§ 3. Mr. PawseyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the increase in real take-home pay for a married man with two children on average earnings between 1979 and 1990.
§ The Minister of State, Treasury (Mrs. Gillian Shephard)Real take-home pay for a married man with two children on average earnings has risen by more than a third under this Government.
§ Mr. PawseyI thank my hon. Friend for that extremely helpful reply. Clearly there is a lot of good news there for the average family on average wages. However, what impact would an extra £35 billion worth of spending have on an average family on average earnings?
§ Mrs. ShephardSadly for the average family, Labour's plans for an additional £35 billion of extra spending would increase the tax bill for the average taxpayer by £20 a week.
§ Dr. MarekWill the hon. Lady nevertheless admit that taxation as a proportion of gross domestic product is still at a much higher percentage? Even though the take-home pay of the average person might have gone up, his or her tax rates have increased even more. The percentage of 1121 taxation as a proportion of GDP was much higher in the 1980s than it was in the 1970s. The hon. Lady is no charlatan, so will she give an honest answer and admit that the Tory party is the party of high taxation?
§ Mrs. ShephardI am being urged to be a charlatan. However, I will adhere to my normal practice and say that real take-home pay is what matters for the living standards of real people. The tax burdens are lower now at all multiples of average earnings than they would have been if they had been indexed at the tax regime left by the last Labour Government.