Finance (No. 3) Bill

What a pleasure it is, Mr Deputy Speaker, to speak first in this debate. I very much appreciate t...

I of course support my hon. Friend’s point on increasing the minimum wage for under-25s. Is she a...

I am not surprised that that has happened, because any Government who believe that a 16-year-old ...

This is a small, but I think important, point: does the hon. Lady accept that that minimum level ...

I do not believe that that is true. I know somebody who went for a job interview, and at the end ...

The hon. Lady is right. There are probably between 3 million and 4 million people in this country...

I absolutely agree and will come on to food banks, but on refugees and those seeking leave to rem...

It is an enormous pleasure to speak in this Committee stage of the Finance (No.3) Bill, and it is...

Is my hon. Friend absolutely delighted, as I am, that this means that a basic rate taxpayer is pa...

My hon. Friend is correct. The very recent change will benefit basic rate taxpayers to the tune o...

Does my hon. Friend—I nearly called him my right hon. Friend, but he is not yet; perhaps he will ...

I thank my hon. Friend for that short intervention. She makes a really good point, and it is almo...

My hon. Friend talks about the incentives created by reducing the tax on individuals, but does he...

My hon. Friend is completely correct. The realities are that the more tax people keep in their po...

My hon. Friend has not yet touched on this, but the Government have kept down the corporation tax...

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. Not only does cutting corporation tax increase the tax take...

My hon. Friend is giving an important speech. Does he agree that in this context it is extremely ...

That is exactly right. The point may not be specifically germane to the amendments we are debatin...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that gap will get wider if answers to my written questions are...

I am afraid that I really do not see the hon. Lady’s point. What I do see is the fact that we are...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the hon. Lady should check Hansard to see my question of a few mom...

My hon. Friend answered the hon. Lady’s intervention better than I did, so I do welcome what he s...

I am glad to have this opportunity to debate the issues surrounding new clauses 1, 2 and 3 in my ...

The hon. Gentleman mentions tax cuts. Will he describe whether the Opposition support the tax cut...

The hon. Gentleman was that busy talking about sizzling sausages and Marxism last week that he di...

I am sure that my hon. Friend, like me, was glued to the television at 10 o’clock last night, wat...

My hon. Friend is right. I am afraid that the Government are in denial over the question of child...

The hon. Gentleman mentions tax increase. If Labour were to put in its plans for a wholesale rena...

Dear, dear—none. The hon. Gentleman really has to take his nose out of the Tory voodoo economics ...

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that this Government are determined to tackle these important ...

Well, they are not making a very good job of it—there are 4 million people in poverty. That is th...

My hon. Friend is making a really important point, and it is reflected in the changes to life exp...

Quite simply, it is shameful—it is as simple as that.

New clause 2 would require the Treasu...

The hon. Gentleman is talking a lot about the politics of austerity. The United Kingdom last live...

I do not accept the premise of these trumped-up ideas from voodoo economics presented by the Tory...

The hon. Gentleman is very generous in giving way a second time. If Labour Members were to get ba...

I suggest that the hon. Gentleman reads the shadow City Minister’s article on LabourList, which s...

I’ll send you a copy.

My hon. Friend will send the hon. Gentleman a copy and he will sign it—and Conservative Members m...

As a former entrepreneur, as in my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, I did n...

The Treasury has not reviewed the relief and does not know whether it is working, but it has chuc...

Given that the hon. Gentleman is against relief for entrepreneurs, will he tell the Committee whe...

Out of courtesy I will respond to the hon. Gentleman. What we want is a fair taxation system, whi...

My hon. Friend pointed out that the Government are in denial on child poverty. That is absolutely...

My hon. Friend is right, and for the Tories that choice comes first, second and third, and it alw...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd), although there were moments d...

Does my hon. Friend recognise that £20 billion happens to be exactly the same amount of extra mon...

Exactly. The figures are a coincidence, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight that ...

My hon. Friend is painting a very lucid picture of how the Government differ to the Opposition wi...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The remark made by the shadow Chancellor earlier that the pub...

Has the shadow Chancellor not been on record stating that it does not matter if his sums do not a...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As she knows well, the truth of the last Labour Government—du...

