Tag: 2022

Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Rebecca Long Bailey, the Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

It is often said that a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable, but sadly we saw no such measures of greatness in the Gracious Speech. As the Child Poverty Action Group states, it was

“a legislative agenda that risks leaving increased levels of child poverty—currently at almost 4 million and expected to rise further—as its only real legacy.”

What were the Government’s priorities, if not to help those in need? We saw ideological flights of fancy, such as forcing through the privatisation of Channel 4, which does not cost the taxpayer a penny and does not need to be privatised, and the British Bill of Rights, which is understood to be a back-door vehicle to undermine the Human Rights Act.

On workers’ rights, there was no employment rights Bill, despite years of promises from the Government. In its place was the Brexit freedoms Bill, which many fear will cut safety regulations, environmental protections and workers’ rights. People are right to be worried, because despite the Government’s warm fluffy protestations to the contrary, some of the Secretaries of State responsible for drafting the Bill wrote a book arguing that Britain needs to adopt a far-reaching form of free market economics with fewer employment rights.

In the meantime, our communities are suffering through the cost of living crisis and the Government seem blinkered to their despair. They hiked national insurance contributions for working people; cut universal credit and pensions by offering only a 3.1% increase when inflation is predicted to reach 10%; and sat back as oil and gas companies sit on record profits while people struggle to pay their bills.

It is clear to everyone—even the CBI and Sir John Major —that the Government must issue an emergency Budget. That means increasing universal credit, legacy benefits and state pensions in line with actual inflation; scrapping the punitive aspects of the universal credit system, such as the five-week wait, the two-child limit, the benefits cap, and no recourse to public funds; increasing the minimum wage to a real living wage, with a pathway, including business support, towards £15 an hour; and a real-terms public sector pay increase.

We also need an extension of the warm home discount, a street-by-street national home insulation programme and a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies. As Greenpeace suggested, the Government could increase the tax level on oil and gas producer profits to 70% as an absolute minimum, which would simply be in line with the global average and would generate an additional £13.4 billion for the Exchequer that could be used to bring down bills and invest in energy efficiency.

Fundamentally, however, for the longer term, we must recognise that although horrific global events are a significant factor in the cost of living crisis, it is the structural issues in our economy and energy system that have left us most vulnerable to global price fluctuations. Closing our main energy storage facility in 2017 without replacing it was a monumental error, but worse still are the long-term structural failures that the privatisation of our energy market has caused. It is undeniable that public ownership is central to addressing the costs and energy security crisis that we face.

So at the very least our communities deserve an emergency Budget before millions suffer possibly the worst economic crisis that they will ever see in their lifetime. At best, we need to reform our economy and energy system so that they protect people from the crisis that we are seeing today.

May 19, 2022
Aaron Bell – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Aaron Bell, the Conservative MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne).

There is much to welcome in Her Majesty’s Gracious Speech, but since I have only four minutes, I will be brief about the Bills in it. The Schools Bill will raise standards and help every child fulfil their potential in this country, and the energy security Bill will tackle the long-term cost of living increases. We have seen the disruption that oil prices can cause, but we can expand on our leadership in offshore wind, build new nuclear and kick-start Britain’s hydrogen economy. The Brexit freedoms Bill will make it easier to amend and repeal outdated EU laws.

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will give communities new powers to drive local growth and regeneration. That will build on the success we have already had in Newcastle-under-Lyme from the future high streets fund and the town deal, with more than £50 million of investment brought into our borough by a very well-run council. As I said earlier, it has already paid out to 34,000 residents their £150, whereas so many Labour councils—I mentioned some of them earlier, and I forgot Kirklees, with apologies to my hon. Friends from there—have not paid out their £150. All the words from those on the Opposition Benches about the cost of living squeeze ring very hollow when their councils are not getting that money into people’s bank accounts. No doubt that is why Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council was returned earlier this month with the first Conservative majority in our history. We won seats from Labour in historic Labour places, such as Crackley and Silverdale. I am very proud of the achievements of that council and the leader Simon Tagg.

Turning to support with the cost of living, many colleagues have said that we are right to target growth and investment in the long term. That is the solution to raising standards in the long term, but we need support right now because of the high inflation that has been stoked principally by the oil price and by Putin’s war in Ukraine. I welcome the threshold rise in national insurance, which means that 30 million people will be better off and 70% will be paying less even after the new levy. I noticed that in the Opposition’s literature, they said they would scrap the levy, but now they are rowing back on that. Can we have a spending commitment for the next election that they want to scrap it? That levy is going to support the NHS and social care, so if Labour wants to remove it, it should say so.

