Mr Ian Stewart: Dare I ask my right hon. Friend, when he discusses future arrangements for decision-taking within the Community, to be very cautious about ceding extra powers to the European Parliament over the size and distribution of the European budget, because it has not shown itself to be very assiduous in protecting the interests of taxpayers, especially in countries like this one which make a net...
Mr Ian Stewart: Have my right hon. and learned Friend and the Governor of the Bank of England done any calculations to see what would happen if the Government spent £35 billion extra in public expenditure and could not finance it out of taxation? What would be the effect on interest rates and funding if such a programme were followed?
Mr Ian Stewart: When my right hon. Friend goes to the European Council, will he accept that he carries with him the good wishes of all Conservative Members and our gratitude for the constructive and responsible way in which he has tackled serious and important constitutional issues? Will he take the opportunity to point out to his colleagues in the other European countries that any rapid move to a single...
Mr Ian Stewart: rose—
Mr Ian Stewart: I cannot comment on the hon. Gentleman's constituency case, but I am glad that he has been able to play a part in ensuring that the lady gets her treatment. If he feels so strongly about the funding of the NHS, will he tell us by how much his party would increase expenditure on it above the figures in the White Paper?
Mr Ian Stewart: In the public expenditure White paper the Government have set out clearly their plans for the coming years. Like many other Members, I came to the House this afternoon in the hope that the hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) would explain with equal clarity what the Labour party planned to do if they got into Government. I am sorry to say that we have been seriously disappointed,...
Mr Ian Stewart: In real terms the figures still come out as a substantial part of the £20 billion. The crucial question is: does the hon. Lady argue that the £20 billion is a substitute for the figure in the White Paper, or is it meant to be additional?
Mr Ian Stewart: If there is no connection, why on earth did the leader of the Labour party quote the figures?
Mr Ian Stewart: I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her lecture. I did not need it, because I know a fair bit about these matters. The Leader of the Opposition claims that £20 billion will be available for public expenditure out of growth. Does that substitute for the hon. Lady's commitment to public expenditure out of growth that is already contained in Government figures? If the Leader of the Opposition...
Mr Ian Stewart: I do not know what the hon. Lady will deny or confirm. The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) said that this was an overriding priority. Is an overriding priority greater than a top priority and is a top priority more or less important than a key priority? We have heard that water privatisation has a low priority.
Mr Ian Stewart: They are sensible in relation to the available resources. They are a continuation of record public expenditure carried out over 12 years during which we have been able to reduce the rate of income tax and reduce, and for a time eliminate, borrowing, of which we inherited a great deal from the last Labour Government. Through careful control of overall public expenditure, we have been able to...
Mr Ian Stewart: I will happily give way to the hon. Lady if she wishes to respond. She does not. Did the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East consult the hon. Lady before he said that such a major commitment was an overriding priority? What about the other commitments? Did the hon. Lady speak to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) before he said that education was Labour's first priority? Which...
Mr Ian Stewart: The hon. Gentleman's final words explain the position. My right hon. Friend the Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) explained a few years ago that the Government's policy, over time, was to have a balanced budget. In some years of the economic cycle there will be a surplus, but in others there will be a deficit. Public expenditure cannot be increased in absolute terms without increasing taxation or...
Mr Ian Stewart: I shall leave my right hon. and learned Friend the Chief Secretary to deal with that, but the hon. Lady makes my point for me—I touched a raw nerve. She will have to do better. She said that she did not know whether it was Labour party policy to introduce extra subsidies for industrial investment. She wants to raise the issue but she has no policy. She said that Labour's policy was to...
Mr Ian Stewart: I am glad that my right hon. and learned Friend the Chief Secretary found it difficult to understand the Opposition's aim in tabling the amendment. The hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett), who spoke to it, failed spectacularly to explain what the amendment was about or what its practical consequences would be. The hon. Lady began by trying to paint as gloomy a picture as possible of...
Mr Ian Stewart: It is strange that the hon. Lady should raise the issue of investment allowances but have no idea about Labour's policy. It is typical of the way in which the Opposition Treasury spokesmen go about their business. They made a complete nonsense of the shadow Budget. They got their sums wrong and deceived the public and the House.
Mr Ian Stewart: I shall give way in a moment, but I shall finish my point. The Opposition's calculations are a disgraceful deception.
Mr Ian Stewart: When my hon. Friend next considers further possible changes or additions to the currency, will he discuss with the Master of the Mint, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, the possibility of introducing a £2 coin for general currency, along the lines of those that are already used for commemorative purposes, as soon as the size slot occupied by the 10p coin becomes available for that purpose?
Mr Ian Stewart: I thank my right hon. Friend and his colleagues for the care and thoroughness with which they conducted the consultations before bringing forward today's proposals. I also thank my right hon. Friend for taking into account the fact that many of us believe that there were not only serious defects in the rating system and the community charge but that by avoiding those and incorporating the...
Mr Ian Stewart: Will my right hon. and learned Friend monitor the shadow Chancellor's broadcast tonight to make sure that he does not mislead viewers in the same way that he has misled us by using phoney figures in the shadow budget?
