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Budget Resolutions 2025-12-01
01 December 2025
Lead MP
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
UkraineEconomyEmployment
Other Contributors: 78
At a Glance
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband raised concerns about budget resolutions 2025-12-01 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
UkraineEconomyEmployment
Government Statement
It is a privilege to open this Budget debate on a theme of paramount importance to our country: the cost of living crisis facing Britain’s families. The last two decades have seen stagnation in real wages, progress on living standards worse than at any time since records began in the 1950s, an epidemic of in-work poverty with seven out of 10 poor families having someone in work, home ownership falling to less than half today compared to two thirds in the early 1990s, and a significant rise in energy bills due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Government’s mission is to tackle this crisis by making fair choices that favour ordinary working people, investing in public services, and changing our economy to produce more good jobs at decent wages. Key measures include raising the national living wage, freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years, lifting the two-child limit in universal credit which will help over two million children and reduce child poverty by 450,000 by the end of the Parliament, and providing £150 off energy bills. The measures are part of a fair Budget that raises taxes on those with expensive homes, gambling companies, and landlords.
Luke Evans
Con
Hinckley and Bosworth
Question
Why did the Government change its policy on winter fuel payments which put 100,000 people into relative poverty and 50,000 immediately into absolute poverty? Why is there a difference in decisions regarding child benefit caps?
Minister reply
The decision to change the winter fuel payment policy was made due to financial concerns. However, the Government has now changed this stance, and over 1,500 children in Dr Evans' constituency will be helped by changes to the two-child cap.
Ashley Fox
Con
Bridgwater
Question
Will the Secretary of State give way?
Minister reply
The Secretary of State will give way momentarily after finishing his statement.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Question
How can the policy be fair when working people will be £18,000 worse off than those on benefits?
Minister reply
Sixty per cent of families who will benefit from the measure are in work. The Budget raises taxes on expensive homes, gambling companies, and landlords to fund measures that benefit ordinary working people.
Harriet Cross
Con
Gordon and Buchan
Question
How much higher or lower will bills be compared to when the right hon. Gentleman came into government last year?
Minister reply
The average energy bill in 2025 is lower than in 2024, and cuts of £150 off energy bills are set for April.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
Regarding the £150 energy dividend for people across the United Kingdom, particularly in Northern Ireland, can you confirm whether the support will be £150 as it is in England?
Minister reply
I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the details on his point to ensure that people receive the same support in Northern Ireland as they do on the mainland.
Jerome Mayhew
Con
Broadland and Fakenham
Question
What democratic mandate does he claim for increasing taxes by £66 billion, and debt by a further £70 billion?
Minister reply
The mandate is to change the country given the problems inherited from the previous government.
Pam Cox
Lab
Colchester
Question
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Budget offers tax incentives for start-ups and scale-ups in the clean energy sector, which will help the supply chain to flourish?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The investments we have made are resulting in new jobs building wind turbines at Siemens Gamesa in Hull, transformers in Stafford, heat pumps in Derby, and a new factory at the Port of Nigg.
Chowns
not specified constituency
Question
Not specified
Minister reply
I will not give way for a few minutes to develop my argument further.
Question
Is it not the truth that we have in front of us not the Budget of the Chancellor, the Prime Minister or the Cabinet, but the Budget of the Back Benchers?
Peter Swallow
Lab
Bracknell
Question
The right hon. Lady has repeatedly suggested that energy bills are going up—[Interruption.] If she does not believe me, perhaps she will believe Martin Lewis, the money-saving expert, who tweeted earlier today: ‘I’ve just got the new predictions for the April Price Cap, which is a cut in cost of 4.2%. Without the Budget changes, it would be predicted to be rising 3.5%.’ Will she correct the record and explain why she does not support the work that we are doing to cut energy bills?
Minister reply
I will come to what Martin Lewis says about the hon. Gentleman’s party’s policies in a second.
Lloyd Hatton
Lab
South Dorset
Question
Does the right hon. Lady not share the concerns already articulated by the Confederation of British Industry that simply to scrap the Climate Change Act and the important work of this Government in pursuing net zero targets would be a ‘backwards step’? That would actually be to the detriment of people’s energy bills and inward investment into our economy and would kill off jobs. Those are the words of the CBI, after all.
Minister reply
We can exchange quotes, but the hon. Gentleman might want to—[Interruption.] Let me respond. He can go and check the quotes of the most respected energy economist in the country, Sir Dieter Helm, who says that the Government’s plan is locking people into higher bills for longer.
Kevin Bonavia
Lab
Stevenage
Question
The right hon. Lady says that people will pay for people on benefits, but some 60% of those people on benefits are working. Does she not agree that we are supporting people into work?
