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AMENDMENT OF THE LAW

The operative word is ““seems””. I disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s analysis. I would rather that we did not take on such debts. If we cannot pay for things now, the golden rule, which supposedly guides us, should not be breached. It should be for today’s taxpayers to pay for the benefits that we receive. From the Treasury’s point of view, the real genius is that the increased tax burden on all of us for decades ahead to pay for many of the schools and hospitals built in recent years will be difficult for any incoming Government, Conservative or otherwise, to reverse. Furthermore, in 25 years, districts will need new or upgraded schools or hospitals. In many ways, we have the mirror image of privatisation in the 1980s and 1990s. Labour went into the 1997 election with a firm commitment to reverse the rail privatisation that had taken place only a year earlier, but the Labour Government quickly discovered that they had to jettison their commitment. I fear that when the Conservatives come back into government, we, too, will have limited room for manoeuvre due to the PFI liabilities that will come on stream in great number.