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Finance Bill

I am sure that that is true, and I have observed what the hon. Gentleman has described in many parts of the Province. The problem spreads across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as interventions on even my brief comments have shown. Although we need to address the economic injustice that I have described, we must also deal with one undesirable outcome of an otherwise desirable policy. I think that we all strongly support the idea that, to help to tackle climate change, we must try to reduce our reliance on cars and our use of fuel. We understand that, but the principle that that can be achieved by adding to the cost of fuel works only if there is a viable alternative. In rural areas, there is no elasticity in the system, because there is no alternative, so raising fuel prices does not encourage people to use their cars less. Instead, it merely encourages them to use more of their wages to carry on as before, which is entirely the opposite of what happens in conurbations and areas with public transport. I strongly believe that we should use fiscal means to discourage car use in areas in which an alternative is available, but it is essential that we accept that such a policy cannot and will not work in rural areas where that alternative is not available.