We are increasing the warm home discount to £100, and extending eligibility to 3 million people. We are doubling the household support fund to £1 billion and investing £200 million per annum in continuing the holiday activities and food programme. I am also very glad that the Chancellor of the Exchequer listened to me and my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) on fuel duty. That 5p cut is very helpful in a constituency such as Newcastle-under-Lyme, where so many are reliant on cars.

We may yet need to do more on energy, but that depends on where the oil price goes. If the oil price stays high, I am sure the Chancellor will do more when we come to the next round of the energy price cap. I welcome what he said on the windfall tax. The Opposition amendment is unnecessary. I am clear that windfall taxes are unwelcome, although in certain circumstances they may be the right answer, and I am glad to see the Chancellor not ruling anything out. We need to see proper action from the oil and gas companies in investing. If they do not do that, I will be happy to support him, if that is the direction we take. I realise it is a cyclical industry, but there is a case to be made.

Finally, I press the Chancellor to do more about levelling up through the tax system. I urge him to look again at council tax. That £150 for bands A to D was very well targeted at people. It was not just levelling up for constituencies such as mine, where 92% of people are in those bands, but levelling up for anyone in a house in bands A to D across the country. Council tax rates are based on valuations that are now very out of date. No Government have ever had the appetite for a valuation, but there must be some scope to lower the burden on people in lower bands and to increase or add extra bands I and J on top. I put that to the Chancellor.

Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab/Co-op)

That is brave.

Aaron Bell

It is brave—I thank the right hon. Gentleman—but we need to do it to level up the tax system.

More than anything, I am glad to have the Chancellor of the Exchequer leading us through these difficult times. Hon. Members should remember that if Opposition Members had had their way, we would be led by the right hon. Members for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) and for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), and we would not be standing up to Putin; we would be excusing him.

May 19, 2022
Kate Osborne – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

The cost of living crisis presents the biggest threat in a generation to the living standards of the working class in this country. The removal of the energy price cap has meant that bills have risen by up to 54% for millions of households in the UK. This has meant the highest real-terms energy price increase in living memory, with the worst fall in living standards since the 1950s.

Shockingly, the cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate effect on women. According to work done by the shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), more than 7.5 million women are currently living in relative poverty. That translates to almost a quarter of all women across the UK. The TUC has said that the Chancellor’s response to the cost of living crisis has been “woefully inadequate”. It says that he needs to call

“an emergency budget to get pay rising, help families with soaring bills, and keep the economy moving”—

and it is absolutely right.

This cost of living crisis is underpinned by financial injustice and unfairness. It is a crisis where Tory smoke and mirrors cannot hide the truth, and where people have had to choose between eating and heating their homes while paying crippling bills. Against the backdrop of these cruel choices, oil and gas companies have managed to turn over record profits in the first quarter of 2022, with Shell recording a record quarterly profit of $9.1 billion, up from $6.3 billion in the final three months of 2021, while BP has seen its profits for the first quarter more than double on the previous year to $6.2 billion. This cannot be right.

I was proud to be elected on a manifesto that committed to bringing energy companies into public ownership, which would have regulated prices and ultimately put accountability to the people over profit. This Government should have looked towards countries such as France, Spain and Germany and used the Queen’s Speech as an opportunity to implement a low-percentage price cap on energy prices, and they should have committed to implementing a windfall tax. Calls for a windfall tax are supported not only by those on the Opposition side of the House, but elsewhere, including by the Tesco chairman, John Allan.

If the best this Chancellor can provide is a tacit threat to impose a windfall tax on energy companies, rather than a legislative commitment, that is simply not good enough. The increase in energy prices and the responsibility for the terrifying cost of living crisis stop at the Government’s door, and they have failed to use this Queen’s Speech as an opportunity to rebalance the financial burden in this country. More people will suffer through their lack of action.

As we emerge from this pandemic, people in this country are enduring one of the worst cost of living crises seen in post-war Britain. The simple fact is that it does not have to be like this, and the Government have a duty to alleviate this crisis by making corporations, and those who can, contribute more. This Queen’s Speech was an opportunity to redress the balance, but it was also incumbent on the Government to take action, and they have not. This Queen’s Speech, put forward by this Government, has no substance and shows no willingness to redress the balance of power in this country. Unless they do more, I fear for the people I represent in the Jarrow constituency and for those in the rest of the UK.

