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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Indeed; the Chancellor certainly would not. None the less, there are administrative difficulties, and an official from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs who gave evidence to the Treasury Committee last week said how difficult it was for forms to be completed. I am concerned, too, about the greater user of tax credits, which the Chancellor has promoted. There is a tendency for more people to pay tax, then receive a cheque later, so there are concerns that a greater dependency culture may result. I am conscious of time, so I shall conclude. Yesterday, the Chancellor sought a short-term tactical advantage, but he may well have made a strategic mistake in associating himself with what was essentially a con trick. His record on the substance is not as impressive as is often claimed. He has been inconsistent on public spending, he has been incoherent on welfare reform, and on pensions he has been incompetent. The question that the country must ask is whether, given the fact that the problems that he identified in 1997 still remain in 2007, the Chancellor is the right person to tackle them. The country must face that choice in the not too distant future—the Labour party must face that choice in the very near future—and I am not convinced that he is the right man for that challenge.