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Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

Like everyone else, I am delighted to support the principle of this legislation. We have heard a series of speeches today echoing the principle that it is absolutely the right thing for Britain at this time to broaden the savings habit and culture, to try to establish a culture of putting something by for a rainy day or for retirement and to spread that culture more widely throughout all levels of society. I was particularly pleased to hear from my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) who, having been involved back in the 1980s in the original moves to spread a share-owning democracy, has personal experience to draw on. Many of the principles espoused at that time apply equally strongly to the Bill now. This is a great idea and a thoroughly good principle that we all espouse and support. In fact, it is so good that it appeared in the Conservative party's 2005 election manifesto, which said that in order for a Conservative Government to"““get more people into the saving habit, we will create a Lifetime Savings Account in which government contributions top up the money that people save themselves.””" I am not sure, but I suspect that during the hurly-burly of the election campaign, all sorts of vigorous opposition came from the Government. I suspect that people in Labour party HQ were churning out all sorts of awful reasons why it was a bad idea.