Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Bone Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

We said at the election that we would raise a further £5 billion in tax, but we have one question from a Labour MP complaining about the deficit being too high, we have Labour voting against any measures to control spending, and now we have Labour complaining about any tax increases. So where do they stand? We failed to find coherence from the Labour party in the last Parliament and there is no sign of it in this Parliament.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

20. Over this Parliament, the UK will pay £27 billion more in EU contributions because the EU has failed to cut farm subsidies. Would it not help our revenues if the EU actually kept their word?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend is of course aware of the historic deal that the Prime Minister achieved in February 2013, when for the first time ever we saw a real-terms cut in the EU budget. That was a significant achievement, and we obviously want to preserve and build on it.

Greece

Peter Bone Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend makes a very good observation. Countries that fail to live within their means are exposed to the forces of the international bond markets and the flight of investor confidence. Five years ago, Britain had a budget deficit of over 10% of its national income. We have reduced that budget deficit, and this week we are going to take further steps to finish the job.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The Chancellor will be aware of the detailed contingency plan that the eurozone has for a Greek exit from the euro. With the markets calm, would not this be the time to implement that plan?

[Mr Osborne]

As I say, it is not for us to dictate to the Greek people or to the eurozone whether Greece should leave. I repeat: the elected Government of Greece say that they want to remain in the eurozone, so we should at least respect that intention, and we will see whether they can work with their partners to deliver it.

Greece

Peter Bone Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

Clearly, we are a large economy that is probably the most interconnected and open of the major economies of the world. We have a very large financial sector, so we are exposed to financial turbulence wherever it occurs in the world, which is all the more reason why we need a proper system of regulation and we have now put the Bank of England in charge of regulation. We also need properly capitalised banks—under that new system of regulation, our banks have been recapitalised—and we need to make sure that we are not carrying a very large budget deficit. We have halved the budget deficit and we will take further steps next week to reduce and eliminate that budget deficit. We are prepared for whatever the world throws at us.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Does the Chancellor agree that, on occasion, we have to tell friends things that they do not want to hear? In that regard, would it not be better to tell our friends in the eurozone that, certainly in the medium and long term, a Greece exit from the euro and the return of its national currency, which it could then devalue, would be the right thing to do?

[Mr Osborne]

Of course, there are occasions when we have to tell our friends things they do not want to hear, but it is also a good rule in life to pick our moment and I am not sure that this is the right moment.

European Union (Finance) Bill

Peter Bone Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

It would be a bit rich for the Labour party to claim this success as its own. We have a record of a Conservative Prime Minister who was able to protect the rebate in full as it stood, and also managed to reduce EU expenditure. That is in stark contrast to the record the previous time this process was undertaken in 2005, when part of our rebate was surrendered at significant cost, as I have already set out.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend remember that at that time the House was sold a pup on the basis that Mr Blair said reform of the common agricultural policy would mean it would be cost-neutral, which turned out to be completely false?

[Mr Gauke]

As usual, my hon. Friend’s memory is correct. That was the argument; we were told this was part of some wider deal, but we did not see the benefits of that, as he rightly highlights.

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[Barbara Keeley]

Indeed, and that is why I am making the point, with which I am sure my hon. Friend would agree, that if we want more of a focus on growth and jobs in a smaller budget, which we do in the Opposition, there have to be further cuts and changes in priorities.

In the debate on the settlement in February 2013, the modest increase in funds targeted towards growth, infrastructure, research and development, and innovation was welcomed, but we also expressed concern that the balance away from agriculture spending towards the spending on growth and jobs was not sufficient. We need constantly to remind ourselves about unemployment —24 million people are unemployed throughout the EU, including 4.8 million 15 to 24-year-olds. In the UK, of course, we still have 735,000 16 to 24-year-olds who are looking for work. We want to see greatly increased investment in the funds targeted on growth, infrastructure, research and development, and innovation. We need the European Union to provide a better framework and strategy to achieve the growth in jobs. Our missions go further than that, however, and we also need the EU to act as a guardian of rights and protections at work. The Opposition want to talk about creating jobs and to focus on the right type of jobs and on the quality and security of those jobs.

We have supported a cut in the EU budget, but we will continue to press for a reform of budget priorities. During the passage of the Bill, therefore, we will call for a fundamental review by the end of 2015 of the budget priorities and of waste and inefficiency in the EU budget. Debates in the House have included many references to outdated practices such as relocating the European Parliament to Strasbourg each month, which costs €200 million a year. There are a number of other areas where savings can be made.

