Orders of the Day — Local Government Finance Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:49 pm on 16 December 1987.

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Photo of Hon. Nicholas Ridley Hon. Nicholas Ridley , Cirencester and Tewkesbury 4:49, 16 December 1987

That intervention justified my previous action in not giving way. The hon. Gentleman does not understand that the choice is between providing services effectively, efficiently and cheaply and providing them extravagantly, stupidly and wastefully, as happens in many authorities run by the Labour party.

Domestic rates will be abolished and the community charge introduced in one go in 1990 in all areas except those where high spending causes very high community charges—the area covered by the Inner London education authority and Waltham Forest. Secondly, the new system will sweep away the unfair system of resource equalisation whereby those in high rateable value areas subsidise those who live in low rateable value areas. Instead of people paying widely different amounts for the same local services, everyone will pay the same. Of course, those who presently benefit from the hidden subsidies will regret their passing. But for those who live in areas where rate bills are unnecessarily high, our proposals represent fairness. Hence we have always included proposals for the safety net. It will not be an additional burden on the areas which will contribute to it; they are contributing to it now. But to allow time—