Amendment of the Law

Debate between Andrew Miller and Andrew George

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

It is a great pity that the Chancellor is not here; I would love to look him in the eye and ask whether we are genuinely all in it together. He and I represent Cheshire constituencies, but I do not think that his position is quite the same as that of the good folk living in the Westminster ward—one of the country’s most disadvantaged—in my constituency. I would really like him to say to those people that he was in the same boat as them. That is manifestly not the case. The media have picked up on that and realised that the story that we were told yesterday is full of half-truths that present the facts differently from what is really happening on the ground.

In these tough times, what the Tory-led Government are doing tells us everything that we need to know about them. It proves that the Chancellor and Prime Minister are totally out of touch with what life is like for people in this country. At a time when bills are going up for families on middle and low incomes, the Chancellor has added to them all. Fuel duty is going up, even though petrol prices are at a record high.

I am glad that some Liberal Democrats are in the Chamber. In the west country, there is already a blog about the new pasty tax. The Lib Dems should watch out; that is not the only thing that they are under attack for. They will be the real losers on the issue of regional pay, raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr Brown) and the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan). Areas where Liberal Democrats have traditionally been strong would duck out compared with places such as my county of Cheshire, which is also the Chancellor’s, or Oxfordshire, which is where the Prime Minister is. The Liberal Democrats have a real problem when they start looking at regional pay.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

There is a debate to be had on regional pay, and my position is well known. On the sublimely fundamental and seriously important issue of pasty taxes in Cornwall, let me reassure the hon. Gentleman that we will be fighting them on the beaches.

[Andrew Miller]

So when I go to Ann’s pasty shop, I’ll be all right, will I?

The Lib Dems are supposed to be strong on matters related to solar power. This morning, the chief executive of the Solar Trade Association said:

“We cannot understand why solar has been singled out for rough treatment on Capital Allowances when it is a popular technology which will soon reach grid parity and provide businesses with a real alternative to dependence on fossil fuels.”

Again, the Liberals have bought into something that is totally contrary to their own policy position. At the same time, the Budget gave a tax cut to the very richest people in our country, with just 14,000 people earning £1 million or more getting a Budget boost of over £40,000 each year. No wonder the Centre for Policy Studies, which is advised by the Minister for Universities and Science, among others, says that the Budget amounted to small-scale tinkering, regional handouts, and a rearranging of the deckchairs. To be fair to the Minister, there is a lot that I do not agree with in the CPS’s press release. Nevertheless, the Government have chosen to cut taxes for 300,000 people earning over £150,000—the richest 1%. How can that be the priority now?

The Chancellor looked quite smug when he sat down yesterday, but I bet he did not feel so smug when he read today’s papers.