Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Geraint Davies Excerpts
Tuesday 29th January 2013

(11 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Danny Alexander Portrait Danny Alexander
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My hon. Friend makes an important point. We have provided funding to local authorities to enable the council tax freeze to be delivered. Of course, councillors in those areas will be answerable to their constituents if they fail to deliver the substantial financial benefit that that offers. He is right to say that council tax doubled during the Labour party’s time in office.

Geraint Davies Portrait Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)
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Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that the cost of living increases have hit the poorest hardest, including the man I mentioned last week in Prime Minister’s questions? Should we not therefore follow the US in taxing the top 2% more, having net investment and generating an extra 1% growth, rather than hitting the poor hardest?

Danny Alexander Portrait Danny Alexander
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In that case, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the fact that the wealthiest in society are paying more in every year of this Government’s time in office than they ever did under the Labour party.