Clause 6

Part of Finance Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 7:00 pm on 19 May 2009.

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Photo of Jeremy Browne Jeremy Browne Shadow Minister (Treasury) 7:00, 19 May 2009

The situation is indeed different from that in 2005, which is why the Labour party would have been well advised to say, “Our commitment as a party is not to increase the top rate of income tax if the current benign economic circumstances continue for the duration of the forthcoming Parliament”—but that is not what it said. The Labour party, under the leadership of Tony Blair, said that it would not increase the top rate of income tax during this Parliament. The Labour party has broken that promise—unless an election is called before the policy can be implemented. One could then, technically, argue that the policy was not reneged upon.