Orders of the Day — Finance Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:43 pm on 17 April 2000.

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Photo of Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Clarke Conservative, Rushcliffe 5:43, 17 April 2000

I am taken by surprise by my hon. Friend's figure. I suspect that its source lies in some remark made by the present Chancellor; it has the ring of some of his more popular slogans on the tax burden and other matters. Our major market is the EU; it is significant that we have a strong pound. I was steering away from the question of whether we shall continue to have a floating pound, but we should all agree that it is no good going into a state of denial about the damaging effect that that has on farming—in my hon. Friend's constituency and in mine—and on manufacturing across great swathes of the country.