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Mr. Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden): I begin by welcoming some aspects of the Chancellor's statement. In particular, I welcome the good economic news that underlies the Chancellor's forecasts that were published today--stronger economic growth bringing higher tax revenues, lower spending as unemployment falls and the consequent reduction in borrowing. Are they not the result of the golden economic legacy that we bequeathed the Government--the fruit of 18 years of Conservative reforms, every one of which the Chancellor opposed?
Does the Chancellor agree with the last Labour Chancellor, the noble Lord Healey, who said:
"We must remember that rarely, if ever, have a Government had such cause to be grateful to their predecessor when it comes to the economy"?
Will not the figures that the Chancellor has published today prove that his July tax-raising Budget was unnecessary? He did not need to break the Prime Minister's solemn election pledge:
"We have no need to raise taxes at all".
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He did not need to raise 17 taxes or impose a £5 billion- a-year pensions tax on people's savings. The simple truth is that he was determined to increase taxes in July, so that he could increase spending later.
The Chancellor hints that he will reduce taxes soon. Is not the truth that none of his proposals will do much to help the typical home-owning family facing £650 a year in higher costs as a result of his mortgage increases, the cut in mortgage tax relief that he introduced and the tax on pension funds that he announced earlier this year, to say nothing of the £1,000 in tuition fees that every family with a student at university will have to pay?
In his document, the Chancellor proposes introducing a 10p basic rate of tax. The Opposition welcome any reduction in tax from a Chancellor who, so far, has broken his clear promise not to raise taxes, and has increased 17 taxes. We shall want to see that any new tax band results in a real tax cut, and is not paid for by messing around with personal allowances.
We shall not allow the Chancellor to get away with a pretence that the reduction is focused on the poor and those on benefits. Will he confirm the figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies which show that a 10p lower-rate band that was worth £6 a week to a wealthy couple such as the Prime Minister and his wife would be worth only 9p a week to a family on in-work benefits? What other measures does he plan to introduce to benefit those on low pay?
Why is there not more detail in the Chancellor's proposal about the earned income tax credit? Has he cleared his proposal with the Minister for Welfare Reform, who is on record as opposing the payment of family credit as an earned income tax credit because
Will the Chancellor confirm that he has now abandoned the pledge made by the then employment spokesman, the hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), that a
Labour Government would abolish the jobseeker's allowance, and that that pledge has gone the way of so many others?
The Chancellor mentioned the position of disabled people. Opposition Members have always believed in getting able-bodied people into work. We realise, however, that most disabled people cannot work, and deserve extra help, through the disability living allowance, the disability working allowance and severe disability premium. The previous Government introduced those benefits, and we were proud to increase spending on the disabled to four times the level spent by the Labour party. Will he say, here and now, that he will rule out cutting, taxing and means-testing benefits for the disabled, despite the prevalent rumours that are worrying disabled people?
The statement contains remarkably little on tax reform. What it does contain is an announcement that the Chancellor is abolishing advance corporation tax for those who pay dividends, but that he is introducing advance payments of corporation tax for everyone. The announcement merely shows that the pensions tax announced in his Budget had not been thought through. Nothing in the changes will reduce by a penny the £5 billion-a-year burden that he has imposed on pension funds.
It is clear also that the Chancellor has not thought through the consequences of the pensions tax on encouraging people to opt back into the state earnings-related pension scheme. Is he aware that many pensions providers were hoping today to have an assurance from him that he will increase the rebate, to make it worth while for people to stay outside the state scheme and inside personal and occupational schemes? Is he aware that, without such an assurance, pensions providers will advise all their customers to opt back into the state scheme? Is that what he wants?
We welcome the proposals for environmental, green taxes, if the revenues he raises from them are recycled to reduce the costs of employment, and to ensure that more people get jobs.
Does the Chancellor realise that most outside observers will think that his statement today is disappointing? It contains so little detail on future tax reforms, despite what we have been promised, so little to reassure savers who have been disturbed by his proposals and so little to clarify the confusion surrounding all his welfare reforms.
Above all, home owners, savers and taxpayers will be disappointed that there is nothing in the statement to undo the cost to them that the Government have already inflicted by five interest rate increases, 17 tax rises and a cruel tax on their pension funds.
Mr. Brown:
After hearing the shadow Chancellor, the country will understand how fortunate it was to get rid of the Conservative Government in May. On 1 May, the Conservatives were not fit to be the Government of the United Kingdom; after Winchester last Thursday, they are not fit even to be the Opposition. The shadow Chancellor talked about statistics deteriorating since May, but the biggest deterioration has been from minus 2 to minus 21,000 in Winchester.
The shadow Chancellor spoke for some time, but he did not mention once what the Government have done for pensioners and their fuel bills. Why does he not congratulate us on doing what the previous Government
failed to do on tackling fuel poverty? Even now, why does he not apologise for the previous Government putting VAT on fuel?
As for economic policy, the shadow Chancellor suggested that he agreed with what I have been doing, but he opposed our monetary policy reforms and even now he cannot tell us whether he would make the Bank of England independent or stop it being independent. He opposed our five-year deficit reduction plan, and even now he cannot tell us whether he thinks that our figures are too high, right or too low. He opposed our windfall tax to pay for the welfare-to-work programme; so, much as he says that he wants it to work, he would have done nothing to make it possible.
As for stability under the previous Government and what the shadow Chancellor hopes will be achieved under this Government, the people of this country will never forget what happened during the last recession, when interest rates went up to 15 per cent. and inflation went up to 10 per cent. The previous Government squandered the surplus they had, and destroyed thousands of businesses and 1.5 million jobs through their economic mistakes. Until we hear something that persuades the House that the Opposition would not make those mistakes in the future, it is hardly worth the shadow Chancellor coming to the House to give us his views.
As for taxation, the shadow Chancellor suggested--at lunchtime today--that we are responsible for 17 tax rises. Half of those are the closing of tax avoidance loopholes that should have been closed long ago. The others, such as petrol duty rises, are supported by the Conservative party.
Will the right hon. Gentleman congratulate us on cutting corporation tax, first in May and again today? Will he congratulate us on another cut in VAT on fuel? Will he congratulate us on cutting VAT on energy-saving materials? Will he congratulate us on abolishing the gas levy? Will he congratulate us on our proposals for a 10p tax rate and on improving the tax position of low-paid workers, whom the previous Administration ignored for 18 years?
It is not the Labour party that is not trusted on tax: it is the Conservative party that will never be trusted on tax again. The shadow Chancellor should think again about his proposals before the election, which he has not withdrawn, to remove tax relief from pension contributions paid by millions of people.
Finally, I shall deal with the other points that the shadow Chancellor made. [Interruption.] I am happy to speak longer and to give the Opposition a lecture on economic policy. On the question of the unemployed, does the right hon. Gentleman not realise that 370,000 young people under 25 are still out of work? Does he not realise that 400,000 people have been unemployed for more than a year? Does he not realise that 3.5 million families have nobody working? Surely he should support not only our welfare-to-work programme but the action we took, through the windfall tax, to make it possible.
"more money will get to children . . . if we pay the money to mothers rather than to fathers".?--[Official Report, Standing Committee B, 18 March 1986; c. 949.]
However sceptical Opposition Members may be about the Chancellor's make-work schemes and welfare-to-work proposals, we want to see them work. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have my scepticism disproved. However, will he confirm that--so far, before his scheme has even got off the ground--the previous Government's dynamic labour market reforms and the jobseeker's allowance have succeeded in getting off the dole half the young people he wanted to help?
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