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16 July 2007 : Column 122

Julia Goldsworthy: I am not sure what income groups that would impact most heavily on. Other policy ideas have been floated in relation to the taxation of private equity, but although the Conservatives might have had a policy for a week or two, that has now taken the form of yet another review group.

On another point about behavioural change, we have been deliberately very conservative about the revenue that we think our changes will bring in. The example that we give is our aspiration to raise the inheritance tax threshold by changing the length of time that is required before people qualify as having made a lifetime gift that is exempt from inheritance tax. We have not included that costing in our proposals, because we are not clear about the dynamic impact that that would have or how long it would take to kick in.

Mr. Philip Hammond: Will the hon. Lady give way?

Julia Goldsworthy: I have only a few minutes left and I want to say a bit more.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury—I welcome him to his post—spoke at the outset about the amount of tax paid, rather than the proportion. We know that the poorest 20 per cent. of taxpayers pay more tax as a proportion of their income than the richest 20 per cent. My hon. Friend the Member for Northavon made that point. The Chief Secretary said that tax is complicated, but that complication is part of the problem. The unfairness is being generated in part by the fact that the complication is such that loopholes can be exploited. Those on middle incomes probably do not even know that those loopholes exist. They struggle with the basics of the tax system, because they are complicated enough. In fact, this country has the most complicated tax system in the world. It has even surpassed India’s tax system in terms of the number of pages of guidance.

The Chief Secretary spoke pejoratively of tax giveaways but, as has been said, the Liberal Democrats are trying to emphasise that there is a genuine need to look at the balance of where the burdens in the tax system lie. If he really thinks that tax giveaways are such a terrible thing, does he hope to persuade the new Chancellor to go back on the previous Chancellor’s pledge to reduce the basic rate of income tax by 2p in the pound? The Chief Secretary also spoke of concerns about annual holidays being under threat. Let us not forget that the current Prime Minister, when he was Chancellor, increased air passenger duty. That is more regressive, because it was retrospective as well. We are proposing a tax on flights, which encourages them to be used more efficiently, and also takes freight into account.

As a veteran of the Finance Bill—with the exception of my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable), I think that I am only person present who served on the previous two Finance Bill Committees—I can say that we supported the Government on their anti-avoidance schemes and on sideways loss relief. I have fond memories of the debates on sideways loss relief, capital gains tax and stamp duty land tax avoidance measures. However, I hope that the Chief Secretary agrees that we need to go further.


16 July 2007 : Column 123

The Liberal Democrats have been talking about the need to make the tax system fairer. The Prime Minister, during the 10 years that he was Chancellor, used similar language. In his last Budget, he said that he wanted

I cannot see the difference between a package of neutral proposals for a 4p cut in the rate of income tax and proposals for a 2p cut. Obviously, there is an issue about the amount, but the same groups of people would benefit. If a 2p cut benefits working families and makes the tax system fairer, surely a 4p cut would do exactly the same—but to twice the extent. We are trying to deal with issues such as inequalities of marketable wealth.

My hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham spoke in detail about issues such as inheritance tax, stamp duty land tax, and capital gains tax. There are real concerns in many areas. The avoidance of stamp duty land tax was mentioned. Not only does that have an impact on revenues—because special purpose vehicles are set up offshore—but it causes inflation in the housing market, particularly in London. Estate agents are talking about a secondary market at the very top end of the housing market in London—the very expensive end—where house price inflation is increasing massively because the houses are being bought by offshore companies, with no account taken of capital gains tax or stamp duty. We must look at the wider knock-on effects.

Listening to the debate, I asked myself what my constituents would think. They know what their personal burden of taxation is and that their council tax is increasing. Individuals in my constituency and across the country are struggling to afford a property, and when they do manage to buy one, they know that, with house prices increasing as they are, there is a very good chance that they will become liable for inheritance tax. Fear of inheritance tax is a massive concern for them. In contrast, there are some individuals who, provided that they can pay for the advice, minimise their tax contributions in a way that we do not feel is fair and balanced. We believe that there is a real need to reconsider such issues, even in relation to “non-doms”.

We are more than happy to engage in a debate, but the Government need to give us the information that they are clearly holding and assessing first. That is what today’s debate is all about. We do not think that there is anything wrong with the Government acknowledging the need to consider how balanced the tax system is. We have made our proposals. Unfortunately the Conservatives have not done the same. The Government have flattered us in the sincerest way by imitating our proposals from our last tax commission. I very much hope that the Chief Secretary will consider doing that again and look forward to seeing our proposals in next year’s Budget.

