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International Financial Transactions (Tax)

The campaign itself—I do not speak for the campaign—is a very broad coalition, and it would welcome with open arms the expertise of bankers and of people involved in international finance. It should invite them in to help find ways forward, to answer some of those technical questions and, as I mentioned earlier, to salvage some reputational status, which has been massively diminished over recent years. I must sit down and let the Minister respond and put the Government's view on record. I have just a couple more things to say. We are aware of the difficulty of starting off such a scheme and starting in one country, but it has to start somewhere and, therefore, perhaps we, with the leadership of our Prime Minister, can do that. Secondly, some people have raised moral reservations about making money from something that some may regard as not being of the highest international standard. If that were the case, we would never raise anything from tobacco or alcohol, and we should consider this as being in the same pot as those things. Financial institutions' trade across exchanges goes on, and we should be taking a tiny slice of it. I have a lot more to say, but it is probably fairer if I sit down. Many Members are here today, and many more could not come. There is great interest in the issue. The campaign proper is kicking off now with fascinating materials, including clips shown in cinemas and elsewhere. Celebrities have yet to enter the field to raise its profile, but I think that it will be a big issue, like Live Aid or Make Poverty History. All parties should get involved on a non-partisan basis to make it work globally and domestically. I hope that the Minister has listened to colleagues from all parties in this debate and will have news for us. Perhaps the issue will even find a place in the Budget.