In previous debates, hon. Members from both sides of the House have suggested many ways in which money could be saved and inefficiencies prevented in the European Union, ranging from cutting spending on the House of European History Museum, costing a reported £137 million, to cutting export refunds. Hon. Members repeatedly raised the need to reform the CAP—today is no exception—and a number have also mentioned the levels of salaries and benefits for EU staff, including their differential tax rate and housing allowances.

[Mr Bone]

The hon. Lady is making an interesting speech with many good points, but does she not think it strange that we are joining a club, paying all those billions of pounds, when for 18 or 19 years the auditors have not signed off its accounts? What other institution would the Government go anywhere near if they could not get the accounts? Do we not have to start with the basics, with that problem?

[Barbara Keeley]

I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point, and I will come on to that. Within the smaller budget that we will have, if we want to have different priorities and get new things done, clearly we will have to deal with inefficiencies and find savings.

Another suggestion for where savings could be made is to reform or repatriate EU structural funds. There are different views on that in the House, but it has been mentioned, as has reforming a number of EU quangos and agencies.

I have made a short list to show the level of pressure in this House for changes to be made to the EU budget and the wider EU institutions. The question of the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) showed that we are now expecting future action on the review of such matters from within the EU. As my hon. Friend the shadow Chancellor has said in the past, an effective EU budget review means having

“a relentless focus on the justification behind detailed expenditure.”—[Official Report, 31 October 2012; Vol. 552, c. 304.]

In the debate on the multi-annual financial framework in October 2012, we called for a more effective and independent EU auditor—exactly the point made by the hon. Gentleman. We would then be able to examine the different programmes and their impact on the EU economy. It is time we had that. An auditor could also improve the accountability of spending on pro-growth activities, bringing together all Commission priorities under the auspices perhaps of a single Commissioner for growth.

Those are just some of the ideas. The feeling in this House now is that it is time for action on such things. We will call for improved transparency and accountability in the EU budget process to assist in developing what we see, which is a relentless focus on EU expenditure in future.

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[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Members for East Lothian (George Kerevan) and for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat) on their maiden speeches. They are very impressive new colleagues. I welcome them warmly to the House and look forward to working with them in the coming years.

I agree with the view of my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on the Front Bench that matters pertaining to the European Union budget should be made more clear. EU finances are controversial and we ought to be clear what we are arguing about and make sure that our constituents understand as well.

The problem is that numeracy is not given to everyone, especially when it comes to very large numbers. I used to teach economics, and the first question I used to ask my students was, “What is the difference between a million and a billion?” Many of them did not know, except that a billion was probably a bit bigger than a million. When I put the question in terms of the number of houses that they could buy for £1 million and £1 billion —perhaps four for £1 million and 4,000 for £1 billion—the students started to get the message that £1 billion is a substantial amount of money, and many billions are even more substantial.

Our net contribution, be it £10 billion or £12 billion—there might be some debate about the precise figure—is a large sum. Rather than talking billions, I tried to work it out in a way that my constituents would understand. For example, it is the equivalent of about 3p on the standard rate of income tax. People understand that. It is getting on for £200 per person per year. People understand that. For a family of four, £700 or £800 a year is a significant sum, and that is what they are contributing net to the European Union. Our net contribution has trebled in the past six years since 2008. That trebling—people understand an amount multiplied by three—is a very large increase in those years. We do not know how much that is influenced by the poor deal done in 2005. Nevertheless, that is where we are today.

Much has been made of the UK rebate, which was reduced, as we know, but even since 2008 it has gone down as a proportion of our gross contribution. In 2008 our rebate was 38% of our gross contribution; in 2014 it was 25% of our gross contribution. In that sense we have lost out even further. The 2005 deal was described by The Economist at the time as such a bad deal that no deal would have been better than that deal. I have said a number of times in this House, to the previous Government as well, that if they are so worried about it, why do we not at least try to restore the position pre-2005? That has not been taken up. Personally, I would go further than that.

Our net contribution over 40 years has been on a substantially rising trend. It started quite small but it is now much, much larger. The cumulative effect on our economy, on growth and living standards, has been substantial. My good friend John Mills, who runs the Labour euro-safeguards group, has done calculations to estimate the impact on growth during that period and it is substantial. We could have been a richer country by some way, had we not had to pay a substantial sum net into the European Union budget every year.

[Mr Bone]

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech on this subject, as usual. Does he remember the only year when we had a net contribution from the EU? Was it not the year we had the Wilson referendum?

[Kelvin Hopkins]

Indeed. The hon. Gentleman is right. I have the Library note. The only time we had a net receipt from the European Union, or Common Market as it was then, was in 1975.

