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Capital Gains Tax (Rates)

The hon. Gentleman will remember that the second rule was that""public debt as a proportion of national income will be held over the economic cycle at a stable and prudent level."" The then Chancellor concluded the 1997 report by stating:""These rules will ensure that borrowing will be kept under firm control."" Everyone applauded him. He was talking about prudence; he was the Iron Chancellor and very much the hero of the hour. In the same report, he referred to the recession of the early 1990s. His conclusion was that the public sector borrowing requirement rose to a peak at 7% of GDP and he said:""The Government regards it as important that no similar risks should be taken with fiscal policy again."" That was the position of the Labour party in 1997, and in 2006 Labour was repeating the same mantra and the same pie in the sky ideas. It was saying that""public sector net debt is projected to remain low and stable over the forecast period"." In 2007, it said:""The Budget 2007 projections for the public finances are broadly in line with the 2006 Pre Budget Report"," and so on.