May 19, 2022
Miriam Cates – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Miriam Cates, the Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

Prices have indeed soared in recent months, driven by a number of global factors such as covid and the war in Ukraine. Millions of people are finding it harder to make ends meet. So far, the Government have provided £22 billion of support, including the council tax rebate, a cut to fuel duty and the household support fund, but the heartbreaking stories we have heard in this debate, for example those shared by the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield), show that we need to do more. In particular, I think we should urgently review universal credit rates. However, we must also be mindful of the inflationary pressures of pumping more borrowed money into the economy and the long-term debt implications for our children and grandchildren.

I welcome the Bills announced in the Queen’s Speech to tackle the cost of living in the long term by addressing some of the structural issues that have caused prices to rise and wages to stagnate. I welcome the energy security Bill, which will secure our energy supply; I welcome the Schools Bill and the higher education Bill, which will drive up standards and offer a lifetime loan entitlement so that people can upskill at any point in their lives. We should also reconsider whether some of the £11 billion a year cost of higher education should be redirected to vocational and technical education to meet skills demands.

I welcome the procurement Bill and the Brexit freedoms Bill. We must make sure that this legislation provides opportunities for British industry, especially the UK steel industry, to win public sector contracts.

I support many of the planning reforms laid out in the levelling up Bill, but we must build far more homes so as to have an impact on prices. We should focus on developing whole new towns, and build hundreds of thousands of social houses, restoring the hope of having a decent home to young people.

The Bills laid out in the Queen’s Speech will do much to tackle the cost of living in the long term, growing the economy and tackling rising prices, but the elephant in the room is taxation. The biggest cost in many people’s lives now is the state, with taxation levels at a 70-year high. Many Conservative Members, and our constituents, are deeply uncomfortable with this level of taxation. However, not so long ago, when the welfare state was born, life expectancy was 65, people started work at 15, and few lived long into retirement, while the state was not required to pay for childcare or adult social care because women and the wider community provided it unpaid. Now, longer life expectancy, many years spent in education and retirement, and ever better healthcare have increased, probably permanently, the cost of the state.

So what can be done? We might not be able to reduce the overall tax burden significantly, although economic growth, improving our health and strengthening our social fabric will help, but we can reform our taxation system to share the burden more fairly. Our system of individual income taxation takes no account of how many people each income supports, so a single person earning the average salary of £30,000 a year is obviously better off than a single-earner family of four where the earning parent’s wage is also £30,000. The single person has only themselves to support, yet the family have to feed, clothe and heat four people, but both pay more or less the same amount of tax. This individualistic approach to taxation means that to have the same standard of living as a single person on a wage of £30,000, a family of four must earn £74,500—an unachievable figure for many. That makes us an outlier. Many other countries, such as France, Germany and the US, take into account the number of people an income supports. Our system makes it very hard for families to work their way out of poverty, discourages family stability, and fails to recognise the important contribution that parents make to society.

I welcome the Bills introduced in the Queen’s Speech, which will tackle the cost of living in the long term, but we must be realistic about taxation—yes, reducing it where possible, but prioritising reforms that tackle generational inequalities and put children first.

May 19, 2022
Peter Dowd – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Peter Dowd, the Labour MP for Bootle, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

I congratulate Liverpool football club, although, as an Everton supporter, I hope people will respect my wishes and not tell them.

The Chancellor seems increasingly tetchy and indignant at the very idea that he should be expected to loosen the purse strings and support those people who are most economically challenged, but today we find ourselves in a scenario where the International Monetary Fund predicts that the UK will have the weakest growth and highest inflation in the G7 in 2023. Even before the pandemic, and before the war in Ukraine, we had weaker growth than the rest of the G7. We were less productive than our German, French and Americans counterparts by a country mile, and the UK is ranked 24th out of 25 countries in the OECD for public sector investment. In fact, British employees work 38 days a year more than the Germans and are being expected to work even harder. We face even more pain. Research by the debt collection agency Lowell has found that, after factoring in emergency savings, defaulted debt, the claiming of work-related benefits, and the use of payday loans and high-cost loans and emergency credit, my Bootle constituency is in the top 10 constituencies hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.