9.51 pm

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Jane Kennedy): It is customary on these occasions to say that we have had an interesting debate and heard some
16 July 2007 : Column 124
interesting speeches, and I thank all those hon. Members who have spoken. The fairness of our taxation system is clearly an important topic. However, only one Liberal Democrat Back Bencher spoke in the debate—the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb)—and he is Front Bencher most of the time. We had 45 minutes from the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) in this debate, and those of us who were interested heard him speak for 45 minutes in the previous debate on corruption overseas. We have heard an hour and a half of talk from the hon. Gentleman—a whole football game of noise—but silence when we asked about his party’s tax proposals. That is amazing.

The hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) made a hugely enjoyable speech, even when he was tweaking the Government’s tail. Up until the last two or three minutes, I very much enjoyed his well argued demolition of the Liberal Democrats’ proposals. I am grateful for his compliments, especially about our amendment, although he did make some criticisms, which I acknowledge. He regretted the lack of cool professional analysis from the Liberal Democrats, but I look forward to engaging with him in future when he brings forward the cool professional analysis that he demonstrated this evening.

We have increased the fairness of the tax system. The Liberal Democrats’ motion talks about tax loopholes, but one of the ways in which we have increased fairness has been through targeted action to close loopholes and to tackle avoidance of income tax, national insurance, inheritance tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty land tax. We have also increased fairness by incentivising work through the national minimum wage and the working tax credits. I noted the comments made about tax credits, but that debate is for another time. By providing more support for those who need it most, especially families and pensioners, we have helped those who are at the most vulnerable end of the income spectrum. The introduction of child tax credit and pension credit in particular has helped us to cut both child and pensioner poverty, which increased under the previous Government.

I know that the Liberal Democrats’ motion calls for the release of Office for National Statistics wealth inequality data since 2003, but it is HMRC, not the ONS, that is responsible for those data. Unfortunately, owing to data problems, the 2004 statistics were not released in October last year as scheduled; HMRC has subsequently been unable to obtain sound estimates and has therefore decided not to publish the data for 2004. That is clearly regrettable, but I am pleased to tell the House that the problem that affected the 2004 statistics has had no effect on statistics for later years and that the 2005 data will be published in October this year.

As a result of the economic success that the Government have delivered—let me remind the House that we have ensured low inflation, low interest rates, high employment, high gross domestic product and high and stable growth—there has been rising prosperity for all, as my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said. Household net wealth is higher than it has ever been. There are 1.8 million more home owners in Britain now than in 1997, and the average household is £1,000 a year better off because of our reforms to the tax and benefit systems.
16 July 2007 : Column 125
The Government have delivered a successful economy and rising prosperity, and all of Britain will benefit from that.

The hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge said that thousands had been let down by the tax credit system. We will debate that in detail on other occasions, but it needs to be put on record that the tax credit system supports 20 million people, including 6 million families and 10 million children. Take-up among families with an income of less than £10,000 is now at 97 per cent.; that is higher than the take-up for any other income-related financial support for in-work families. He also said that the savings ratio had slumped from 10 per cent. to 2.1 per cent., but that is not without a sting in the tail for him: a lower savings ratio is not surprising in a world with a stable economy and low unemployment. That is not how things were under the previous Administration.

We have taken a number of steps to extend savings and asset ownership, particularly on the part of those in most need of support; for example, we introduced the child trust fund, and replaced tax-exempt special savings accounts and personal equity plans with individual savings accounts. We need to ensure that we maintain that position, and that requires us to strike the right balance between fairness and competitiveness. My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury spoke about the increased mobility of labour in the modern, globalised economy.

As usual, we are left with very little time to deal with the detailed points raised in this short debate. The Opposition motion refers to non-domiciled people; it would be easy to get the impression from some hon. Members who have spoken this evening that the country is full of non-domiciled people, none of whom pay any tax. In fact, we are talking about a relatively small number of people—about 112,000 of them, as my right hon. Friend said—who contribute about £3 billion in tax to the UK. None the less, as hon. Members will know, the rules on residence and domicile are under review. As Treasury Ministers have made clear on a number of occasions, and as I will reiterate tonight, any changes to the current system will need to be thoroughly thought through, and we will need carefully to balance the principles of ensuring fairness and promoting the UK’s competitiveness. That is a balance that we have sought to strike throughout the tax system, and we will continue do so in future.

