Category: Economy

Mary Robinson – 2022 Speech on Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill

The speech made by Mary Robinson, the Conservative MP for Cheadle, in the House of Commons on 13 October 2022.

It is a pleasure to be called to speak on Second Reading of this important Bill.

To maintain the UK’s role and reputation as an international banking and business hub, we must have a transparent system with robust defences against money laundering and fraud, backed up by legislation. As we have heard, the Bill introduces vital reforms to Companies House and to limited partnerships. It also brings forward measures to ensure that law enforcement is equipped to handle the modern challenge of cryptoassets. We have to keep pace with the inevitable changes that result from the development and recognition of cryptocurrency as it moves from niche technology to the mainstream. It is a policy area that poses a unique challenge to law enforcement, with constantly evolving technology creating intangible assets that are largely unregulated and increasingly used to hide and move the proceeds of crime and enable malign states.

The value of losses from crypto-related scams reported to Action Fraud more than doubled over the previous year to £190 million in 2021. All fraud costs the UK economy £190 billion annually, with money laundering constituting an additional £100 billion.

This is money from hard-working individuals and businesses taken by criminals and used to perpetrate wars and terrorism, and technology is only making that easier for them. The Bill’s stated objective, which I welcome, is as follows:

“Strengthen the UK’s broader response to economic crime, in particular by giving law enforcement new powers to seize cryptoassets and enabling businesses in the financial sector to share information more effectively to prevent and detect economic crime.”

Increased powers will bolster the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office, as well as the regulatory bodies, and are welcome. However, the Bill misses an opportunity to refer to and support the important role of whistleblowers in the fight against financial crime. The impact assessment produced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy references PricewaterhouseCoopers’ global economic crime and fraud survey 2022, which found that the UK has a higher than average proportion of serious fraud carried out by an external perpetrator at 57% versus 39% globally. It notes that fighting external perpetrators is distinct from handling internal fraud, with external forces being “immune” to traditional fraud detection and prevention tools—including workplace frameworks and whistleblowing procedures.

The Government are in the process of reviewing whistleblowing guidance, which is welcome. However, the reality is that existing legislation applies only to employees— not to contractors, trustees, volunteers or many others who might hold vital information. It is estimated that just over 40% of fraud is detected through whistleblowing tips, and only half of those disclosures come from employees.

By their very nature, money laundering and economic crime are more often than not linked to serious organised crime gangs and hostile states. Without adequate protections, the stakes for an informed insider blowing the whistle are simply too high. With cryptoassets existing outside the realm of a centralised or governed system, it is unlikely that anyone with information about financial crime involving them will be employees, and therefore they will not be covered by the provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which is the one that oversees the protections of whistleblowers.

If protections are not to be afforded in this Bill, I hope the Government will support the aims of the all-party group on whistleblowing, which I chair, to create an office of the whistleblower to provide overarching protection for the very people we need to speak out and uncover the criminal activities that this Bill aims to curtail.

I welcome this important Bill, and I know that it will receive support. There are changes that could be considered, particularly with regards to whistleblowing, so I look forward to seeing the Bill go through to Committee.

October 15, 2022
Liz Truss – 2022 Comments at Press Conference Following Dismissal of Kwasi Kwarteng

The comments made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, at the start of the press conference held on 14 October 2022 at Downing Street.

Good afternoon,

My conviction that this country needs to go for growth is rooted in my personal experience.

I know what it’s like to grow up somewhere that isn’t feeling the benefits of growth.

I saw what that meant and I am not prepared to accept that for our country.

I want a country where people can get good jobs, new businesses can set up and families can afford an even better life.

That’s why from day one I’ve been ambitious for growth.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the potential of this great country has been held back by persistently weak growth.

I want to deliver a low tax, high wage, high growth economy.

It’s what I was elected by my party to do.

That mission remains.

People across this country rightly want stability.

That is why we acted to support businesses and households with their energy costs this winter.

It’s also the case that global economic conditions are worsening due to the continuation of Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine.

And on top of this, debt was amassed helping people through the Covid pandemic.