Minister reply
Let me make this point to the hon. Gentleman. The average person on benefits in work is working 20 hours, sometimes less. Why should a family with kids who are not well off and are working 40, 50 or 60 hours a week be worse off than a family on benefits working far fewer hours?
Chris Vince
Lab/Co-op
Harlow
Question
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way at such an early stage in her excellent speech. She has talked about the impact of austerity on the country’s finances; I would add that austerity has had a huge impact on productivity, particularly in my constituency, where we have seen 13-hour waits in A&E and year-long waits for appointments. Does my hon. Friend agree that that means people cannot go back to work, which affects their productivity?
Minister reply
I fully agree with my hon. Friend. That is why it is vital that we rebuild our public services and invest in our national health service, to ensure people are able to contribute to our economy.
Question
Will the hon. Lady give way?
Minister reply
I am going to make progress, as many colleagues want to speak.
Witney
Question
This is a Budget driven far more by political calculation than by the economic realities that the country faces. The Chancellor has an enormous majority—on paper, at least—and the country desperately needs change, but we now have a second Budget in which the Government have failed to demonstrate that they have any big ideas to get the economy moving... I welcome some of the announcements that the Chancellor made last week, which will help households that have been struggling with the cost of living. Lifting the two-child benefit cap will be worth up to £5,000 a year to each of the more than 500 families in my constituency who have been impacted by the cap...
Question
Before the hon. Gentleman gets to the part of his speech that I do not think I will like as much as what he has said already, does he welcome the freezing of rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which means almost 300 quid off a season ticket into London for commuters in Bracknell?
Minister reply
Yes, I welcome it.
Gavin Williamson
Con
Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
Question
I agree with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when—and I may misquote him slightly—he spoke about “decent jobs at decent wages.” However, this Budget will not deliver those decent jobs... This is a real problem because it is impacting people’s real lives. We are seeing food price inflation rising in 2025: it was 4.9% in October, up from 4.5% in September.
Bobby Dean
Lib Dem
Carshalton and Wallington
Question
The right hon. Member mentions that bet365 is based in Stoke. Could he explain to us why it is also based in Gibraltar and Malta?
Minister reply
This company operates internationally: bet365 is one of the most successful technology companies in this country, and it operates right across the globe. It is quite understandable why it does so, but the hon. Gentleman probably does not care about jobs in Staffordshire.
Katie Lam
Con
Weald of Kent
Question
The Chancellor promised to cut energy bills by shifting certain green levies from bills onto general taxation, but this does not address the core issue of rising energy prices.
Minister reply
The gas is already stored in the North sea. The problem with the industry, and what is making it unprofitable, is the Government’s determination to hammer the oil and gas industry.
Luke Charters
Lab
York Outer
Question
I wonder if my hon. Friend will allow me to raise the case of a single mum in my constituency who unexpectedly became pregnant a third time, used food banks periodically and worried that she would not be able to afford toys for her kids at Christmas.
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right to point out that the policy punished children for being born, which is not something any Labour Government should be part of.
Question
The implementation of the pay-per-mile change for electric vehicles is causing huge anxiety, as it will have a big impact over the next two to three years.
Minister reply
First, it is important to say that we do need to change to a pay-per-mile system for electric vehicles. The revenue we raise from fuel duty is clearly going to go down over the coming years, so there has to be a change.
Question
Does the right hon. Member welcome a Budget that reduces inflation as mentioned in the Blue Book?
Minister reply
Clearly the Government inherited inflation at 2%, and it is currently at 3.6% with forecasts of 3.5% next year according to OBR, showing intervention has led us in the wrong direction.
Sam Carling
Lab
North West Cambridgeshire
Question
How will measures introduced reduce cost of living and what is the impact on national debt?
Minister reply
Energy bills are being reduced by £150 from April, and there is significant investment in NHS efficiencies. Debt as a share of GDP will fall consistently with the largest surplus for over 20 years forecasted.
Iqbal Mohamed
Lab
Question
Should money going to private companies be redirected to the NHS?
Minister reply
All NHS efficiencies will be reinvested in its budget, and constituents primarily want timely access to healthcare regardless of specific delivery methods.
Dorking and Horley
Question
How does economic policymaking impact productivity?
Minister reply
Economic policymaking is often driven by OBR’s fiscal rules but research shows that policies supporting innovation like public R&D can raise productivity.
John Glen
Con
Salisbury
Question
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Brent West, who I know holds his views with great sincerity, although I do not agree with many of them. Before I get into the substance of the Budget measures, I want to address the process leading up to the Budget.
