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Finance Bill

I agree with the hon. Gentleman and I was not seeking to imply anything else. I represent a constituency in Somerset. That is a long way from Scotland, but it has remote rural areas, including parts of Exmoor national park. I observe that the use of expressions such as ““Chelsea tractor”” give a quite urban perspective on the debate about fuel emissions and vehicle excise duty. I understand the frustration that people have in many towns and cities, which were built and designed before the invention of the car—certainly before the invention of very large cars. It is difficult to manoeuvre one's way along small roads in this country using large 4x4 vehicles, and doing so may have an impact on other road users and pedestrians. There are concerns about the practicality of using 4x4s in urban settings, but the overall context, of course, is concern about emissions and global warming created by transport—particularly private transport. My party and most people in this House are sympathetic to the case for differentials in vehicle excise duty in that context. We must then consider the exemptions that we put in place to help people who find themselves in exceptional circumstances.