But it is clear that parts of our mini budget went further and faster than markets were expecting.

So the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change.

We need to act now to reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline.

I have therefore decided to keep the increase in corporation tax that was planned by the previous government.

This will raise £18 billion per year.

It will act as a down-payment on our full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan which will be accompanied by a forecast from the independent OBR.

We will do whatever is necessary to ensure debt is falling as a share of the economy in the medium term.

We will control the size of the state to ensure that taxpayers’ money is always well spent.

Our public sector will become more efficient to deliver world-class services for the British people.

And spending will grow less rapidly than previously planned.

I met the former Chancellor earlier today. I was incredibly sorry to lose him.

He is a great friend and he shares my vision to set this country on the path to growth.

Today I have asked Jeremy Hunt to become the new Chancellor.

He is one of the most experienced and widely respected government ministers and parliamentarians.

And he shares my convictions and ambitions for our country.

He will deliver the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan at the end of this month.

He will see through the support we are providing to help families and businesses including our Energy Price Guarantee that’s protecting people from higher energy bills this winter.

And he will drive our mission to go for growth, including taking forward the supply side reforms that our country needs.

We owe it to the next generation to improve our economic performance to deliver higher wages, new jobs and better public services, and to ease the burden of debt.

I have acted decisively today because my priority is ensuring our country’s economic stability.

As Prime Minister, I will always act in the national interest.

This is always my first consideration.

I want to be honest, this is difficult.

But we will get through this storm.

And we will deliver the strong and sustained growth that can transform the prosperity of our country for generations to come.

October 14, 2022
Rachel Reeves – 2022 Comments on the Dismissal of Kwasi Kwarteng

The comments made by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 14 October 2022.

This humiliating u-turn is necessary – but the real damage has already been done.

This is a Tory crisis, made in Downing Street.

It won’t be forgiven or forgotten.

Only a Labour government has the credibility and authority to fix this mess.

October 14, 2022
Liz Truss – 2022 Letter to Kwasi Kwarteng Following His Dismissal

The letter sent by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, to Kwasi Kwarteng, on 14 October 2022.

October 14, 2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2022 Letter to Liz Truss Confirming His Dismissal

The letter sent by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, on 14 October 2022.

October 14, 2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2022 Statement on Recent Bank of England Asset Purchases

The statement made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 12 October 2022.

The Bank of England decided to carry out temporary purchases of long-dated UK Government bonds (gilts) from 28 September through the asset purchase facility (APF) on whatever scale is necessary to restore orderly conditions. These interventions will be strictly time limited, with auctions taking place until 14 October.

I have therefore authorised an increase in the total size of the APF by £100 billion. This will bring the maximum total size of the APF from £866 to £966 billion.

On 11 October, the Bank decided that that it will widen the scope of its daily gilt purchase operations to also include purchases of index-linked gilts. This was designed to act as a further backstop to restore orderly market conditions by temporarily absorbing selling of index-linked gilts in excess of market intermediation capacity, the purchasing of index-linked gilts was already covered by the existing indemnity for the APF.

The amendments to the APF that could affect the allocation of credit and pose risks to the Exchequer have been discussed with Treasury officials. The risk control framework for the APF previously agreed with the Treasury will remain in place, and HM Treasury will keep monitoring risks to public funds from the facility through regular risk oversight meetings and enhanced information sharing with the Bank.

The Government will continue to indemnify the Bank and the APF from any losses arising out of, or in connection with, the facility. If the liability is realised, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal supply procedure.

A full departmental minute has been laid in the House of Commons providing more detail on this contingent liability.

October 14, 2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2022 Statement on the Timing of Medium-Term Fiscal Plan

The statement made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 11 October 2022.

Today I can inform the House that I have asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to bring forward the date of its next forecast to 31 October.

Strong growth and sustainable public finances go hand in hand. Alongside the publication of the economic and fiscal outlook, I will set out the Government’s medium-term fiscal plan. This will set out further details on the Government’s fiscal rules, including ensuring that debt falls as a share of GDP in the medium term.

