. I refer the hon. Lady to the earlier answers to defence questions.
Cost of Living
Plaid’s manifesto, and specifically the childcare policy to which the right hon. Lady refers, exposes the fact that Plaid is not on the side of working people in Wales and is not serious about tackling the cost of living. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been clear that Plaid would have to make spending cuts or raise taxes to pay for its unfunded manifesto pledges. When families are dealing with the cost of living, Plaid will be hiking taxes and slashing spending on child poverty, which will
Job Creation
I thank my hon. Friend for recognising the scale of the opportunities and new jobs that this Government are creating in Wales and across the UK. Whether it is 3,000 jobs in new nuclear, 5,000 jobs in floating offshore wind, 8,000 jobs in our two AI growth zones, 12,000 jobs with our historic £14 billion commitment for Welsh rail, or 25,000 jobs in our freeports and investment zones, we are delivering generational change for people in Wales.
Clean Energy
May I send congratulations to Cardiff City on the team’s promotion at the weekend? The Government are putting Wales at the heart of our clean energy mission. Just this month, Great British Energy Nuclear signed a contract with Rolls-Royce to deliver the UK’s first small modular reactors at Wylfa, creating 3,000 jobs in north Wales and thousands more across the supply chain. That is on top of the £64 million Government investment to transform the port of Port Talbot into the first floating offsho
Economic Growth
I have to apologise to the right hon. Member. I did not hear the first part of his question, but I am very happy to chat to him afterwards. If he writes to me, I will give him a full answer.
Cost of Living
I thank the hon. Gentleman for acknowledging the work that this Government have done on the cost of living. Red diesel continues to benefit from an 80% tax discount, which is saving farmers almost £300 million a year. We have already brought in a 5p fuel duty cut, which will last from this month until September. We have raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, and the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin), has also met farming un
Cost of Living
I am really surprised that the hon. Member has raised the expansion of the Senedd, because the accepted rationale of those who support the expansion is that it was necessary to improve scrutiny of the Welsh Government. What a terrible indictment that is of the inadequate performance of her party, whose job it has been, as the Opposition in the Senedd for the past 27 years, to carry out that scrutiny.
Economic Growth
This Government are creating tens of thousands of high-quality jobs across Wales. From offshore wind in the Celtic sea and nuclear power at Wylfa, to AI growth zones, freeports, investment zones, rail enhancements, a defence growth deal and the steel strategy, our vision for economic growth in Wales is unashamedly ambitious and already delivering results.
Job Creation
The hon. Lady might like to know that unemployment in Wales is lower than the UK average and has fallen since this time last year. Youth unemployment is also lower than the UK average, which shows that our plan to boost the Welsh economy is working. We are creating jobs and helping people into them right across Wales.
Job Creation
Creating high-quality jobs across Wales is a priority for this Government. Wales is now punching above its weight in attracting investment, with 65 new foreign direct investment projects creating nearly 2,500 jobs in 2024-25. That includes more than 500 jobs in north Wales from Eren Holding, Knauf Insulation and Kellogg’s, alongside hundreds more in south Wales driven by Vishay’s £250 million semiconductor cluster investment.
Cost of Living
Whether it is young people, families or pensioners, this Labour Government are determined to tackle the cost of living, both for my hon. Friend’s constituents and for all our constituents. We inherited a broken welfare system from the Conservatives that has failed people and trapped them in a cycle of poverty. We will not allow that to continue, which is why we are helping people into work through new employment programmes and increasing universal credit for those who need support. As my hon. Fr
Cost of Living
We promised that we would be a Government for working people, and that is exactly what we have done. Our industrial strategy is set to support tens of thousands of new jobs across Wales. We have provided more employment support to help people get into work, increased the national minimum wage and the living wage, and strengthened rights and protections at work, making work pay, and making it more secure and fairer through our Employment Rights Act. New jobs have been created, alongside better jo
Cost of Living
I do not think the hon. Gentleman can have been listening when I mentioned, in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden), that Plaid has admitted that it will cut the budget for child poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been clear that Plaid would have to make spending cuts or raise taxes to pay for its unfunded manifesto pledges, and at some point before 7 May its leader is going to have come clean on what Plaid is going to do.
Cost of Living
My hon. Friend is proud, as am I, of the steps that both our UK and Welsh Labour Governments have taken and are taking to support children and families with the cost of living. We have scrapped the two-child limit, provided 50 million free school meals since 2022, created 100,000 apprenticeships, and devolved £20 million to the Welsh Government to help more young people into work. Contrast Labour’s record with Plaid’s admission that it will cut child poverty budgets and plans to hike taxes on wo
Cost of Living
We know that the conflict in the middle east is placing pressure on the cost of living and household bills, including for those in rural communities. That is why this Government are providing £3.8 million to the Welsh Government to support households in Wales that use heating oil.
