That is an extraordinary intervention. The hon. Gentleman is saying that he is not minded to support my new clauses because the representatives of the food and drink industry, who represent massive suppliers, do not support them. The Opposition are not going to support them because they want to look after the interests of those massive organisations that pay the bills of the Food and Drink Federation. Can the hon. Gentleman not make a decision for himself on this matter? Has he not got the capability to understand the equation for himself? I will make it simple for him. Why do suppliers with a turnover of more than £1 billion need help, if a supermarket retailer with a turnover of more than £1 billion does not need help? It is a nonsensical position for anybody to hold.
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I notice that we have two Liberal Democrat Ministers on the Front Bench: they are used to holding nonsensical positions, and I do not doubt that they are going to stick to them; they have made a political career out of
nonsensical decisions. I ask Conservative Members—people who, for goodness’ sake, have some common sense—to think about the issue and what we are voting for. I ask Labour Members to think about it, too. Who is it that they were sent here to represent? Were they sent here to represent the interests of Mars and Nestlé? No. Surely they were sent here to represent the interests of their constituents, who go to the supermarket week in, week out, who are worried by the cost of living, and who do not want to see prices put up unnecessarily to add to the bottom line of Nestlé. The whole thing is completely nonsensical. My new clause would ensure that the Bill serves the purpose for which it was intended.
Let me touch briefly on new clause 3, after which I will allow others to contribute to the debate. New clause 3 provides a sunset clause for the Bill, so that it would expire after a certain period of time. The appropriate length of time can be debated, and such decisions are rather arbitrary. I chose a period of seven years to give a chance to see how the Bill works in practice.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer) has made the point that if supermarkets stick to their agreement, there would be nothing for the adjudicator to do. We would be paying her a huge salary to do nothing, which seems a bizarre situation, but there we go. On the other hand, there might be lots of complaints and everything could be working fantastically with everyone thinking that the Bill has been a great triumph, with even small suppliers thinking that it has been great, and all the rest of it. Well, in seven years’ time, we can let the Bill expire and decide for ourselves whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. We can also decide whether the threshold I favour is worth putting back in again if we agree to it today or worth inserting if we do not. We will be able to see how it works in practice. If all my fears turn out not to be a problem, it can all be resolved when the Bill is looked at again in seven years’ time. If my fears are proved to be correct and people accept that some of my concerns were true, it could equally be dealt with at that particular point. Why box ourselves into something that is a complete waste of time? Let us have a sunset clause, so that we can deal with any anomalies and the Government can start from scratch with a future Bill that is more fit for purpose.