Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point. There was a limited way in which we could draft a reasoned amendment because the Bill is narrow. If we had tried to draft an reasoned amendment of the type that the hon. Gentleman seems to suggest, there would have been a strong possibility that Mr. Speaker would not have selected it for debate. It was important to us to table an reasoned amendment so that we could discuss such an important issue. The essential problem is this: the council tax has increased by 76 per cent. under this Government and as a direct consequence, it has become deeply unpopular. That represents a complete reversal of the public’s view since Labour first came to power.