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Finance Bill

We have heard all the arguments over a long debate, but we remain convinced that this VAT rise is regressive, socially damaging and economically dangerous, and we invite many Members from across the House to join us in supporting amendment 13 to strike down the rise. The Minister and his colleagues argue that the rise is necessary and inevitable. It is not necessary to increase the VAT bill for the poorest families by more than £31 a week; it is not necessary to put further pressure on those who will feel the burden of housing and unemployment benefits and tax credits being squeezed; it is not necessary, as the British Retail Consortium said, to introduce a "disappointing" measure that "will hit jobs"; and it is not necessary to introduce a measure that can push up prices on the high street and is inflationary. It is necessary to tackle the deficit and the debt, but it need not be done over a fixed time scale using this methodology. It is far better to take a medium time scale approach that tackles it credibly. We think that the VAT rise is wrong, and I shall press amendment 13 to a vote. Question put, That the amendment be made. The Committee divided: Ayes 21, Noes 316.