I won't take an intervention in this contribution, sorry, Andrew.

I do despair sometimes at the tactics of the Conservative Party. This motion is referencing the potential of a tourism levy, and is nothing more than a distraction from the failings of your own party down the road, the M4, in distant London. The crocodile tears that we see from the Conservatives deceive no-one. Conservatives run the Isle of Wight, and they are proposing a tourism tax for day-trippers. The Tory-run Bath and North East Somerset Council have repeatedly called for a tourist tax for Bath. You complain that it would make Wales more uncompetitive. Well, Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds introduced a tourism charge last year. By your own logic, this should result in all visitors going to nearby Chipping Norton or Cirencester, but no, Bourton enjoyed a packed Easter again this year.

The principle has already been accepted in any case. Holiday destinations across the UK have varying seasonal charges, for instance in the car parks, with car parking charges more expensive in the visitor season and cheaper in the winter. This is nothing more than a levy on visitors. Why is it that the Conservatives think it's okay for the private sector to practise this policy, but not Government? Entry to York Minster is free to local people, but if I visited, I'd have to pay £12.50. If I wanted to go to one of the historic royal palaces—the Tower of London, for instance—I'd pay £29.90, but it's free for community groups in Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Brent. But no, the Members opposite have no complaints at all about varying pricing schemes when the money goes into private bank accounts. What they don't like is the idea of wealth distribution—someone's money going to pay for someone else's healthcare or education, for instance. At least be honest about it. 

Then, of course, there's the complaint that a tourism tax would make it hard for the sector during what it is a difficult time. And it is. But that argument by those Members opposite is nothing more than scaremongering. The hospitality sector is suffering right now, and they're suffering because of the tax hikes and the increased costs imposed on them by the heartless Conservative Government in London, led by a proven liar and a charlatan. These businesses are facing an existential threat today. Lifting the price cap on energy prices will mean that this will be the last season for many businesses. One business in my constituency, for instance, was paying £350 a month for electricity back in 2003. Today, they're paying £4,700 a month, based on 17p a unit, and that contract is going to increase to 50p a unit in November. This is going to be impossible for them. That's on your Government. 

Added to that, the hospitality sector can no longer use red diesel, so need to find a much more expensive source of fuel thanks to the Conservative Government. VAT has increased from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent for the hospitality sector. That's on your Government. National insurance contributions have increased by 1.25 per cent. That's on your Government. And the suppliers are feeling this exact squeeze, pushing the price of beer and food up as well. This is all on the Conservatives, and it's happening now, today. There's no point in you harping on about the potential that the tourism tax might do some damage—