Finance Bill

My Lords, as I have indicated to noble Lords, the Government of course will evaluate their overall strategy against changes which are to occur in the identification of the figures for crucial aspects of government operation. We will look at that at that time, and it may be in the context of the very significant change in the international environment. After all, noble Lords cannot at one moment say that we may be facing the greatest crisis since the great depression of 1929 and then say, ““Well, of course, we would expect the Government to continue in a straightforward linear progress with regard to the operations over the past decade””. The position I want to establish with regard to this Finance Bill is that the Government have an excellent record of managing public finances over the past decade. I know that the noble Lord does not take contentions from this side too seriously, but he must know that the facts of the achievements of this Government in all criteria of note in economic statistics over the past decade compare remarkably well with the performance of the previous Administration. One illustration of hard fact in this debate today was that Denis Healey had a 98 per cent tax rate. Grudgingly, or not with too much enthusiasm, it was recognised, I think, by the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, that, over the past decade, this Government have pursued the position of the 40 per cent tax rate, which was introduced by a Conservative Administration and the then Nigel Lawson, now the noble Lord, Lord Lawson.