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Finance Bill

I am perfectly happy with the balance that has been proposed in the Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, raising VAT to 20% as part of a series of checks and balances in other areas. For example, he is raising the rate of income tax, taking almost 1 million people out of income tax. He is bringing in the triple lock for pensioners and protection for child tax credits, as well as ensuring that the lowest paid in society will not be subjected to a pay freeze. These are all parts of that series of checks and balances. It would be ridiculous to say that we should add another 5% on top of that just because we can. That was not what the Budget was about; it was about trying to tackle the deficit.