Markus Campbell-Savours
Main Page: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)Department Debates - View all Markus Campbell-Savours's debates with the HM Treasury
Finance (No. 2) Bill
Markus Campbell-Savours Excerpts(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Ind)
I struggle to be brief, so excuse me if I compensate with bluntness, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am a lifelong Labour supporter, a Labour activist of 20 years, a former councillor and chief whip on a Labour group, and although I currently have the Labour Whip suspended, people should be under no illusion about where my loyalties lie.
I knew before the election in July ’24 that this Government would not have an easy job. I believe that there is too much to do: many broken services and not enough money to fix them. I also know that the choice at the ballot box was between a party that subjected this country to politically motivated austerity or a Labour Government who would invest in the future. I believe that still means tough decisions on spending and tax—tough decisions that our Treasury team have not ducked. I do not find it credible that the Conservatives, who were last in government, failed to tackle backlogs in the NHS, cut back on early intervention and family support, and failed to fix the housing crisis, yet they complain about the benefits bill, like those things are not all linked.
Today I will support the Bill to progress to the next stage—the Government need to set a Budget, and there are many measures in the Bill that will benefit Cumbria—but let me be clear: Whip or no Whip, as the Bill progresses I will not be supporting the agricultural inheritance tax proposals. I want a full U-turn. I have previously set out why I cannot and will not be moved to a position where I break my word to farmers in my community.
My advice to Ministers is to take note of my more reasonable colleagues on the Government Benches. They have been increasingly vocal on this issue, and it does not look like they are going to stop soon. Ministers must look at the anti-foreclosure clause in the Bill, recognise the deep discomfort it is causing across rural Britain, and change course. It really is not too late.