Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox has used a debate in Parliament to warn that the Government’s economic policies are “making Britain less competitive” and that unemployment has risen every month since the General Election.
Speaking during a debate on Stamp Duty Land Tax, Ashley said that while MPs of all parties want to improve people’s lives, the difference lies in how that is achieved. “I believe we do so by working with the grain of human nature, by allowing people the maximum amount of liberty to live their lives, by supporting families, by rewarding hard work rather than penalising it, and by incentivising entrepreneurship and the creation of wealth,” he said.
Ashley described stamp duty as “a bad tax” that places an extra burden on people at one of the most important moments in their lives. He told MPs that removing it from main homes would “make the dream of home ownership more accessible” and “free up the housing market,” benefiting local economies and supporting jobs.
He also criticised the Government’s wider economic approach, “It saddens me that we have a Government whose answer, whatever the question, always seems to be more public expenditure,” he said. “The Government have turned on the spending taps and levied record levels of tax, while at the same time implementing measures that increase unemployment and make Britain less competitive. Every previous administration that has pursued this path has led to higher unemployment, and it is deeply regrettable that in every month since the general election, unemployment has risen.”
Ashley said the Conservative party’s approach would be to reward effort and restore economic discipline. He finished by saying, “By pledging to remove Stamp Duty, we are signalling that we believe in growth, in enterprise and in enabling every citizen to build their future.”
