Kenny MacAskill
Main Page: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)Department Debates - View all Kenny MacAskill's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kwasi Kwarteng
We are having a tax review to fit our tax system to the 21st century. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and her campaign on VAT and duty-free shopping. We engaged on that when I was the Business Secretary, and I hope that we can deliver on her vision.
Kenny MacAskill (East Lothian) (Alba)
The world has seen this dogma over orthodoxy before in Pinochet’s Chile with the adoption of the Chicago Boys. That tanked the Chilean economy, and this will do the same to the UK economy: the pound will tank, inflation will rise, unemployment will escalate and we will see social discord. The Chancellor says that tax is not simply about revenue, but about the economy. I agree, but it is also about the society that we want. What he is doing is taking from the poor and giving to the rich. He is giving to this generation and impoverishing the young and future generations, ensuring that the UK becomes an ever more unequal society. That comes at a cost not just in unemployment, but in all sorts of social issues that we saw in the 1980s. That is why Scotland demands its referendum. We want the opportunity to continue to build a better and fairer society. This is a route to disaster that will be paid not just by the poor, but by middle-income earners and only the rich will benefit.
Kwasi Kwarteng
I am glad to hear the hon. Gentleman’s optimistic assessment of my growth plan, but he is entirely wrong. What we have to do is focus on growth. That is what we are doing and that is what we will be delivering.