Income Tax

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Chris Leslie]

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Mr McKenzie).

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The shadow Chief Secretary is being most generous and accommodating in giving way. I simply point out to the House that the second debate has a comparable number of would-be contributors as does this one. If we are working on the assumption that this debate will finish at about 4 o’clock, it is important to ensure that there is maximum time available for Back Benchers who wish to make speeches. After that, I am in the hands of the House.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

To bring my hon. Friend back to the whole subject of fairness in taxation, especially in these economic times, it was this Government who told us that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the majority of the burden, yet the first thing they did was reduce the tax rate to take that burden off their shoulders. [Interruption.]

[Chris Leslie]

There is a lot of protest coming from Government Members. Only those who are not standing for Parliament again will dare to stand up and defend cutting the 50p rate. Mr Speaker, I have heard your entreaties about being a little more strategic in the way we progress through the arguments, but I thought that it was important—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne)—[Interruption.] Order. I have always regarded the hon. Gentleman as a very cerebral denizen of his House. I do not know whether he has become a bit demob happy because he is standing down, but I look to the hon. Gentleman, whom I have always regarded as a gentleman, to comport himself with a dignity comparable to that of his right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce), who is beaming on the Liberal Democrat Front Bench.