The major problem for us has been the common agricultural policy, which has been the major drain on the EU budget and to Britain’s enormous disadvantage over that time. Mrs Thatcher’s negotiation of a rebate was based on the fact that our agriculture was very different from that of most of the rest of the European Union and we were substantial net contributors, which was seen to be unfair so we secured a rebate. That rebate is no longer as large as it should be. Nevertheless, we did secure a rebate, which arose because of the CAP.

The Prime Minister would do well to seek Britain’s withdrawal from the CAP in his negotiations. That is certainly one of my red lines in the negotiations. The common agricultural policy is not a good thing for anyone, and certainly not for Britain. Last year I went with the European Scrutiny Committee to Lithuania. Lithuania used to be self-sufficient in food. Now it is being paid not to grow things. Large swathes of the land of Lithuania are being left fallow because the farmers are being paid not to grow things under the CAP, which is nonsense.

If we were outside the CAP we could continue to subsidise our own agriculture at the same level as occurs now, saving vast sums of money for the Exchequer while subsidising our farmers at the same level; or, more sensibly, we could decide how and where we subsidise more precisely, according to our own needs and what is better for Britain. We might want to preserve Welsh hill farms which may not be so efficient but are part of our culture and our environment and it is nice to keep them going, but we would not necessarily want to give such large subsidies to very large grain farmers in East Anglia, and so on. We could target the subsidies more sensibly, according to what we in this Chamber think, rather than what is decided in Brussels.

We should also be free to buy agricultural products on world markets and not have to pay EU duties on such imports. The EU still subsidises the dumping of sugar surpluses on world markets, a nonsense which discriminates against developing and poorer countries that produce sugar. There are many nonsenses in the EU budget and, as was pointed out earlier, it has failed to be signed off by the EU auditors for more than a decade and a half—a scandal. No business could operate having been refused audit approval for 15 or 20 years. It would be illegal to do so, I suspect. I want to see the EU budget substantially reformed.

Tax Avoidance (HSBC)

Peter Bone Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Putting aside the paranoia and conspiracy theories, let us consider the Government’s record and the steps we have taken, time and again, to ensure that those who should pay more in tax do pay more in tax. That is the reality.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

This is an artificially generated question, because there is a general election coming up. Everybody in the House is against evasion, which is illegal, and successive Governments have closed loopholes on avoidance. In fact, this Government have been rather good at that. Is this not just a general election question?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend is more worldly than I am, perhaps, but he raises an important point. We have tried to do many things to reduce tax avoidance and evasion, but I accept that we have not been able to go back in time and stop it happening before we came to office.

Autumn Statement

Peter Bone Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

We have proposals to help, for example, off-grid consumers with energy efficiency, and we also have the energy companies obligation programme to help with energy efficiency. We have announced this week a commitment to look at the idea of the Swansea bay tidal lagoon project, which could be a very interesting project for renewable energy generation in the future.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Under 13 years of Labour, unemployment went up in east Northamptonshire, there were no road improvements and shops closed. That is why Tom Pursglove, our excellent candidate for Corby, and I launched a joint listening campaign to improve things in east Northamptonshire. Unemployment is now 30% lower, and we now have the Rushden Lakes retail development on line and, thanks to the Chancellor this week, the Chowns Mill and the A45 dualling improvements. Will the Chancellor visit east Northamptonshire so that Tom Pursglove and I can carry him shoulder-high through the streets of Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Stanwick, Raunds and Irthlingborough to cheering crowds?

[Mr Osborne]

That is quite an offer. I met Tom Pursglove and my hon. Friend to discuss the infrastructure improvements that they wanted in the east midlands. We have been able to deliver what they have so successfully campaigned on and attracted so much local support for. That is a good combination of two strong local campaigners working for their local area to deliver improvements that, frankly, were never delivered under a Labour Government and that Labour MPs have never asked me for.

Finance (No. 2) Bill

Peter Bone Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Alison McGovern]

rose—

[The Temporary Chair (Mr Peter Bone)]

Order. It would be helpful if the Minister was on his feet no later than 5.50 pm.

[Alison McGovern]

I want to discuss the relationship between how the banks and bank bonuses are taxed and young people. I think that anyone who has just listened to the speech by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) would agree that the two issues are intimately connected, even if they did not believe that to be the case in the past.

Levels of inequality in our global economy are unsustainable, but Members need not take just my word for that. It is not just me who thinks that inequality is a significant problem: no less than Christine Lagarde of the IMF has said that inequality is a huge challenge and a risk for the world’s future. If even the IMF, which is not known for taking lefty positions, is able to conclude that we must tackle inequality, I think that this House should be able to accept the challenge and seek to find ways to address the significant inequality in our own country.