I will not repeat the debate that we always have about a global financial crisis not being solely...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but will he confirm to the Committee what I hear...

The shadow Chancellor did not speak from the Dispatch Box. I think the hon. Gentleman is thinking...

Order. We are not having a debate on party policy. We have amendments and clauses before us and w...

You are entirely right as always, Sir Lindsay. It was helpful to have it exposed that there is cl...

If the hon. Gentleman is so sure of his position, what is wrong with providing for a review of th...

The hon. Gentleman is kind to mention that, but the fact is that we on the Government side of the...

I wish to say a few words about amendment 18, which would remove clause 5. I spoke on this at len...

It is an honour to follow the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable).

I welcome...

The increases in the minimum wage and the living wage have also had a fundamental impact on the e...

Absolutely, and the bottom line is that that allows more people to spend more of their own money ...

Does not the rise in the tax-free allowance from £6,475 to £12,500 also mean that the tax collect...

My right hon. Friend has made a very good point. The rise is not just good for the taxpayer, but ...

Does my hon. Friend recall that, along the same lines, the Labour Opposition were preparing for c...

Order. May I share my wisdom with you both? The debate is about the clauses and new clauses befor...

You are absolutely right, Sir Lindsay. I certainly will not be tempted to stray from the clauses ...

Why is this relevant?

It is relevant because it puts renationalisation at the front and centre of the Labour party’s ec...

Order. We have strayed completely from where we should be. If the hon. Gentleman wants a debate o...

I am grateful to you, Sir Lindsay. I will come back more pertinently and conclude by bringing the...

Enterprise relief is the subject of one of the amendments. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is w...

I am wholehearted in my support for the changes to entrepreneurs’ relief. I was in my constituenc...

Does the hon. Gentleman believe that money to support entrepreneurs is being well spent through t...

This is not a debate on universal credit. This is actually about job creation. That is the more i...

New clauses 3 and 7 both ask the Government to say exactly what the effect of entrepreneurs’ reli...

Of course the best way to measure the effect of this is in employment growth. I expect these chan...

Before I speak to my new clause 18, I want to gently chastise the hon. Member for Gloucester (Ric...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the massive cuts in the public health budgets that are now control...

My hon. Friend is totally right. Those budgets were ring-fenced to start with, but they are now a...

The hon. Lady might not have had a chance to read it yet, but the all-party parliamentary group o...

That is absolutely right. I will come on to some of the really worrying figures about how, from b...

It is a pleasure to speak in this part of the debate. I really do think that this is the best Fin...

I share my hon. Friend’s thoughts about the increase in the personal allowance. Does he agree tha...

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments.

As I was saying, allowing taxpayers to keep more t...

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that the national living wage is not actually a wage that one ...

The national living wage is a critical part of ensuring that some of the lowest paid in our socie...

rose—

My hon. Friend can have a better go this time.

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way and giving me another chance. He mentioned in...

I agree with my hon. Friend’s comments, which show the responsible approach we on this side of th...

rose—

And now the hon. Gentleman is going to tell us about Labour’s future approach if they ever get ba...

As the hon. Gentleman is talking about borrowing, does he agree that the Tory party in the last e...

The hon. Gentleman will have seen the figures that show that debt is now coming down to lower lev...

Would the hon. Gentleman not agree with the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the cumulative impa...

I totally disagree. We have seen increases in the national living wage and reduced tax in this Bu...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the fact we should be looking at is the fact reported by the OECD ...

That is absolutely right. We should be looking at those figures, not some of the figures being us...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but if he is so convinced of his policies in relation to the...

The reason is that the facts show that the number of children living in absolute poverty has fall...

Does my hon. Friend agree that for every £1 those on low income pay in tax, £4 of public spending...

I thank my hon. Friend for those comments, which show that the highest earners are paying their f...

On a point of order, Dame Eleanor. The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton) sugge...

Order. The hon. Lady knows that that is not a point of order for the Chair; it is a point of deba...

Thank you, Dame Eleanor. The statistics I have used show that income inequality is lower than it ...

rose—

Can the hon. Gentleman answer that one?

The hon. Gentleman must not misquote. We are looking for an assessment of entrepreneurs’ relief, ...

