---

Finance Bill

That is an intelligent intervention. The answer is that we shall see at the time—[Interruption.] Let me answer the question. We know for certain that for the purposes of the next general election the Conservative party is committed to taxing the same proportion of GDP as the Labour party. I hope—although it will depend on the economic circumstances and on what GDP is at the time—that the Liberal Democrats may be able to introduce a tax cut aimed at people on low earnings who, in my view, are currently paying too large a proportion of those earnings in tax. If we could do that and, as a consequence, reduce the proportion of GDP that is taken by the Government in overall taxation and help people on low incomes, it would be fantastic, but we need to make our overall calculations to see where we can afford to make the savings. We know that the Conservative party is committed to not doing that. For those who want an overall net reduction in taxation in the United Kingdom, there is only one party that can potentially offer that at a general election: the Liberal Democrats. On 15 April, the political editor of the Daily Mail wrote a story beneath the headline ““Cameron plans his own night of long knives in Shadow Cabinet clear-out””. The right hon. Member for Witney—overlooking his own fallibility when it came to identifying the most damaging parts of the Government's agenda—had identified what were described as a ““magnificent seven”” members of the shadow Cabinet out of a 30-strong team. The article went on to say"““He is, however, preparing a purge of under-performers””." I regret to say that the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge was not one of the ““magnificent seven””, and is therefore in the firing line. I for one am extremely disappointed, because I think that the hon. Gentleman made an excellent speech this afternoon which identified many of the Government's failings. I regret that his efforts are not appreciated more by the leader of his party.