This crisis can be solved, and the Chancellor can help to solve it, but he will not. He never tires of telling everybody—at least, the diminishing number who are listening to him—that £410 billion has been spent on the pandemic in one way or another. We spent £1.3 trillion in one way or another in bailing out the banks, so we can bail out 66 million people and the millions of people who are in dire straits.

The Chancellor has lectured us for not being supportive of his Budget. Well, it was hardly a Budget; there was nothing in it to be supportive of. There was nothing whatsoever of any significance there. For too many of our constituents who stand on the precipice of falling into deeper poverty, the Government’s failure to tackle this issue is deplorable. We need urgent action from the Government now, in the next few days—not in six months, not in a year, not next year, but now.

If the Government will not listen to the Opposition, they should listen to the public. Government Members cannot seriously expect us to believe that their constituents are happy with what the Government have been doing or with their handling of the crisis. At most, we are little further than two years from a general election. We like general elections in Bootle, because we can send a message to the Tories. In my old council seat of St Oswalds, they did not put up any candidate in the local elections. Nobody but Labour put up a candidate in the local elections, because people know Labour are the only ones who are there to support them.

My campaign between now and the next election will remind my constituents—not that they need reminding—and for that matter anyone who will listen, that the Tories are the party of high inflation, high taxation, low growth, low productivity, low skills, low wages, low investment and low aspiration—and that is just for starters.

May 19, 2022
Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Her Meeting with Rwandan Minister Dr Vincent Biruta

The comments made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, on 18 May 2022.

I am proud of the partnership agreed between our two countries, which aims to break the people smugglers’ business model and prevent further loss of life in the English Channel, while ensuring protection for the genuinely vulnerable.

We are pushing ahead with delivering this world-leading plan which epitomises the kind of international approach that is required to tackle an international challenge like the migration crisis.

I look forward to meeting UNHCR representatives with Minister Biruta this week, as we continue the vital conversation on illegal migration and the importance of global cooperation.

May 18, 2022
Derek Thomas – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Derek Thomas, the Conservative MP for St. Ives, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. We have heard much this afternoon about the hike in energy prices. It is well-documented and concerning. However, I welcome the supercharging of the effort to boost homegrown clean energy, which will drive down costs, take the volatility out of the energy markets and cut our carbon footprint. That is all welcome, but more must be done now to help. Those changes will help in the future, but we need help in our homes now, as we have heard. We also need to look closely at the use of the standing charge—a daily charge on every household—which has risen to 50p plus, putting £150 more on the bill. I am concerned that these standing charges will never come down, so it is important that we raise the matter here and that we keep our eye closely on the use of them by energy companies.

We also know that food prices are on the rise, but we are not seeing the same kind of supercharging in the Government’s response when it comes to increasing homegrown food production. Now that we have left the EU, the Government have the power to prioritise food production, using money already available through the environmental land management scheme to supercharge food production to make sure that farmers have the confidence, security and funding to produce the food that we need. Surely if there was ever a time to boost food production in the UK it is now.

I know from speaking to many people in food, farming and fishing that the sector is willing to step up and increase production, but, at the moment, they are planning to sow less, rear less and fish less because of their concerns about the cost of fertilisers, fuel, energy and so on. The Government must look very closely at how we can supercharge homegrown food production.

The real squeeze is on household budgets, especially for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. One area that we have heard little about this afternoon is the cost of housing. Rents in recent years have rocketed. In my constituency, people can barely find a house to rent. If they can find one, a three-bedroom house costs £1,400-plus, which is a massive increase on perhaps a year ago. House prices have also rocketed in the south-west, and action is needed, and needed now, to address the matter.

I welcome the fact that the Queen’s Speech includes a levelling up and regeneration Bill, but it must be a response to the housing challenges in coastal areas in particular. Existing homes must be made more efficient; that would help with energy costs, as we heard from the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms). New homes must be protected for permanent residence. It is far easier to get homes built in rural areas such as mine if local people know that they will meet a recognisable need, such as the acute need of housing.

More must be done to safeguard the homes in which people already live. Every week, I meet families who have been turfed out of their homes, and those homes are then flipped for other uses. Landlords are not entirely at fault, as changes in the tax system and the energy performance rating system have discouraged them from providing homes for local families. I welcome the Government’s recent commitment to changing the methodology of energy performance certificates, but more must be done to make sure that being a landlord, or providing homes for people to live in, is both attractive and secure. It is vital that the Government take more decisive action to support home ownership, secure a quality home for everyone who needs one and drive down the cost of those homes through good energy efficiency measures.