Minister reply
The minister did not provide a direct response to this question in the provided text.
Question
I thank the right hon. Member, a colleague on the Treasury Committee, for giving way. I agree with many of the things he is saying, but does he not agree that the Conservative party also has considerable responsibility for this situation, through Brexit?
Minister reply
John Glen did not provide a direct response to this question in the provided text.
Luke Evans
Con
Hinckley and Bosworth
Question
The Chancellor has broken manifesto commitments, increased taxes significantly, and the public sees through this Labour Government’s attempts to placate Back Benchers. What would happen if someone tried to refuse tax rises?
Minister reply
The British public understands that this Budget is about providing stability and investment for working people, rather than returning to austerity.
Richard Burgon
Lab
Leeds East
Question
Congratulations on the positive steps in the Budget, such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap. How will this impact child poverty in Leeds East?
Minister reply
The scrapping of the two-child benefit cap is a step towards lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty across the country, including those in Leeds East.
Edinburgh West
Question
The investment in Scotland is welcome, but what about the further job losses at Harbour Energy in Aberdeen? Any investment in renewables must not mean that we turn our backs on oil and gas workers.
Edinburgh West
Question
The Chancellor could have used this opportunity to cut VAT for hospitality, putting money back into people’s pockets as they go out to celebrate Christmas. The Budget lacks on things that would have boosted Edinburgh’s economy and helped families in my constituency.
David Williams
Lab
Stoke-on-Trent North
Question
The real voices of people across Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove are clear: this Budget will make life better for them and their families. The abolition of the two-child limit will lift 4,400 local children out of poverty.
Gavin Robinson
DUP
Belfast East
Question
There are those in this Chamber and more importantly in the country who can look clearly at some of the economic challenges and missed opportunities. A Government who promised not to raise tax on working people raised £40 billion in last year’s Budget, £26 billion will be raised from this Budget.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
By abolishing the two-child cap, this Government have ensured that those 103,000 children in Northern Ireland will be lifted out of poverty. The potential is there to do that.
Harriet Cross
Con
Gordon and Buchan
Question
One of the most incoherent, damaging and destructive decisions that the Government took last week was not to scrap the energy profits levy. The levy will destroy our oil and gas sector, as the Government have been told by so many sources, including the industry itself, the renewables industry, the unions and Offshore Energies UK...
Question
Does the hon. Lady agree that the fossil fuel companies have put all their eggs in the basket of carbon-generating fossil fuels, and have not diversified over the past 30, 40 or 50 years? They have no other sources of income. Why should we pay the price for their profligacy?
Harriet Cross
Con
Gordon and Buchan
Question
No, I do not agree, because that is factually untrue. Investment in green technologies, including carbon capture, EV charging point roll-outs, wind and solar, is being driven by our oil and gas companies... The Labour Government have kept the EPL, which means that our oil and gas companies are being taxed at 78%, which is more than is faced by any other mature basin in the world...
Paul Holmes
Con
Hamble Valley
Question
My hon. Friend is right. My constituency on the south coast has Oil Spill Response Ltd, which tackles oil spills... At a recent event, the vice-president of a very big oil company said that it was essentially closing up its operations in the UK and moving 50 miles up the road to Norway...
Harriet Cross
Con
Gordon and Buchan
Question
...Yes, absolutely. Many flights that take off from Aberdeen are full of workers who are leaving north-east Scotland for Norway... We are making it so financially unviable to get at our own resources that we are becoming more and more reliant on other countries for our energy security...
Salford
Question
When Government choose to act, when they choose to listen and when they choose compassion, millions of lives are changed. The decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap will lift nearly half a million children out of poverty and ease the suffering of almost a million more... [full response]
Joe Robertson
Con
Isle of Wight East
Question
Average households will be £850 worse off by 2029-30, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. That is a consequence of this Budget, with the highest taxes in history, growth down, borrowing up and inflation up... [full response]
Scott Arthur
Lab
Edinburgh South West
Question
It would be interesting to talk through the implications of such a drastic cut to welfare in one single Budget, and what that would mean for people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency... [full response]
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Question
I will focus on particular measures in the Budget that will have a massive impact on my constituents in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, and more widely across the north and north-east of Scotland... The Labour party’s latest swindle on energy bills is already falling apart. To compound matters, my constituents and businesses in the north of Scotland already pay the second highest level of electricity prices in the UK... It is shocking energy price discrimination, with price increase misery heaped on top...
Glasgow West
Question
Does the hon. Gentleman think that his constituents would have benefited if Nicola Sturgeon had delivered the promise that she made eight years ago to deliver a publicly owned energy company for our country?