I just wanted to talk about the relief in Stoke-on-Trent as well. Entrepreneurs’ relief in my con...

Does my hon. Friend agree that when we are talking about support for businesses, through entrepre...

Absolutely, and we want to see the number of those workers and the opportunities and jobs in thos...

I begin by reflecting on the purpose of our society—the purpose of our communities, locally and n...

It is an honour to speak in this debate and to follow the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Thelma Wa...

I am listening to my hon. Friend’s opening remarks with great interest. He is right to talk about...

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. I believe that the answer to his question is none, but I...

My hon. Friend is making an eloquent speech. He is right to point out the voodoo economics surrou...

I imagine that they are; they have every right to be very concerned—nay, furious—about it.

...

The hon. Gentleman refers to things being virtuous. I am sure that he believes that new clause 1 ...

I would certainly take up the hon. Gentleman’s offer to talk about Cicero, but I am sure that I w...

For the sake of clarity, no—Cicero is always pertinent to everything.

Cicero, as the hon. Gentleman knows, was one of the great minds of the Roman senate, and I can sa...

I am very much enjoying my hon. Friend’s speech. Does he agree that many analyses must have been ...

As ever, my hon. Friend puts it extremely well. “Wise after the event” might be one of the Labour...

Does my hon. Friend agree with Cicero on this point: when you have no basis for argument, you sho...

My hon. Friend quotes Cicero far better than I ever could, and I regret only that she did not do ...

I am not going to quote Cicero, although I am perfectly able to do so, but I think the debate nee...

I have no doubt that a cut in stamp duty will help homebuyers across the country, in his constitu...

On my hon. Friend’s point about incrementalism, does he recognise that the welcome cut in stamp d...

My hon. Friend is too modest; I know not only that it was an excellent reform brought about under...

With such disagreement on statistics between hon. Members on both sides of the House, it would be...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning this, because the rapporteur came to my constituen...

I find it hard to believe that any of us, as Members of Parliament who are seen to be compassiona...

I fully respect the hon. Lady’s position on welfare—I often think it is a gift to the Government ...

I am afraid that for constituents like mine, about whom I was speaking earlier, work is not a rou...

Is the hon. Lady calling for entrepreneurs’ relief to be completely scrapped?

I believe that the relief should be reviewed, which is what new clause 3 would require. We could ...

So you don’t know.

That is what the new clause would require. If the Government wanted us to abolish entrepreneurs’ ...

rose—

Order. It is not for the hon. Lady to ask questions of the Minister at this point. When the Minis...

I was just going to say that, as the hon. Lady will know, all amendments need to be in scope and ...

My hon. Friend the Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) has just said from a sedentary position that t...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for High Peak (Ruth George). I rise to speak in favour...

The actual author of that article called the Prime Minister a word that would be unparliamentary ...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is rightly respecting parliamentary language. Rather than refer to lang...

Thank you very much, Dame Eleanor. That is precisely what I wanted to say.

7.15 pm

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but I fear that we are getting bogged down and d...

rose—

I am sorry, but as much as I enjoy debating with the hon. Gentleman, I will not take any more int...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am sorry but I will not give way. I only have a couple of minutes left. Please forgive me.

Surely, the hon. Lady is aware that just about every analysis that has been done regarding the re...

I do not accept those comments because we have seen new businesses in my constituency and in the ...

May I say what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Eleanor?

Let me firs...

Will my right hon. Friend comment on the fact that entrepreneurs’ relief is aimed at securing lon...

My hon. Friend is exactly right. This is why we also have the enterprise investment scheme and th...

Can the Minister recollect whether there has been a UN report in the last eight years that this G...

Well, I am not here to debate UN reports of any description and whether the Government agree with...

This has been an interesting and wide-ranging debate, although I cannot say that I share the enth...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Clauses 69 to 77 stand part.

In these parts of the Bill, we make sensible preparations for our exit from the European Union. W...

The Minister talks about preparations for no deal. In the OBR’s “Blue Book”, it quoted assessment...

What I can tell the hon. Gentleman is that the economy has been growing for eight years—for five ...

rose—

I will not give way again at this stage, but I could come back to the hon. Gentleman later.