The hon. Member for Twickenham could not say that he would raise as much as a penny in extra taxes for his so-called reform of the residence and domicile rules. The motion suggests that the stamp duty land tax thresholds and inheritance tax nil-rate band should reflect house prices, but no previous Administration has ever linked tax thresholds to price movements of any one type of asset. The proposal could have perverse effects; for example, linking the inheritance tax nil-rate band to house prices could result in more estates paying the tax, if prices fell.

Tonight, we have heard a populist rallying call from the Liberal Democrats, aimed at tomorrow’s newspapers and the by-elections in which they are competing. They think that everyone hates the wealthy, or the filthy rich, as they chose to call them. They think that that is a way to get votes, but I have to tell them that it is not the way to get the taxes in. As my right
16 July 2007 : Column 126
hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said, last Friday the title of this debate was “Fair taxation of the super-rich”. By this morning, it was “Fair taxation of the wealthy”. If this debate had been tabled for Thursday, by Tuesday it would have been “Fair taxation of the middling”. By Wednesday it would have been “Fair taxation of the ain’t doing so well”—

Mr. Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam) (LD) rose in his place and claimed to move, That the Question be now put.

Question, That the Question be now put, put and agreed to.

Question put accordingly, That the original words stand part of the Question:—


The House divided: Ayes 55, Noes 288.
Division No. 185]
[9.59 pm



AYES


Baker, Norman
Barrett, John
Beith, rh Mr. Alan
Brake, Tom
Breed, Mr. Colin
Brooke, Annette
Bruce, rh Malcolm
Burstow, Mr. Paul
Burt, Lorely
Cable, Dr. Vincent
Campbell, rh Sir Menzies
Carmichael, Mr. Alistair
Featherstone, Lynne
Foster, Mr. Don
George, Andrew
Gidley, Sandra
Goldsworthy, Julia
Hancock, Mr. Mike
Harris, Dr. Evan
Harvey, Nick
Heath, Mr. David
Hemming, John
Holmes, Paul
Horwood, Martin
Howarth, David
Huhne, Chris
Hunter, Mark
Kennedy, rh Mr. Charles
Kramer, Susan
Lamb, Norman
Laws, Mr. David
Leech, Mr. John
Moore, Mr. Michael
Mulholland, Greg
Oaten, Mr. Mark
Öpik, Lembit
Pugh, Dr. John
Reid, Mr. Alan
Rennie, Willie
Rowen, Paul
Russell, Bob
Sanders, Mr. Adrian
Smith, Sir Robert
Stunell, Andrew
Taylor, Matthew
Taylor, Dr. Richard
Teather, Sarah
Thurso, John
Webb, Steve
Williams, Mark
Williams, Mr. Roger
Williams, Stephen
Willis, Mr. Phil
Willott, Jenny
Younger-Ross, Richard
Tellers for the Ayes:

Dan Rogerson and
Mr. Jeremy Browne
NOES


Abbott, Ms Diane
Ainger, Nick
Ainsworth, rh Mr. Bob
Alexander, rh Mr. Douglas
Allen, Mr. Graham
Austin, John
Bailey, Mr. Adrian
Baird, Vera
Banks, Gordon
Barlow, Ms Celia
Barron, rh Mr. Kevin
Battle, rh John
Bayley, Hugh
Beckett, rh Margaret
Begg, Miss Anne
Benton, Mr. Joe
Betts, Mr. Clive
Blackman, Liz
Blears, rh Hazel
Blizzard, Mr. Bob
Borrow, Mr. David S.
Bradshaw, Mr. Ben
Brennan, Kevin
Brown, Lyn
Brown, rh Mr. Nicholas
Brown, Mr. Russell
Browne, rh Des
Bryant, Chris
Buck, Ms Karen
Burden, Richard
Burnham, rh Andy
Butler, Ms Dawn
Byrne, Mr. Liam
Caborn, rh Mr. Richard
Cairns, David
Campbell, Mr. Alan
Caton, Mr. Martin
Cawsey, Mr. Ian