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Question
...Secondly, let me come to the Chancellor’s treatment of the North sea... The decision by the Government to do nothing is akin to Thatcher’s treatment of miners and their communities and the steelworkers at Ravenscraig...
Question
At the SNP conference, I think the First Minister said that he was keen to replace the energy profits levy, but he was not quite sure what he was going to replace it with. Does he know yet?
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Question
...To accelerate the demise of an industry without ensuring that the right and appropriate time is available for the transition is frankly criminal... The Government must take urgent action on the EPL, or we will have another industrial jobs disaster...
Kirsteen Sullivan
Lab/Co-op
Bathgate and Linlithgow
Question
Does the hon. Member accept that 75,000 jobs were lost from the oil and gas sector between 2016 and 2024, under the previous Conservative Government? Does he welcome the North sea jobs service, which this Government will bring in next year?
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Question
...Let me turn to the plight of WASPI women... A year ago, almost to the day, I asked the Prime Minister when they would be compensated—he flannelled his answer and refused to commit...
Question
I think there is support for this issue across the House. I do not know any MP who does not think that the WASPI women should not be compensated, because their fight is a just fight, but there is uncertainty about how it would be funded.
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Question
...We have made the point repeatedly that there can be additional funding from banks... Funding could certainly be made available through a wealth tax, which we have supported for a long time...
Charlotte Cane
Liberal Democrats
Ely and East Cambridgeshire
Question
Welcomes the decision to remove the two-child benefit cap but raises concerns about funding for councils under the new crisis and resilience fund. She also highlights issues facing farmers, listed places of worship grants, social care, and VAT for hospitality businesses.
Minister reply
Acknowledges the importance of both targeted funding and lifting the two-child benefit cap. States that further thought is needed on agricultural property relief and expresses willingness to address other concerns raised by the MP.
Grahame Morris
Lab
Easington
Question
Thanks the Chancellor for honouring Labour's manifesto commitment to transfer £1.5 billion from miners' pension funds, resulting in a 32% increase in pensions for almost 4,000 former miners and widows. He also mentions the support provided by Labour Government to coalfield communities.
Minister reply
Acknowledges the importance of supporting businesses like Power Roll in east Durham and expresses commitment to addressing pension justice for retired miners.
Frank McNally
Lab
Coatbridge and Bellshill
Question
The actions of this Government will make life easier for thousands of my constituents and millions across the country. The Budget has delivered an additional £820 million for Scotland, on top of the record £5.2 billion delivered to the Scottish Government last year. It is imperative that the Scottish Government get off their hands and act in the short time that they have before, hopefully, being removed from office next May.
Minister reply
This Government made it clear that when we had the economic ability to remove the cap, we would do so. The hon. Gentleman’s Government could have done it eight years ago, and refused to do so. This decision will lift 2,000 children in my community, 95,000 across Scotland and 450,000 across the UK out of poverty.
Zarah Sultana
Your Party
Coventry South
Question
The cost of living crisis is not a natural disaster. My constituents are not struggling because of so-called global pressures; they are struggling because an economic system built by the powerful and for the powerful is bleeding them dry.
Minister reply
This Labour Budget refuses to confront that truth. Instead, it protects profiteers while punishing those who keep this country running.
North East Fife
No extracted contribution text available for this contributor yet.
Gill German
Lab
Clwyd North
No extracted contribution text available for this contributor yet.
Robin Swann
UUP
South Antrim
Question
How will Northern Ireland businesses receive recognition of the challenges they face due to government policies? Are there plans to address issues like veterinary medicine, pay-per-mile charges on electric vehicles, and funding for rail infrastructure?
Minister reply
The Budget acknowledges the impact of divergence but continues to ignore specific concerns such as veterinary medicine. The pay-per-mile charge is a matter that requires further clarification. Investment in rail infrastructure has been announced, including the midlands rail hub and trans-Pennine route upgrade.
Naushabah Khan
Lab
Gillingham and Rainham
Question
What is the significance of this Budget for constituents living in deprived areas? How will it address issues like poverty, energy bills, and school uniforms?
Minister reply
The Budget aims to transform lives by addressing long-standing austerity measures. It includes plans to cut energy bills, freeze rail fares, and raise the national living wage, among other initiatives designed to improve quality of life for families in deprived areas.
Bobby Dean
LD
Carshalton and Wallington
Question
How will this Budget address issues like income tax threshold freeze and windfall profits from the banking industry?
Minister reply
The increase in fiscal headroom was welcomed, but there are concerns about how it is being paid for. The abolition of the two-child benefit cap has been funded through taxes on the gambling industry, and alternative measures to address windfall profits have not yet been implemented.
