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Lord Clarke of Nottingham (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 19 November 2024

Debate

National Insurance Contributions: Healthcare

Contribution

My Lords, the root of this problem is that, in an election that the Labour Party was bound to win, it made a promise that it would not raise income tax, national insurance or corporation tax. The taxes it promised not to raise provide 70% of the Government’s income and are the basic toolbox of any Chancellor in any Budget. They sometimes go up or down according to the economic needs of the nation, and they are the broadest-based and fairest taxes. Now that the Government have imposed these rather damaging taxes to raise revenue in this last Budget and have gone for the choices they have, can I have the Minister’s assurance that this promise is not good for the next five years? It will confine the Government’s ability to raise revenue when they need to, so they will go into more areas and will do unintended damage to employment or particular sectors of the economy.

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