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Finance (No. 3) Bill

An excellent statistic from my hon. Friend. We are often told that the reason why we cannot take any action is that complex descriptor ““regulatory arbitrage””. It is a term that belies what it actually means—people fleeing the country, usually because they want to pay lower taxes. Actually, there are good reasons for the financial services sector to stay and thrive in this country, and they are not just about tax and regulation. They are not always financial reasons. We have Greenwich mean time, and we have a great rule of a law that can ensure that businesses succeed and thrive. I believe that that is ample for our financial services sector to be rejuvenated and sustainable. The talk of ““regulatory arbitrage”” is in many cases the last refuge of the scoundrel. The Government are letting the banks off the hook. They are taking a light-touch approach on taxing the banks by failing to repeat the banker bonus tax that the previous Labour Government levied, which brought in £3.5 billion.