Finance (No. 3) Bill

My hon. Friend is correct. That debate went on in the Labour party for a long time long before that election. It was quite clear to the industry and to the people of this country that if they voted Labour on 1 May 1997, we would impose a windfall tax. Discussions had been going on and the companies were able to absorb the idea and plan for that. As ACCA says further:"““The sudden change in rate came as a shock to those involved in the North Sea oil industry””—" the change was not a shock in 1997, because companies had been able to prepare for it—"““and has been widely condemned as reducing the competitiveness of the UK as a target for investment””."