Harpenden and Berkhamsted
Question
Although there is much that I welcome in the Chancellor's statement, it seems disconnected from the reality of families being under pressure today. Freezing income tax thresholds continues the Conservative legacy of hitting people with years of stealth taxes, costing 10 million taxpayers an extra £67 billion a year by 2030. Behind those numbers are families and individuals struggling as costs go up and earnings do not catch up.
Kevin Bonavia
Lab
Stevenage
Question
This Budget shows that after years of decline, this Labour Government is building a stronger and more secure economy, one that works for working people in Stevenage and the villages across our constituency. We are beating forecasts, with growth upgraded to 1.5% this year and wages rising faster in our first year than in the entire first decade under the Conservatives.
Mitcham and Morden
Question
Welcomes the £150 cut to energy bills from April, freeze on rail fares, uplift in national living wage, but raises concerns about bank branch closures impacting access to cash and face-to-face banking facilities.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Question
The Budget is built on fantasy with a fiscal black hole that did not exist, according to the OBR. The Chancellor broke her word and increased taxes on working families without an increase in real pay.
Kirsteen Sullivan
Lab/Co-op
Bathgate and Linlithgow
Question
Welcomes the Budget for tackling the cost of living crisis, removing the two-child limit to benefit 1,700 children in her constituency. People welcome £150 reduction in energy bills, with a £300 saving for those on the lowest incomes.
Iqbal Mohamed
Party Omitted
Constituency Omitted
Question
Will the hon. Lady give way?
Minister reply
The shadow member declined to give way.
Baggy Shanker
Lab/Co-op
Derby South
Question
Welcomes this Budget as it tackles cost of living crisis, raises minimum wage, freezes prescription fees and reduces energy bills. Emphasises that scrapping the two-child benefit cap will lift 450,000 kids out of poverty nationally.
Minister reply
The minister emphasises that Derby is a city proud to be a powerhouse in manufacturing and this Budget backs young people with apprenticeships and opportunities.
Ashley Fox
Con
Bridgwater
Question
Highlights the Chancellor's tax increases, citing his constituent Rowena who will face financial penalties under new thresholds, making additional work financially unviable. Questions how this sends a message to future generations about hard work and success.
Minister reply
The minister did not directly address the concerns raised by Sir Ashley Fox but acknowledged the need for reassurance.
Iqbal Mohamed
Ind
Dewsbury and Batley
Question
At a time when families in the four corners of our nation are struggling just to get through the week, the test for any Budget is simple: does it make life easier for ordinary working people? Does it put money in the pockets of low-income and middle-income earners? Does it strengthen our public services? Does it support those who are working hard, yet falling behind because of rising prices, high inflation and chronically stagnant wages?
Ayoub Khan
Ind
Birmingham Perry Barr
Question
In my constituency, child poverty is at some 50%, so I certainly welcome the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. Does the hon. Member agree that a wealth tax is the only way that we can resolve the underlying issue, which is the cost of living?
Richard Holden
Con
Basildon and Billericay
Question
The real issue here is hiding in plain sight. It is on the annunciator. This is all about bearing down on inflation, because this Government have already catastrophically failed to keep it at 2%, where the Conservative party left it at the time of the general election...
John Hayes
Con
Question
Does my right hon. Friend recognise that when we add costs to businesses such as the retailer in my constituency, we pay the price in terms of the jobs that they might create?
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend has made an extremely important point. These taxes are hitting across the board, and they are hitting the employment of his constituents.
Holden
Lab
Question
Do the Government not understand that every time they hike up taxes, the cost of food goes up?
Minister reply
That brings me to the core of my argument. What are this Government actually for? Disposable incomes have been revised down, along with growth, while taxes, inflation and business rates are all up.
Heidi Alexander
Minister reply
It is a privilege to respond to today’s debate on the Budget. We have heard some excellent contributions from many colleagues, particularly those on this side of the House. In this Budget, I am proud that we are answering the public’s call for change, and making the fair and necessary choices to repair our public finances and deliver on the nation’s priorities.
Gavin Robinson
DUP
Question
May I ask the Secretary of State to undertake to engage with the Social Security Minister? If there is political willingness at Stormont for this to proceed quickly, perhaps she could do it on our behalf.
Minister reply
I will certainly undertake to have those conversations with colleagues.
Deirdre Costigan
SNP
Dundee East
Question
Does the minister accept that there is a real danger of the UK becoming a laggard in the race to net zero?
Minister reply
The government's policies are geared towards reducing emissions and promoting electric vehicles, making it as easy for drivers to charge up as to fill up. The new £1.3 billion investment in EV grants is expected to increase sales further.
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