MP highlights overlooked areas which may threaten the economy
The debate after last week’s Budget reached its conclusion this afternoon. John Baron MP spoke in the debate, referring the House to his entry in the Register of Members’ Financial interests. He is a member of the Treasury Select Committee.
In the Chamber, John said,
“I very much support this Budget, which has many commendable aspects…but I want to take the opportunity to bend the ear of Ministers on a couple of issues that many have been overlooked and may even threaten the long-term potential growth of the economy.”
“The City of London generates more than 10% of the UK’s GDP, but I suggest to Ministers that that is under threat, and I am not convinced that the full scope of the Edinburgh reforms go far enough to address the problem…A healthy stock market is…essential, but it is ailing. We just have to look at the computer chip designer Arm and the building materials giant CRH shunning the City for US listings. Those two companies in aggregate account for £80 billion of market worth.”
“A key problem is that the reaction after the financial crisis…was to encourage pension fund investors…to adopt a more risk-averse approach to investment…Some pension funds have reduced their allocations to UK equities by up to 90%. The Government need to think outside the box to reverse that trend.”
“There is [also] a severe risk that we will be squeezed between the US’ Inflation Reduction Act, worth £300 billion, and the EU’s green deal industrial plan, worth £200 billion. Subsidies and investment incentives do work: we need only look at our renewable energy sector. I suggest to Ministers that we need to follow this closely.”
Notes to Editors:
John’s full speech is online at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-03-21/debates/3185A4F1-336E-4562-A6D6-13F34CF8F689/BudgetResolutionsAndEconomicSituation#contribution-1741F027-0962-4DA4-AEB1-9DBDB13FF2DE
