FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TAX AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING

That this House notes that a financial transaction tax (FTT) on bonds and derivatives and shares could raise £20 billion in additional revenue in the UK in one year; further notes that an FTT would have a negligible effect on jobs in the City of London; further notes that unemployment across Bradford is currently twice the national average and that Bradford Council has been hit by huge and disproportionate cuts to its central grant since 2010; believes that the revenues from an FTT would repair the national finances and make money available to reverse the devastating cuts to local authority funding, thus allowing investment and a reversal of cuts to council tax benefits; and therefore urges the Government to introduce an FTT without delay alongside other European Union partners.