National Insurance Contributions Bill

I will not take any personal credit for London’s great name in this regard. There is an important point in relation to flair and innovation, in that we are talking of a global market. We are quite happy with and proud of our record against other European countries, but we are inward looking if we believe that our success against Paris, Hamburg or Munich is enough. There are 23 cities with a population of 2 million or more. Cities are fast growing In China. There are cities growing up from Delhi to Bangalore. There are other such cities in India. We exist in a global market and it shows a paucity of aspiration simply to make reference to our success in competitiveness, flair and innovation by comparison with our European neighbours.