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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) for referring to me as a class warrior. If that means that I battle for hard-working people to be better off, and for public services to be improved substantially, I am proud. I congratulate the Chancellor on another effective Budget that will keep the economy stable while boosting public services. I very much appreciate the extra £585 million that will be made available to schools by 2007 in direct payments. I am keen, too, to thank the Chancellor for £100 million to facilitate safer neighbourhood teams in wards throughout the country. In my constituency, for example, Grove Green, Forest and Snaresbrook wards will have safer neighbourhood teams from the beginning of next month, so I thank him for reducing the wait they would otherwise have had. I am pleased that the Budget contains measures to tackle climate change, including an increase in line with inflation of the climate change levy from April 2007, the introduction of a new zero rate of vehicle excise duty for the small number of cars with the lowest carbon emissions, and a new top band for the most polluting new cars. It is incredible that the Conservative party, given its talk of consensus and its desire for green credentials, cannot embrace the levy, which is one of the biggest efforts in this country to tackle climate change. If the Conservatives think that a voluntary agreement would work, they are living in cloud cuckoo land. I urge them to get real and support the climate change levy.