Challen, Colin
Chapman, Ben
Chaytor, Mr. David
Clapham, Mr. Michael
Clark, Ms Katy
Clark, Paul
Clarke, rh Mr. Charles
Clarke, rh Mr. Tom
Clelland, Mr. David
Clwyd, rh Ann
Coaker, Mr. Vernon
Coffey, Ann
Connarty, Michael
Cook, Frank
Cooper, Rosie
Corbyn, Jeremy
Cousins, Jim
Crausby, Mr. David
Cruddas, Jon
Cryer, Mrs. Ann
Cummings, John
Cunningham, Mr. Jim
Cunningham, Tony
Darling, rh Mr. Alistair
David, Mr. Wayne
Davidson, Mr. Ian
Davies, Mr. Dai
Dean, Mrs. Janet
Denham, rh Mr. John
Devine, Mr. Jim
Dismore, Mr. Andrew
Dobbin, Jim
Dobson, rh Frank
Donohoe, Mr. Brian H.
Doran, Mr. Frank
Drew, Mr. David
Dunwoody, Mrs. Gwyneth
Durkan, Mark
Eagle, Angela
Eagle, Maria
Efford, Clive
Ellman, Mrs. Louise
Ennis, Jeff
Etherington, Bill
Farrelly, Paul
Field, rh Mr. Frank
Fisher, Mark
Fitzpatrick, Jim
Flello, Mr. Robert
Flint, Caroline
Flynn, Paul
Follett, Barbara
Foster, Mr. Michael (Worcester)
Foster, Michael Jabez (Hastings and Rye)
Francis, Dr. Hywel
Gapes, Mike
George, rh Mr. Bruce
Gerrard, Mr. Neil
Gibson, Dr. Ian
Gilroy, Linda
Godsiff, Mr. Roger
Goggins, Paul
Goodman, Helen
Griffith, Nia
Griffiths, Nigel
Grogan, Mr. John
Gwynne, Andrew
Hall, Patrick
Hanson, rh Mr. David
Harman, rh Ms Harriet
Harris, Mr. Tom
Havard, Mr. Dai
Healey, John
Hendrick, Mr. Mark
Hepburn, Mr. Stephen
Heppell, Mr. John
Hesford, Stephen
Hewitt, rh Ms Patricia
Heyes, David
Hill, rh Keith
Hodge, rh Margaret
Hoey, Kate
Hood, Mr. Jim
Hoon, rh Mr. Geoffrey
Hope, Phil
Hopkins, Kelvin
Hosie, Stewart
Howarth, rh Mr. George
Howells, Dr. Kim
Hoyle, Mr. Lindsay
Hughes, rh Beverley
Humble, Mrs. Joan
Hutton, rh Mr. John
Iddon, Dr. Brian
Illsley, Mr. Eric
Ingram, rh Mr. Adam
Irranca-Davies, Huw
James, Mrs. Siân C.
Johnson, rh Alan
Johnson, Ms Diana R.
Jones, Helen
Jones, Mr. Kevan
Jones, Mr. Martyn
Jowell, rh Tessa
Joyce, Mr. Eric
Kaufman, rh Sir Gerald
Keeble, Ms Sally
Keeley, Barbara
Keen, Alan
Keen, Ann
Kemp, Mr. Fraser
Kennedy, rh Jane
Khan, Mr. Sadiq
Kidney, Mr. David
Kilfoyle, Mr. Peter
Knight, Jim
Kumar, Dr. Ashok
Ladyman, Dr. Stephen
Lammy, Mr. David
Laxton, Mr. Bob
Lepper, David
Levitt, Tom
Lewis, Mr. Ivan
Linton, Martin
Lloyd, Tony
Love, Mr. Andrew
Lucas, Ian
Mackinlay, Andrew
MacShane, rh Mr. Denis
Mallaber, Judy
Mann, John
Marris, Rob
Marsden, Mr. Gordon
Marshall, Mr. David
Marshall-Andrews, Mr. Robert
Martlew, Mr. Eric
McAvoy, rh Mr. Thomas
McCafferty, Chris
McCarthy, Kerry
McCarthy-Fry, Sarah
McCrea, Dr. William
McFadden, Mr. Pat