May 18, 2022
Paul Blomfield – 2022 Speech on the Cost of Living Crisis

The speech made by Paul Blomfield, the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, in the House of Commons on 17 May 2022.

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr Fysh), who made some important points about the need for action now, in recognition of the severity of the crisis we face.

I spent yesterday morning at a crisis meeting in a part of my constituency where incomes are lowest. We looked at how the cost of living crisis was impacting on people. The meeting involved the voluntary sector, energy advisers, food banks, debt advisers, schools, housing providers, local councillors and more. We talked about people’s real struggles to feed families and pay bills; about the impact of that on the mental health of people who had previously been just managing but could not see how that could continue; about suicide attempts as a consequence of what people in the constituency were facing; and about the re-emergence of the problem of loan sharks exploiting people’s hardship.

We discussed the efforts of all those at the meeting to try to offset some of the damage faced by families, and those efforts were extraordinary, but time and again everybody said, “What we are doing is not enough. The Government need to act.” A lot could be done, including the restoration of the universal credit uplift, a meaningful increase in the household support fund and, of course, a windfall tax so that we can cap energy bills and reduce VAT on them.

The Prime Minister knows that it can be done. Last Tuesday he opened the debate on the Queen’s Speech by telling the House that the Government

“have the fiscal firepower to help families up and down the country with all the pressures that they face now.”—[Official Report, 10 May 2022; Vol. 714, c. 17.]

The problem is that they are not going to use it. They shrug their shoulders and say, as the Chancellor did again today, “What can the Government do to solve these problems?” It is not true to say that, and they know it.

Other countries have acted. To protect consumers and businesses, France has limited energy bill increases to just 4% this year by taking £7 billion out of EDF’s profits. Spain has committed to cutting connection fees and to taxing excess profits on new electricity supply contracts to protect people from soaring prices. It is spending €16 billion on support. Germany has instigated a range of measures, including tax reliefs, a reduction in fuel duty and a monthly public transport ticket costing just €9, which will also encourage the modal shift we need in the way people move about. It is a matter of choice. The Government point to growth as the answer, and growth clearly is important, but their record shows that they cannot deliver it.

In November 2019, before we knew the word “coronavirus”, growth was the slowest that it had been in a decade. Our bounce back from the pandemic has been slower than expected this year, with the Brexit deal failing to deliver for supply chains, and the Government’s failure to insulate from the cost of living crisis limiting spending and productivity. Either they do not understand the depth of the pressures—and comments such as “learn to cook” or “work more hours” perhaps indicate that they do not—or they simply do not care. If we let people sink or swim, the problem is that too many people will sink. As we know, the money is there. The oil and gas companies have it—more than they know what to do with. What we need is action now, as the hon. Member for Yeovil said. We face an unprecedented crisis in the cost of living. We needed a Gracious Speech that addressed it. We need an emergency Budget. The Government cannot sit on their hands any longer.

May 18, 2022
Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Fire Reform

The comments made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, on 18 May 2022.

The government’s priority is keeping the public safe and the reforms we’ve set out today will strengthen and support our hard-working fire and rescue services.

The White Paper will be transformative in how firefighters are trained and will enable fire and rescue services to build on their strengths and leadership.

The Grenfell tragedy must never happen again and we are continuing to drive forward progress on putting the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations into law.

May 18, 2022
Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2022 Speech at Bloomberg

The speech made by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Secretary of State for International Trade, at Bloomberg in London on 18 May 2022.

Thank you for having me in your wonderful building this morning.

You are at the heart of the City and of course, London is one of the world’s greatest green financial centres.

The greatest city on earth, as the Prime Minister always says – and one, of course, that is built on trade.

The ancient temple below our feet, reminds us how the Romans sent goods to every part of their empire, from their warehouses along the Thames.

While today, millions of pounds of financial services are sold every minute, of every hour, of every day to the world from the skyscrapers around us and above us and the buildings that we walk past everday.

So the story of trade has shaped this city and indeed the whole of our nation.

So this morning I want to discuss its latest chapter: our ambitions to become a green trade global leader.

I’m going to set out how we’re doing this, how we’ll achieve it and what we’re doing right now.

But first, if I may, I would like to say a few words about Ukraine.

