Finance (No. 4) Bill

Kwasi Kwarteng Excerpts

Wednesday 18th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Owen Smith]

We do not know—[Laughter.] Conservative Members might laugh, but I would like to see them present some evidence on this, instead of the flannel and rhetoric that we are hearing—[Interruption.] The Minister is waving the HMRC report. Will he point to the part of it that gives definitive data on the impact on competitiveness of any rate of tax? There is nothing about that in the report, which is why he is not getting up to point it out. Come on! Let him show me the part of the report that substantiates the point made by the hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss).

[Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)]

rose—

[Owen Smith]

Is the hon. Gentleman about to—

--- Later in debate ---

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

rose—

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

rose—

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

rose—

[Owen Smith]

No, there is more from the Chancellor. Conservative Members ought to listen to this, because it is their very competent Chancellor speaking. A year later, in October 2010, he said:

“The public must know that the burden is being fairly shared. That’s why I said last year: we are all in this together. And I am clear…that those with the most”—

like those on the Treasury Bench—

“need to pay more. That is why… I have stuck with the 50p tax”.

Have I missed something over the past 18 months since this Chancellor has been in trouble? As far as I have seen, the economy has flatlined, growth is at absolutely zero, business investment is going nowhere and inflation is rising. The only thing that has fallen recently is unemployment. Thanks be to goodness that it has dipped today, but it is still at 2.6 million, and as I pointed out to the Minister on Monday night, 2,500 people were queuing for 200 jobs at a supermarket in my constituency last week. That is the reality of the economy under this Government, unfortunately.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Will my hon. Friend outline just how uncompetitive the 50p rate was compared with the rates of other G20 countries?

[Elizabeth Truss]

It was the highest income tax rate in the G20. We heard earlier from the Opposition spokesman that Labour did not understand the effect that that would have on our international competitiveness, which shows why it is not fit for office.