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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I know that the hon. Gentleman is new to the House, but pretending that the world began only when he entered it is utterly ridiculous. Did the Conservative Government agree that when they reduced mortgage interest relief at source—MIRAS—they were doing something retrospective? No, they did not. When they reduced the married couples allowance, were they taking retrospective action because of the expectation that existed? Of course they were not. When they reduced advance corporation tax relief, was that a retrospective measure because all the companies said that they had expected to receive it in perpetuity? Of course it was not. That is such a ridiculous point that I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman wanted to make it.