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Finance Bill

The hon. Gentleman is now on the record as having said that, and that plays into my argument. Where are the Labour Back Benchers? Where are the lieutenants and soldiers to defend this most important of Budgets? There are some veterans in the Chamber who have often spoken in debates on previous Finance Bills, but we could argue that this is one of the most important such Bills. Yet the style that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury chose to adopt in her speech was more that of an Opposition spokesman than that of somebody trying to defend the Government's position in these difficult times. That has been reflected not only in the debate today, but in the Government's approach. They forget what they are trying to defend, and just attack the Opposition. I am grateful that the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne), the Liberal Democrat spokesman, is here; he made a farcical speech that focused almost entirely on Tory proposals. He was reprimanded for that four times; the Chair wanted him to refocus his arguments back to the subject of debate—the Finance Bill. I say to Labour Members that those watching in the Galleries and those who will read this debate in Hansard or see it on television will ask themselves what they have seen or read. All they get are these yah-boo politics. The Chief Secretary illustrated that by going back to yesteryear to talk about the time of Margaret Thatcher, rather than focusing on the difficult issues of today. I clicked on to YouTube to see the Prime Minister's latest performance; this time it was a party political broadcast about the European elections. I do not think that the word "Europe" was mentioned once in the broadcast—it was an attack on the Conservatives through and through. [Interruption.] I give way to the hon. Member for Taunton, who seems to be waving.