McFall, rh John
McGovern, Mr. Jim
McGuire, Mrs. Anne
McIsaac, Shona
McKechin, Ann
McNulty, Mr. Tony
Meacher, rh Mr. Michael
Meale, Mr. Alan
Merron, Gillian
Michael, rh Alun
Miliband, rh David
Miliband, rh Edward
Miller, Andrew
Moffat, Anne
Moffatt, Laura
Mole, Chris
Moon, Mrs. Madeleine
Moran, Margaret
Morgan, Julie
Morley, rh Mr. Elliot
Mudie, Mr. George
Mullin, Mr. Chris
Munn, Meg
Murphy, Mr. Denis
Murphy, Mr. Jim
Murphy, rh Mr. Paul
Naysmith, Dr. Doug
Norris, Dan
O'Brien, Mr. Mike
O'Hara, Mr. Edward
Olner, Mr. Bill
Osborne, Sandra
Owen, Albert
Palmer, Dr. Nick
Pearson, Ian
Plaskitt, Mr. James
Pound, Stephen
Prentice, Bridget
Prentice, Mr. Gordon
Prescott, rh Mr. John
Price, Adam
Prosser, Gwyn
Purchase, Mr. Ken
Purnell, rh James
Rammell, Bill
Raynsford, rh Mr. Nick
Reed, Mr. Andy
Reed, Mr. Jamie
Reid, rh John
Riordan, Mrs. Linda
Robertson, Angus
Robertson, John
Robinson, Mr. Geoffrey
Rooney, Mr. Terry
Roy, Mr. Frank
Ruane, Chris
Ruddock, Joan
Russell, Christine
Salter, Martin
Seabeck, Alison
Shaw, Jonathan
Sheridan, Jim
Skinner, Mr. Dennis
Smith, rh Mr. Andrew
Smith, Ms Angela C. (Sheffield, Hillsborough)
Smith, Angela E. (Basildon)
Smith, John
Snelgrove, Anne
Soulsby, Sir Peter
Southworth, Helen
Spellar, rh Mr. John
Spink, Bob
Starkey, Dr. Phyllis
Stewart, Ian
Strang, rh Dr. Gavin
Straw, rh Mr. Jack
Sutcliffe, Mr. Gerry
Tami, Mark
Taylor, Ms Dari
Taylor, David
Thomas, Mr. Gareth
Timms, rh Mr. Stephen
Tipping, Paddy
Todd, Mr. Mark
Touhig, rh Mr. Don
Trickett, Jon
Truswell, Mr. Paul
Turner, Dr. Desmond
Turner, Mr. Neil
Twigg, Derek
Vaz, rh Keith
Waltho, Lynda
Wareing, Mr. Robert N.
Watts, Mr. Dave
Weir, Mr. Mike
Whitehead, Dr. Alan
Wicks, Malcolm
Williams, Mrs. Betty
Wills, Mr. Michael
Winnick, Mr. David
Winterton, rh Ms Rosie
Wishart, Pete
Woolas, Mr. Phil
Wright, Mr. Anthony
Wright, David
Wright, Mr. Iain
Wright, Dr. Tony
Wyatt, Derek
Tellers for the Noes:

Siobhain McDonagh and
Claire Ward
Question accordingly negatived.
16 July 2007 : Column 127

16 July 2007 : Column 128

Question, That the proposed words be there added, put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 31 (Questions on amendments):


The House divided: Ayes 274, Noes 61.
Division No. 186]
[10.13 pm



AYES


Abbott, Ms Diane
Ainger, Nick
Ainsworth, rh Mr. Bob
Alexander, rh Mr. Douglas
Austin, John
Bailey, Mr. Adrian
Baird, Vera
Banks, Gordon