Because as we are all too painfully aware, this illegal and unprovoked war by Putin has levied an immense cost on lives, on the economy and on individual freedoms of those living across Ukraine.

As the Prime Minister has said on many occasions, the UK stands firm with Ukraine and we will continue to do all in our power to support the Ukrainians to fight and win, and to rebuild their democratic nation.

That is why, with our allies, we have brought in the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced…

Measures that will degrade Putin’s ability to attack the people of this brave country.

And trade is an important element of that response.

We’ve supported Ukraine’s economy by cutting tariffs under the UK-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement to zero.

Since the start of the invasion more than £4 billion of Russian products have been subjected to full or partial import and export sanctions.

Because this terrible conflict has underlined what can be achieved through a cohesive global approach.

And it has also reminded us that most urgently, we must de-Putinise the world’s economy…

Both through sanctions, and by cutting off access to the oil revenues that power his war machine. That’s why here in the UK, we have announced that we will phase out imports of Russian oil and gas.

More broadly, these past months have highlighted the need to accelerate our journey as a global community away from hydrocarbons.

To decisively turn our backs on the era of dependence on those polluting fuels, and to transition to a Net Zero future.

I don’t choose the word, journey, accidentally.

Because whilst we are unrelentingly focused on reaching net zero; this must be done by transitioning to a new clean energy world without economic damage, to new energy-efficient homes cost effectively, and to clean transportation as individuals and businesses invest in their next vehicles.

And it will only succeed if this is a genuine national endeavour.

In addition, if we are to together build a net zero world, we must share our ideas, our expertise and our innovations.

The UK has all of these in abundance and we therefore have a responsibility and an opportunity that we must not miss.

Indeed, there’s a real moral imperative on us to act. To borrow the Prime Minister’s words which he spoke at COP26 in November:

‘As we look at the green industrial revolution that is now needed – We in the developed world must recognise the special responsibility to help everybody else to do it.’

It won’t come as a surprise to you that I think that green trade is going to be a key tool that will allow us to address some of those imbalances.

International cooperation is going to be essential.

And at COP26 in Glasgow last November, we saw what we can achieve together.

197 countries demonstrated the power of collective and concerted international action…

By pledging to combat change and keep 1.5 degree target alive…

Pushing forwards to COP27 in Egypt later this year and COP28 in the UAE in 2023 to drive a steady drum beat of action.

And in Glasgow, the world also agreed that decisive action is needed now.

And that delivering net zero is not just in our environmental interest but, of course, in our economic interest too.

So, the financial case for green trade is very clear:

The global market for low-carbon exports is growing rapidly.

By 2030, it’s projected to be worth almost £2 trillion.

While a potent combination of ambitious entrepreneurs, high ambitions and steadfast and determined government backing, the UK is now in a leading position to take a first mover advantage.

This translates into some exciting opportunities for us:

Because quite simply green trade, spells green jobs.

In fact, by 2050, over 1.2 million people could be directly employed in low carbon goods and services sectors, a six-fold increase from today.

That’s a really extraordinary figure, and will be critical to achieving our domestic goals of levelling up across the whole of the UK too.

Our challenge now is to turn this potential into firm reality.

Unsurprisingly, our approach is rooted in our fundamental belief of the benefits of free trade.

Because it is only when trade is free and fair…

When markets accurately account for environmental costs…

And when business can properly compete…

That we can together succeed in generating real green growth for developed and developing countries alike.

Some have argued that pursuing a free trade agenda is somehow anti-environmental…

Or that protecting the climate, we must somehow turn our backs on the world.

This kind of thinking isn’t just patently wrong; I think it’s dangerous.

We need to be very clear about what life without free trade would entail from an environmental perspective.

Without free trade – the world would face an uphill struggle in developing the technologies we need to cut emissions.  By contrast, thanks to global competition, since the 1990s for instance, the price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 97%.

Without free trade – Some nations will be unable to access the green technology required to transition to a low carbon economy.

Because right now, 90% of the world’s lithium production is concentrated in just three countries.

And without free trade – the cost of clean technology won’t fall quickly enough. Conversely, with free trade, lower tariffs on electric vehicle batteries are helping to decrease production costs, making them more affordable for consumers.

Without free trade – global communities can’t benefit from specialisation, and the emissions reductions that it can deliver.

This might sound counterintuitive. But, in fact, apples shipped here from South America by sea create just half the carbon emissions of apples held in storage for 10 months.

