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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I should make a declaration to the House: this is the second Finance Bill on which I have spoken. I spoke on Second Reading of the Finance Bill last year, and a rude awakening came my way as a result of my speech. I thought that if one made a Second Reading speech on such a Bill, the normal course of things was that one went on to the Standing Committee, but I did not. Clearly what I said on that occasion did not entirely meet with the House’s approval. However, ““If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,”” so this is my second attempt at speaking on a Finance Bill. I said last year, as did the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley)—I do not know whether he served on the Standing Committee either—that I was not an expert on these matters. I certainly give the same caution today. I spoke on measures in the Budget during the Budget debate. However, as that speech is on record I will not trespass on the House’s attention by talking about those measures tonight. Instead I shall try, within order, to talk about the complex issues before us. The shadow Chief Secretary, the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers), made an interesting speech similar to that made by her hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on last year’s Finance Bill.