Barlow, Ms Celia
Barron, rh Mr. Kevin
Battle, rh John
Bayley, Hugh
Beckett, rh Margaret
Begg, Miss Anne
Benton, Mr. Joe
Betts, Mr. Clive
Blackman, Liz
Blears, rh Hazel
Blizzard, Mr. Bob
Borrow, Mr. David S.
Bradshaw, Mr. Ben
Brennan, Kevin
Brown, Lyn
Brown, rh Mr. Nicholas
Brown, Mr. Russell
Browne, rh Des
Bryant, Chris
Buck, Ms Karen
Burden, Richard
Burnham, rh Andy
Butler, Ms Dawn
Byrne, Mr. Liam
Caborn, rh Mr. Richard
Cairns, David
Campbell, Mr. Alan
Caton, Mr. Martin
Cawsey, Mr. Ian
Challen, Colin
Chapman, Ben
Chaytor, Mr. David
Clapham, Mr. Michael
Clark, Ms Katy
Clark, Paul
Clarke, rh Mr. Charles
Clarke, rh Mr. Tom
Clelland, Mr. David
Clwyd, rh Ann
Coaker, Mr. Vernon
Coffey, Ann
Connarty, Michael
Cook, Frank
Cooper, Rosie
Corbyn, Jeremy
Cousins, Jim
Crausby, Mr. David
Cruddas, Jon
Cryer, Mrs. Ann
Cummings, John
Cunningham, Mr. Jim
Cunningham, Tony
Darling, rh Mr. Alistair
David, Mr. Wayne
Davidson, Mr. Ian
Dean, Mrs. Janet
Denham, rh Mr. John
Devine, Mr. Jim
Dismore, Mr. Andrew
Dobbin, Jim
Dobson, rh Frank
Donohoe, Mr. Brian H.
Doran, Mr. Frank
Drew, Mr. David
Durkan, Mark
Eagle, Angela
Eagle, Maria
Efford, Clive
Ellman, Mrs. Louise
Ennis, Jeff
Etherington, Bill
Farrelly, Paul
Field, Mr. Mark
Fitzpatrick, Jim
Flello, Mr. Robert
Flint, Caroline
Flynn, Paul
Follett, Barbara
Foster, Mr. Michael (Worcester)
Foster, Michael Jabez (Hastings and Rye)
Francis, Dr. Hywel
Gapes, Mike
George, rh Mr. Bruce
Gerrard, Mr. Neil
Gibson, Dr. Ian
Gilroy, Linda
Godsiff, Mr. Roger
Goggins, Paul
Goodman, Helen
Griffith, Nia
Griffiths, Nigel
Grogan, Mr. John
Gwynne, Andrew
Hall, Patrick
Hanson, rh Mr. David
Harman, rh Ms Harriet
Harris, Mr. Tom
Havard, Mr. Dai
Healey, John
Hendrick, Mr. Mark
Hepburn, Mr. Stephen
Heppell, Mr. John
Hesford, Stephen
Hewitt, rh Ms Patricia
Heyes, David
Hill, rh Keith
Hodge, rh Margaret
Hoey, Kate
Hood, Mr. Jim
Hoon, rh Mr. Geoffrey
Hope, Phil
Hopkins, Kelvin
Howarth, rh Mr. George
Howells, Dr. Kim
Hoyle, Mr. Lindsay
Hughes, rh Beverley
Humble, Mrs. Joan
Iddon, Dr. Brian
Illsley, Mr. Eric
Irranca-Davies, Huw
James, Mrs. Siân C.
Johnson, rh Alan
Johnson, Ms Diana R.
Jones, Helen
Jones, Mr. Kevan
Jones, Mr. Martyn
Jowell, rh Tessa
Joyce, Mr. Eric
Kaufman, rh Sir Gerald
Keeble, Ms Sally
Keeley, Barbara
Keen, Alan
Keen, Ann
Kemp, Mr. Fraser
Kennedy, rh Jane
Khan, Mr. Sadiq
Kidney, Mr. David
Kilfoyle, Mr. Peter
Knight, Jim
Kumar, Dr. Ashok
Ladyman, Dr. Stephen
Lammy, Mr. David