The World Bank has also found that following tariff liberalisation, free trading countries receive a growth dividend of about 1.5 percent per year. Gains that can be channelled into future green growth.

Of course, the benefits of free trade are not only measured in pounds and pence.

They of course have those broader implications too:

Because when we shut our doors, we lose the mutual growth we get by human interactions.

Countries that trade together think, work, and grow together.

Closer trade ties mean stronger relationships with the academics, with scientists and engineers who will help us all to move to a low carbon economy.

So, the UK is an unabashed advocate of free and fair trade. And we’re committed to working with our international partners to progress this agenda globally.

So how are we going to do it?

Well our work is focused around four key principles:

Building our green industrial base

Boosting green exports

Liberalising green trade

and greater alignment of our trade and environmental policies.

So let me turn to the first point – building a green industrial base.

UK businesses are already at the vanguard of green growth.

So now we want to tell that story to the world – so that we can drive greater investment in those high-tech industries that will boost productivity, increase exports, create jobs and cut emissions.

We’ve already taken some major steps:

The Global Investment Summit, which we hosted last year, secured £9.7 billion of foreign investment for UK offshore wind, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.

And since then, we’ve seen real action right across the country:

Fifty-five miles off the Yorkshire Coast, Danish energy firm Orsted is forging ahead with its £6 billion Hornsea2 offshore wind project. It’s one of the largest on the planet and it will directly create 521 long-term jobs.

In Hull, Siemens Gamesa has ploughed £186 million into expanding their offshore wind blade factory, taking its workforce to around 1,200 people.

While in North Wales, Turkish firm, Eren Paper, is investing £500 million into building a new corrugated cardboard factory, which will save millions of trees, through using paper waste and creating 500 new jobs.

Since the Global Investment Summit last autumn, leading Australian businesses have also announced they will commit £28.5 billion into clean energy, technology and infrastructure projects across the UK. Another clear statement of confidence in the UK as a world leader in green trade and investment.

So this is just some of all that’s happening.

This Autumn, my Department, along with BEIS, is going to be hosting a new Green Trade and Investment Expo in the North East…

I’m really excited about this – not least because I’m a Northumberland MP and it’s always good to bring the world to my little corner of the UK. The Expo is going to bring together UK businesses and global investors, joining forces so that we will be able to capitalise on the commercial opportunities from our drive to net zero.

We are also supporting the Port of Tyne in raising capital to create a centre for the North East’s growing renewables sector.

At COP26 in Glasgow, we were the lead signatory of the Clydebank Declaration – a coalition of 24 countries committed to establishing at least six zero-emission shipping corridors by 2025.

And our team at the Office for Investment is also pulling out the stops to encourage high value green investment.

One great example is their collaboration with BEIS to secure Britishvolt’s £2 billion injection into a Gigafactory in Northumberland that will create around 3,000 jobs.

But we want to do even more to encourage global businesses to consider what the UK, has to offer.

We want turbine, monopiles, electric vehicles and their components manufactured and assembled here – to create jobs, supply chains and growth in the UK.

That’s why last year we launched our Investment Atlas – showing the opportunities across the economy and across the country…

Whether that’s supporting Scotland to become a global pioneer for floating offshore wind… or helping the South West’s sustainable aviation industry to take off.

And our second priority is boosting exports.

From renewable energy and green finance to sustainable construction and precision agriculture – there is enormous potential here.

By 2030, low-carbon industries could generate up to £170 billion of UK exports.

If we succeed in super charging our green exports – we will create jobs, boost productivity and build that expertise that will benefit the world.

Clearly, we recognise that to play their part businesses will need finance.

UK Export Finance, our export credit agency, has an essential role to play here in supporting companies access finance as they seek to export.

Its Export Development Guarantee allows businesses to access high value loan facilities to finance sustainable production and to boost those important exports.

So today I’m thrilled to announce a £50 million UK Export Finance-backed loan guarantee for construction company Mace, a green construction pioneer, to bolster its growing export business.

The loan includes sustainability targets to incentivise the company’s transition to net zero and green growth. And it will enable Mace to continue supporting environmentally friendly infrastructure projects and to create new, green jobs.

I’m also delighted to announce that, Megger, an electrical testing solutions manufacturer, will be receiving a £138 million UKEF-backed guarantee.

This will help the firm to secure a new £50 million factory in Dover from where it can export to the world.

