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Finance (No. 2) Bill

It was a long time ago, but if the Minister reads my resignation statement he will see that my resignation was not about that; it was about issues of disagreement between myself and the Government. I hope that he will withdraw his uncharitable remark about my wishes on that occasion. I hope that the Paymaster General will deal with the issue of retrospection. In this and earlier debates, a number of Members have drawn attention to the high cost, for families of modest means, of going over ground that they thought had been resolved at the time of the original trust settlement—when the grandparents made their offer, when the divorce was agreed, or when something else triggered the arrangement. The Labour party seems to want to stretch the debate to discover what are the general intentions in relation to inheritance tax. I know that you are very careful to maintain order, Sir Alan, but I will say this: of course I think that a much higher threshold for inheritance tax would be helpful generally and would deal with some of the problems that we seem to be encountering across the Floor today.