Finance Bill

This has been an interesting debate. The right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) told us that we had entered a new era in politics, in which the Conservatives were the champions of the poor and downtrodden and the Labour party had abandoned those people. It now transpires that when it comes to deciding whether they are in favour of people who are poor and downtrodden, the Conservatives are minded to abstain. Perhaps that is a metaphor for the wider positioning of their party. Let me turn to the matter in hand, which is bingo. I have visited Mecca Bingo in Taunton on a number of occasions, and I was there again last Friday, speaking to staff and customers about their pastime and about the effect that the Government's taxation of bingo would have on them as individuals. I was struck yet again by just how popular this form of activity is in my constituency, and indeed in many towns and cities across the country. Typically, 1,900 people visit Mecca Bingo in Taunton every week, and on Sunday evening, which is the most popular time of the week, the club will have about 400 customers. I think it fair to say, and indeed we have all observed for ourselves, that this form of gambling is particularly attractive to women—a point made by the hon. Member for Barnsley, Central (Mr. Illsley)—that it attracts older people, generally although not exclusively, and that it is more attractive to those with lower incomes than, say, visiting a casino. That is inevitably a generalisation, because we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country who enjoy bingo, but I think it can be said that bingo is a form of gambling that is more likely to be undertaken by women, older people, and people in lower income groups. It is extraordinary that they should be targeted for a higher rate of tax than those who engage in other forms of gambling.