And of course, all this is a major shot in the arm for the town of Dover itself.

But we really are just getting started.

UKEF has £2 billion of direct lending standing ready to support overseas projects. And our teams of trade and export finance experts are focused on getting more businesses exporting and on showcasing our great innovators’ work to the world.

Our third priority – using the full reach of our independent trade policy to liberalise green trade – is a critical new tool in our armoury.

You might recall, one of our first steps after Brexit was to introduce the UK Global Tariff. This removed duties on more than 100 environmental goods – lowering prices and turbocharging our green economy.

The free trade agreements that we’ve struck, and demolishing barriers to green trade, reinforcing shared environmental commitments, are increasing international collaboration.

In fact, our Australia deal goes further on climate, than any previous trade deal signed by them before this one.

It removes tariffs on goods which benefit the low carbon economy, including eliminating tariffs on imports of Lithium batteries…

And the deal opens the door to new co-operation across green industries.

Our deal with New Zealand removes tariffs on the most comprehensive list of environmental goods in any FTA to date.

And we are now preparing for agreements with India, Mexico, Israel, Canada, Switzerland and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

Liberalisation should be consistent with our domestic and international commitments on trade and the environment.

We recognise that some of our partners will have different views on what’s included in these agreements, including on the environment.

But, of course, they are all on their own paths towards a green transition. So by developing closer ties, we believe we can help them speed up those journeys.

So, we’re working hard to ensure these deals deliver practical benefits, while allowing our partners and their businesses to fully harness the expertise of our renewable energy sector… including our world-leading services industry that will play a key role in enabling the journey to net zero.

For example, if we can remove barriers, a deal with India could support the rapid growth of its offshore wind industry…helping one of the world’s largest economies build a more sustainable future.

Of course, trade agreements are one part of our efforts to build a freer, fairer, and greener international trading system.

But alone, they won’t propel the world to net zero or indeed reverse biodiversity loss.

We can only make the large-scale change we need through multilateral co-operation.

And that’s why my department is putting green trade at the heart of our agenda at the WTO.

I’m very pleased to say that our ambassador – Simon Manley – was recently appointed chair of the WTO Committee on the Environment – which is going to be a really key role.

We are playing an integral part in establishing the WTO’s Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions. This very valuable forum, which is allowing policymakers and civil society to discuss the future of green trade, now counts 71 members – including the US and China.

And we want to go further, calling on WTO members to launch negotiations to liberalise green trade and push for substantive outcomes as soon as possible.

The growth of global trade has taken place against a backdrop of persistent market failures – like the under-pricing of carbon – and distortions – like harmful fossil fuels subsidies.  Such issues have incentivised wasteful consumption, damaged the environment, and warped trade flows.

These are global issues. And tackling them abroad will be essential to achieving our environmental ambitions here back home.

This leads me to our fourth and final priority: greater alignment of our trade and environmental policies.

Aside from some humanitarian exceptions, the UK has ended support for fossil fuels overseas, ceasing trade promotion for oil and gas companies…

…and stopped offering export credit guarantees for oil extraction or processing.

I was really proud that at COP26, more than 30 countries and institutions followed our lead and pledged to end export finance support for fossil fuels by the end of this year.

Last year, under our presidency, the G7 collectively recognised the risk of carbon leakage – where businesses shift production to countries with lower emissions regulations.

This a global problem, and it will require a global solution.

The UK believes we should design a framework that properly addresses the issue alongside our international partners and avoid a complex patchwork of regulations that stifle business.

This would prevent UK emissions from being simply offshored, which of course harms global efforts to reach net zero.

And it would enhance incentives for overseas producers to “go green” and break into new markets.

It goes without saying that any solution must account for the needs of developing countries, who are often worst equipped to mitigate climate threats and indeed hardest hit by inaction.

We know tackling carbon leakage won’t be easy. But it really is integral to building a truly global green economy. And we are entirely committed to this challenge.

So, I hope this morning I’ve given you a sense of the scope of our green trade agenda and indeed the importance that Government places upon it.

Trade has shaped countless civilisations.

That principle hasn’t changed.

Today the power of free and fair trade, along with British expertise, ideas and leadership, is accelerating our progress to net zero.

Cutting emissions to tackle the climate crisis;

Generating jobs across every part of our great country;

Creating prosperity in every town and city based on clean energy;

And building a better future both for the UK and for our friends and partners around the world.

Thank you.

May 18, 2022