Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:27 pm on 7 April 1998.
I should like to give way, but many hon. Members wish to speak.
Peter Riddell, never new Labour's strongest critic, is not the only one to spot what is going on. In The Times yesterday, he wrote:
But a Treasury raid it still is, to evade tight limits on public spending and to find new sources of revenue without having to raise taxes.
That puts it pretty clearly. In reality, Ministers are condemned time after time out of their own mouths—we know what is going on, they know what is going on, and the Secretary of State knows what is going on.
I am sorry that the hon. Member for Hove (Mr. Caplin), who was present earlier, is not here. He knows what is going on, and spilled the beans the other day—he must have left his pager at home. Commenting on additionality, he said:
I think what we said in opposition was clear".
It was—uncharacteristically so. He continued:
it was right at the time that the National Lottery was introduced, but what we have now is a situation where the budget, the public spending level is set, and we have said that we are going to stick to that level for two years.
Not much gloss is needed on that.
It is all different now. What they now say—the hon.
Gentleman made it unusally clear—is: "It was all right to make these noises about additionality when we were in opposition, and we hadn't yet thought of passing ourselves off as fiscally responsible.
But we have now, so we'll go back on everything we said then, and use the Lottery for public spending.
The hon. Gentleman served the cause of truth and honesty well. It may turn out to be the last thing he is allowed to say, but it was a good way to go.
The Government are determined to have it both ways, but they cannot square the circle. Old Labour wants higher public spending; new Labour wants to steal the money from the lottery.
I appreciate that some people may ask whether this silly technical argument really matters.