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AMENDMENT OF THE LAW

That is an important point, which the hon. Gentleman may wish to make to the Financial Secretary when she sums up the debate. I was simply pointing out to the hon. Member for Dundee, East that the major corporation tax had been reduced in the Budget. I am sorry that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) has left us. He made an interesting, erudite speech, although it was on the long side—longer than that of the Leader of the Opposition, to which he kindly referred. I am sure that many of the points he made will read very well in Hansard, and will be taken up by people in various Departments, who will examine them and see what they can make of them. He made some interesting points about the non-doms and the Pandora’s box that might be opened. Back in 1974, tax changes in the United States gave rise to the Eurobond market in London, and I think that one should be careful when making what may appear to be small adjustments that will in fact have major consequences. That was one of the points that my hon. Friend made. The right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr. Lilley) has been present for most of the debate, and I am sorry that he is not here now. I shall not pursue the point about Chinese restaurants—I do not want any memories of China to feature in the debate—but he also spoke of Budgets past, and made a number of comparisons. He talked about Northern Rock, which is a fixation with the Conservatives. As my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dunbartonshire (John McFall) pointed out earlier, no guarantee has been called in, no investor has lost any money and no mortgage has been affected—