This forecast, in addition to the forecast that will be commissioned in spring, will fulfil the obligation for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.

October 14, 2022
Alison Thewliss – 2022 Speech on the Economic Situation

The speech made by Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s Economic Spokesperson, in the House of Commons on 12 October 2022.

The Minister talks about the IMF, but not about its criticism yesterday or the pathetic growth it has projected for next year of just 0.3%—funny that.

The Treasury Committee took evidence this morning from a range of economists, all of whom echoed the concerns of the public about the chaos that this shambolic UK Tory Government have created. I am not sure whether the Minister considers Deutsche Bank as part of his anti-growth coalition, but its chief economist, Sanjay Raja, was very clear this morning that the UK has particular characteristics that are making this crisis worse. He said, “you’ve got a sidelined fiscal watchdog, you’ve got the lack of a medium-term fiscal plan, one of the largest unfunded tax cuts and package of measures since the early 1970s, and it’s sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

This is chaos that the Minister and his colleagues have deliberately created, and it is impacting people and businesses across these islands, so I ask him: will he bring more money to the devolved institutions to help them tackle the chaos that he and his colleagues have created? Will he commit to uprating benefits by inflation and giving more support to those in the asylum system and those on “no recourse to public funds”? Will he bring certainty to businesses that do not yet know what will happen at the end of the six-month reprieve, because those bills have not gone away?

The Glasgow Centre for Population Health published some research that attributed about 330,000 excess deaths since 2010 to austerity—the Tory austerity by the Minister and his colleagues over the past 12 years—so will he cancel any further cuts, because they cost Scotland and our neighbours far more than we can ever afford? Scotland did not want this, did not vote for this and cannot trust in the financial stability of the UK, never mind this Tory Government.

Mr Speaker

Order. I have the greatest respect for the hon. Lady, but can I just say that she knows the rules give her one minute, not one minute and 45 seconds or two minutes? Please, let us stick to the rules of the House.

Chris Philp

The Scottish Government are of course receiving record levels of funding, and that will continue. The hon. Member asked about excess deaths. Well, I think the drug death record of the nationalist Government is, frankly, pretty terrible. She asked about the uprating to welfare. There is a statutory process that happens every year—every autumn—and that decision has not been taken. It will happen in the normal way, as it has been done for every year.

The hon. Member referenced the IMF’s growth forecast for next year. I have already pointed out that last year we had the highest growth in the G7 and this year we have the highest growth in the G7. If we take the three years together—last year, this year and next year—we will find that the UK, at 11.7% over those three years, still has the highest growth of any G7 country.

The hon. Member asked about institutions. The Chancellor and the Prime Minister have the highest regard for the OBR and the Bank of England. They are meeting both of those institutions regularly. She referenced the growth plan. Having a competitive tax system, supply-side reforms to unleash the productive potential of our economy and making our energy market function properly once again are essential prerequisites for growth, and I am proud that it is this Government who are promoting them.

October 14, 2022
Rachel Reeves – 2022 Speech on the Economic Situation

The speech made by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on 12 October 2022.

People are facing insecurity, instability and deep anxiety and they deserve answers. Conservative economic policy has caused mayhem with financial markets, pushed up mortgage costs and put pension funds in peril, and it has wiped £300 billion off the UK’s stock and bond markets—all directly caused by the choices of this Government. The mini-Budget, just 19 days ago, was a bonfire made up of unfunded tax cuts, excessive borrowing and repeated undermining of economic institutions. It was built and then set ablaze by a Conservative party totally out of control—not “disrupters” but pyromaniacs. And that fire has now spread. Yet Government deny all responsibility.

So will the Minister tell the House, what guarantees will the Government give that the currency slide will stop, and that people’s pensions are safe? How do they expect people to pay £500 more a month, on average, on their mortgages? How many more repossessions of family homes will there be if the Government do not change course? How much more are the Government spending on debt interest because of higher borrowing costs?

While Ministers desperately try to blame global conditions, why is it that no other central bank in the world has had to step in three times in less than three weeks to protect financial stability?

