Finance Bill

I am sure that I can be guided by you on that matter, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I wish I could not be. We are now facing a Government in disarray. This is another small example of a Government who have lost the plot on every issue, of their just not thinking things through, not recognising what they are doing and not listening. It is not just the Prime Minister who does not listen; nobody else does either. There is a commonality of deafness that is much more serious than swine flu. It is a really serious problem, so I ask the Exchequer Secretary, who is a sensible Minister, to listen to us on this. She must recognise that it does not do the Government any good constantly to push forward with measures that disadvantage the already disadvantaged and advantage those who have already got enough. It is time we recognised that there are serious gambling issues to consider. Online gambling is particularly serious: people do it in their own homes, in entirely uncontrolled circumstances, with no peer pressure or concern and no one to see. That is where the danger comes, and I would much prefer the Government to attack that through taxation than bingo, which is largely a happy, cheerful activity indulged in by happy, cheerful people who used to vote Labour.