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Finance Bill

The hon. Gentleman is making a thoughtful contribution to the debate. I think that, in summary, he acknowledges that none of the larger parties ruled out before the election the possibility of a VAT rise. We are here post-election, when we are no longer seeking votes, and we are facing the political reality of having to address the seriousness of the problems with the public finances. I hope that he will accept the fact that the coalition Government involves two very distinct parties and that we have to have that debate publicly; that is part of the new politics.