The country now faces a very serious situation. Ahead of the ending of the Bank of England’s emergency operations this Friday, what action will the Government take to ensure that their Budget does not have further consequences for financial stability, or for people’s pensions?

This is a Tory crisis made in Downing Street, but it is ordinary working people who are paying the price. It can be resolved only when the Conservatives put aside their pride and reverse this catastrophic mini-Budget, and they must do so now.

Chris Philp

The shadow Chancellor calls for a reversal of the growth plan, yet at the first opportunity—last night—the Labour party voted for it. She asks about mortgage rates, so let me point out to her that mortgage rates around the world have been on an upward trajectory all year. In fact, if we compare base rates in the United Kingdom with those in the United States, we see that in both countries, as she will be aware, the base rate started this year at 0.25%. In the UK the base rate is currently 2.25%, and in the US it is 3.25%, a full percentage point higher.

The shadow Chancellor referenced borrowing costs. I am sure she is aware that two-year Government bond yields are about the same in the US as they are in the UK—US bond yields have been going up over the course of this year as well. She referenced the currency: the dollar has shown strength against a basket of currencies throughout this calendar year. If she looks at the dollar strengthening against the euro, she will see that it strengthened about 15% this calendar year, and strengthened about 15% against sterling—very similar figures.

The shadow Chancellor also asked about the cost of living. We are very mindful of that, which is why we have introduced a £37 billion package to help people, disproportionately targeted at those on lower incomes, so that people on the lowest third of incomes receive £1,200. It is why we introduced the energy price guarantee on our second or third day in office, ensuring that people do not pay, on average, more than £2,500, instead of facing bills of £5,000 or £6,000—and not for six months, as the Labour party offered, but for two years. It is why the national minimum wage was increased by a large amount last April. It is why the national insurance threshold was increased to £12,500 in July, so people on lower incomes now pay virtually no national insurance or income tax. That is the package of measures that this Government have introduced, because we stand on the side of working people and have taken the steps needed to support them.

October 14, 2022
Chris Philp – 2022 Statement on the Economic Situation

The statement made by Chris Philp, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 12 October 2022.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is in Washington, having meetings with the IMF, and is—[Interruption.]—which have been—[Interruption.]—routine meetings, which have been long scheduled.

Mr Speaker

Order. I know it is the first Wednesday back; we are all excitable. Let us have a little calm, so that I can hear the Minister. Come on, Minister.

Chris Philp

Thank you, Mr Speaker. They are routine meetings that have been long scheduled, and are certainly not a cause for exuberance or over-excitement from the Opposition.

As we know, the world has faced surging energy prices since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have seen very high inflation across the western world, and we have seen a cycle of increasing interest rates across western economies as well—across many western economies. But let me reassure the House that the fundamentals of the United Kingdom’s economy remain resilient. Unemployment, at 3.5%, is the lowest it has been in my lifetime—and for the record, I was born in 1976. Economic growth last year, the calendar year 2021, was the highest of any G7 country—7.5%. Just yesterday the IMF forecast that economic growth—GDP growth—this current year in the UK would be at 3.6%—once again, for the second consecutive year, the highest of any G7 country. So our economy is in resilient condition.

But I know that many families are worried about the challenges we face, and that is why, just a few weeks ago—two or three weeks ago—we introduced the energy price guarantee. Families were genuinely fearful that they might face this winter energy bills of three, four, five, six or even seven thousand pounds per year, but that energy price guarantee will ensure that the average household sees energy prices no higher than £2,500 on average—not for six months, like the Labour plan, but for two years.

We also introduced a growth plan to get our economy growing, to see wages sustainably rising, to see good jobs created and to create a sustainable tax base to fund our public services. This Government have a growth plan; the Opposition have no plan.

We intend to do this in a way that is fiscally responsible, and that is why—[Interruption.]—and that is why, on 31 October, in less than three weeks’ time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out the medium-term fiscal plan, explaining to the House exactly how he will do that, and how we will continue the UK’s track record of having the highest growth in the G7, not just last year but this year as well.

October 14, 2022