Economic Growth
The UK Government are investing more than half a billion pounds in Wales, through the new local growth fund, to help create jobs, growth and opportunity in communities right across Wales. That targeted long-term investment will drive economic growth, create jobs and put more money in people’s pockets. I am proud that we have delivered our manifesto commitment to restore the Welsh Government’s decision-making role over those funds.
Economic Growth
The hon. Member has united a lot of us across the House. His Plaid friends sitting in front of him want separatism. They want to inflict an independence that will cost every single person in Wales—adults and children—£7,000 every single year. They want to build walls between us at a time when we should be standing together.
Economic Growth
Wales certainly cannot afford the cost of Reform; nor can it afford the cost of Plaid Cymru.
Economic Growth
I think we have this discussion at every single Wales oral questions. We need to bring energy bills down, and we do that by investing in renewable infrastructure. In the process, we create jobs and secure Wales and the UK’s energy independence. Bearing in mind the situation across the world at the moment, that is absolutely the right plan.
Economic Growth
The Conservatives strangled the Welsh economy with over a decade of austerity and neglect. Labour’s economic plan is working: wages are rising, inflation is falling and the economy is growing. The Conservatives presided over stagnant wages, insecure employment and a broken welfare system. We are investing in our infrastructure, creating jobs, growing wages and building an economy that works for the people of Wales.
Economic Growth
I do not recognise what the hon. Lady sets out, and refer her to my previous answer. We believe that the UKIM Act exclusion, which we have agreed in response to the Welsh Government, is the most pragmatic way for us to protect trade and support growth in the UK.
Economic Growth
I did indeed have the privilege of opening the London stock exchange this morning to mark St David’s day and Wales Week. It gave me the opportunity to recognise Wales’s thriving financial services and fintech sectors, which are benefiting from this Government’s modern industrial strategy. We are also building small modular reactors in Wylfa, wind farms in the Celtic sea, new train stations in north and south Wales, and a stronger Welsh economy through our AI growth zones, investment zones and fr
Economic Growth
I was pleased to announce last month that this Government plan to devolve powers to the Welsh Government to introduce a vacant land tax, subject to consultation. This will help the Welsh Government to encourage even more house building, fuelling construction jobs and economic growth, and it is a perfect example of how this Labour Government approach enhancing devolution. We will never miss an opportunity to enhance devolution in ways that make a practical and positive difference to the people an
Economic Growth
Our £50 million defence growth deal will harness Wales’s unique strengths in autonomy. It is focused on supporting the growth of dual-use industry right across Wales, so that the benefits will be felt beyond the defence sector. This deal is another example of the choice facing Wales at the Senedd election in May. We have Plaid Cymru, who would rather reject defence investment and pull us out of NATO at this critical moment of global instability, and we have Reform, whose foreign policy will prob
Economic Growth
I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, including economic growth and increasing economic growth in Wales. We are creating thousands of jobs across Wales, supported by our investment in nuclear power in Wylfa, two artificial intelligence growth zones, two freeports, two investment zones, rail enhancements across the country and a defence growth deal, to name a few.
Economic Growth
We have worked closely with the devolved Governments on a UK-wide DRS, and now have alignment across the UK on including polyethylene terephthalate plastics and metals in a DRS with the launch date of October 2027, which is good news for business. We considered the Welsh Government’s exclusion proposal, in line with our commitments under the 2025 review of the UK Internal Market Act, and in doing so engaged with businesses and environmental stakeholders across the UK. We believe that the Act exc
Economic Growth
I thank my hon. Friend for recognising the scale of our Welsh rail announcement, and its benefits for cross-border travel. Our two Labour Governments have agreed a long-term plan for Welsh rail that we are committed to delivering as quickly as possible. It will unlock 12,000 jobs and connect people to the tens of thousands of jobs that we are creating across Wales. The pipeline of 43 projects, worth up to £14 billion, in north, south, mid and west Wales will deliver the rail network that Wales d
Economic Growth
My hon. Friend makes an important point. When we made the £2.5 billion nuclear investment announcement at Coleg Menai, I saw the difference it will make to people in the area. I met students who will be able to learn and earn, and will not have to leave their family and community to get on in life, because, with one of the biggest public investments in Welsh history, we are creating 3,000 good, direct jobs, and many thousands more in the supply chain. It is for SNP Members to explain to their co