Laxton, Mr. Bob
Lepper, David
Levitt, Tom
Lewis, Mr. Ivan
Linton, Martin
Lloyd, Tony
Love, Mr. Andrew
Lucas, Ian
MacShane, rh Mr. Denis
Mallaber, Judy
Mann, John
Marris, Rob
Marsden, Mr. Gordon
Marshall, Mr. David
Marshall-Andrews, Mr. Robert
Martlew, Mr. Eric
McAvoy, rh Mr. Thomas
McCafferty, Chris
McCarthy, Kerry
McCarthy-Fry, Sarah
McFadden, Mr. Pat
McFall, rh John
McGovern, Mr. Jim
McGuire, Mrs. Anne
McIsaac, Shona
McKechin, Ann
McNulty, Mr. Tony
Meacher, rh Mr. Michael
Meale, Mr. Alan
Merron, Gillian
Michael, rh Alun
Miliband, rh David
Miliband, rh Edward
Miller, Andrew
Moffat, Anne
Moffatt, Laura
Mole, Chris
Moon, Mrs. Madeleine
Moran, Margaret
Morgan, Julie
Morley, rh Mr. Elliot
Mudie, Mr. George
Mullin, Mr. Chris
Munn, Meg
Murphy, Mr. Denis
Murphy, Mr. Jim
Murphy, rh Mr. Paul
Naysmith, Dr. Doug
Norris, Dan
O'Brien, Mr. Mike
O'Hara, Mr. Edward
Olner, Mr. Bill
Osborne, Sandra
Owen, Albert
Palmer, Dr. Nick
Pearson, Ian
Plaskitt, Mr. James
Pound, Stephen
Prentice, Bridget
Prentice, Mr. Gordon
Prescott, rh Mr. John
Prosser, Gwyn
Purchase, Mr. Ken
Purnell, rh James
Rammell, Bill
Raynsford, rh Mr. Nick
Reed, Mr. Andy
Reed, Mr. Jamie
Reid, rh John
Riordan, Mrs. Linda
Robertson, John
Robinson, Mr. Geoffrey
Rooney, Mr. Terry
Roy, Mr. Frank
Ruane, Chris
Ruddock, Joan
Russell, Christine
Seabeck, Alison
Shaw, Jonathan
Sheridan, Jim
Skinner, Mr. Dennis
Smith, rh Mr. Andrew
Smith, Ms Angela C. (Sheffield, Hillsborough)
Smith, Angela E. (Basildon)
Smith, John
Snelgrove, Anne
Soulsby, Sir Peter
Southworth, Helen
Spellar, rh Mr. John
Spink, Bob
Starkey, Dr. Phyllis
Stewart, Ian
Strang, rh Dr. Gavin
Straw, rh Mr. Jack
Sutcliffe, Mr. Gerry
Tami, Mark
Taylor, Ms Dari
Taylor, David
Thomas, Mr. Gareth
Timms, rh Mr. Stephen
Tipping, Paddy
Todd, Mr. Mark
Touhig, rh Mr. Don
Trickett, Jon
Truswell, Mr. Paul
Turner, Dr. Desmond
Turner, Mr. Neil
Twigg, Derek
Vaz, rh Keith
Waltho, Lynda
Wareing, Mr. Robert N.
Watts, Mr. Dave
Whitehead, Dr. Alan
Wicks, Malcolm
Williams, Mrs. Betty
Wills, Mr. Michael
Winnick, Mr. David
Winterton, rh Ms Rosie
Woolas, Mr. Phil
Wright, Mr. Anthony
Wright, David
Wright, Mr. Iain
Wright, Dr. Tony
Wyatt, Derek
Tellers for the Ayes:

Claire Ward and
Siobhain McDonagh
NOES


Baker, Norman
Barrett, John
Beith, rh Mr. Alan
Brake, Tom
Breed, Mr. Colin
Brooke, Annette
Bruce, rh Malcolm
Burstow, Mr. Paul

Burt, Lorely
Cable, Dr. Vincent
Campbell, rh Sir Menzies
Carmichael, Mr. Alistair
Davies, Mr. Dai
Featherstone, Lynne
Foster, Mr. Don
George, Andrew
Gidley, Sandra
Goldsworthy, Julia
Hancock, Mr. Mike
Harris, Dr. Evan
Harvey, Nick
Heath, Mr. David
Hemming, John
Holmes, Paul
Horwood, Martin
Hosie, Stewart
Howarth, David
Huhne, Chris
Hunter, Mark
Kennedy, rh Mr. Charles
Kramer, Susan
Lamb, Norman
Laws, Mr. David
Leech, Mr. John
McCrea, Dr. William
Moore, Mr. Michael
Mulholland, Greg
Oaten, Mr. Mark
Öpik, Lembit
Price, Adam
Pugh, Dr. John
Reid, Mr. Alan
Rennie, Willie
Robertson, Angus
Rowen, Paul
Russell, Bob
Sanders, Mr. Adrian
Smith, Sir Robert
Stunell, Andrew
Taylor, Matthew
Teather, Sarah
Thurso, John
Webb, Steve
Weir, Mr. Mike
Williams, Mark
Williams, Mr. Roger
Williams, Stephen
Willis, Mr. Phil
Willott, Jenny
Wishart, Pete
Younger-Ross, Richard
Tellers for the Noes:

Dan Rogerson and
Mr. Jeremy Browne
Question accordingly agreed to.
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