Patricia Gibson
Main Page: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)Department Debates - View all Patricia Gibson's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
Actually, I have done a lot in that regard. We had a ringfence for tidal marine energy, and there is a project in Scotland which is focused on that. As for the lagoon project that the hon. Lady mentioned, I looked at it and it was not, at the time, value for money, but I am open to the concept.
Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)
Today’s plans mean that in Tory Britain, someone earning £50,000 a year will pay the same income tax rate as a millionaire. Today’s plans mean that someone earning £1 million will pay £42,500 less income tax every year. That is shameful. These plans were not in the Tory manifesto; they do not have a mandate, and they certainly do not have a mandate in Scotland.
According to the OECD, the UK is already the most unequal country in Europe in terms of disposable income, and that inequality is guaranteed to widen after today. The Chancellor may be proud of his announcements, but what does he say to those who will now conclude that, just like Britain, his moral compass is broken?
Kwasi Kwarteng
I reject that implication. I reject that statement. We are absolutely focused, in the Treasury and across Government, on helping the most vulnerable, and that is why ours was the most radical energy intervention that any British Government have ever made.