The top of the economy in the financial services sector is fragile in terms of income distribution. Let me make a few remarks about the banks. The hon. Member for Warrington South (David Mowat), who, unfortunately, is no longer in his place, commented earlier on the issue of fixed versus variable income, which I will turn to later. Surely anybody who is trying to learn the lessons of 2008 would say that the financial services sector still has an unsustainable bonus culture and perhaps that is true of other parts of the economy as well.

Would not anybody who worries about that risk conclude that banks and the financial services sector rely on an implicit state guarantee, given what had to be done to ensure the economy kept working and people could still take cash out of ATMs? Would not anybody conclude that we must take very seriously the contribution to taxation that banks are expected to make, given the Government’s reliance on the financial services sector? I certainly think that that is the only obvious conclusion to draw from the global financial meltdown and the serious failures of the past. Banks cannot be allowed just to make their own decisions; we must take very seriously both the regulatory framework around the financial services sector and the contribution that the sector is expected to make to the Exchequer.

The corporation tax cut benefited a whole range of companies in the financial services sector, but small and medium-sized enterprises—especially those in my constituency that are struggling with, and wanting action on, business rates—find it hard to take or to understand why the Government have not looked more seriously at what banks are expected to pay to the Exchequer. I think the Exchequer Secretary said earlier that, by his calculation, the bank levy has brought in a net £2.3 billion.

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[Catherine McKinnell]

Newcastle international airport is in my constituency—[Interruption.] However, I speak on behalf of all the regional airports. I am not being churlish about the potential funding that has been announced, but I hoped that the Minister would realise the increased commercial uncertainty that can be created by making announcements that lack clarity about what may or may not be included. The Government need to move as fast as possible to create—

[The Temporary Chair (Mr Peter Bone)]

Order. Interventions are getting longer than some of the speeches.

[Mr Gauke]

I am not sure that I can add much, other than to say that if the hon. Lady is concerned about uncertainty she might want to look at some of the anti-business policies pursued by her party.

We also recognise that air services in some of the more remote parts of the UK represent a vital connection to the rest of the country. That is why there is an air passenger duty exemption for flights from the highlands and islands of Scotland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Bone Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I intend to stick to our economic plan, which is leading to economic growth, job creation and a sustainable economic recovery matched by rising productivity. That is the only way to raise living standards and that is what we intend to do.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Does the deputy Chancellor agree that we make a lot of the number of people taken out of tax, but do not say enough on how everybody benefits from the personal allowance increase? It is effectively a cut in income tax.

[Danny Alexander]

I am grateful, as always, to my hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right: it is a huge cut in income tax. In fact, over the course of this Parliament and before we take any decisions on next year’s Budget, we are already committed to spending £38 billion to reduce the income tax of working people. That is a massive commitment from this Government to cut income tax for the working people of the United Kingdom.

National Infrastructure Plan

Peter Bone Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

That is absolutely right. I am very grateful to the shadow Chief Secretary for giving us the opportunity to have this conversation in the House today and to demonstrate the paucity of his policies. If my hon. Friend is interested in foreign investment in infrastructure, there is a very good table in the document that has been published today, I think on page 87, which sets out a range of projects in this country that have been funded by overseas investment.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

My constituents will greatly welcome the deputy Chancellor’s decision to scrap tolling on the A14. Last week, Councillor Thomas Pursglove and I launched a major listening campaign on the A45, which links the M1 to the A14. There are two pinch points: one at Chowns Mill and one on the last 5 miles of the road, which are not dualled. I am sure that the statement and the increased spending on roads will help us in that regard, but is there anything else that I should be doing to encourage people to do something about those problems?

[Danny Alexander]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for welcoming the plan. In June, we set out considerable funding for the Department for Transport to deal with such local pinch points. Local enterprise partnerships have a role in identifying where action is needed. I urge him to engage with his local enterprise partnership, as I am sure he is already doing, because if it identifies such schemes as priorities for the area, they will in turn be made into priorities for Government funding and the problems can be dealt with.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Bone Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr George Osborne]

The best approach to lifting children out of poverty is to ensure that they live in working households. We now have the lowest number of workless households since records began, which is due to the achievements of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and of the economic plan that is getting the parents of children into work.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Given that the cost of the EU will double in this Parliament, and the huge current account deficit with the EU, does the Chancellor agree that our current economic relationship with the EU is wrong and that we should renegotiate?

[Mr Osborne]

I certainly agree that we need to reform the European Union so that our entire continent is not priced out of the global economy. We must also make reforms to the European Union, and Britain’s relationship with it, so that British businesses can thrive, compete and create jobs. I point out to my hon. Friend—he knows this anyway—that the cost of the European Union would have been much higher if my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister had not secured a very good deal. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) says, “We did it,” but Labour gave up the rebate. The Prime Minister went to the EU battling for Britain and delivered for Britain.