David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 1997 – which raised tax 10 times and hit pensions funds with annual £5 billion tax (Hansard, col.1166, 10 July 1997).

David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 1998 – which raised 14 further stealth taxes including higher stamp duty rates and which cut the married couples allowance (Hansard, col.694, 21 April 1998).

David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 1999 which raised a further 16 taxes including IR35, abolition of Mortgage tax relief (Hansard, col.813, 20 April 1999).

David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 2000 which raised a further 4 stealth taxes – including higher rates of stamp duty and extra taxes on life assurance companies (Hansard, col.797, 17 April 2000).

David Lepper backed the Finance Act 2002 which raised a further 9 stealth taxes – including the freezing of personal tax allowances, increases in National Insurance for employers, employees and the self-employed (Hansard, col.920, 30 April 2002).

David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 2003 which raised a further 6 stealth taxes including increasing vehicle excise duty and VAT on electronically supplied services (Hansard, col. 636, 6 May 2003).

David Lepper voted for the Finance Act 2004 which raised a further 6 stealth taxes – including a new tax on private use of company vans and increase in tax on road fuels (Hansard, col.266, 20 April 2004).

David Lepper voted for the Local Government Act 2003 which provides for higher Council Tax bands and a fiddled revaluation of property bands.  This Act paves the way for soaring Council Tax bills in a Labour Third Term (Hansard, col.131, 7 January 2003)

THANKS TO DAVID LEPPER PEOPLE IN BRIGHTON PAVILION ARE NOW PAYING MORE TAX

David Lepper voted the so-called Police (Reform) Act 2002 which has increased police paperwork.  The Act produced more than 50 targets, tonnes more paperwork.  And the result – violent crime reached its highest ever total last year of one million violent crimes committed (Hansard, col.123, 7 May 2002).  What the public want is bobbies on the beat not bobbies with a biro.

David Lepper voted for the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.  This Act which abolished Grant Maintained Schools, increased the power of Local Education Authorities and created Appeals Panels which overrule the decisions of head-teachers to exclude bullies and pupils who wreck lessons, encouraging truancy and undermining school discipline and punishing children who want to learn (Hansard, col.677, 22 December 1997).

David Lepper voted for the Health and Social Care Act 2001 which introduced over 200 targets and saw more managers recruited than nurses.  Meeting unimportant targets has become more important than cleaning wards. 5,000 patients are dying every year because of hospital contracted infections (Hansard, col.1178, 10 January 2001).

David Lepper backed the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 which repealed many previous controls such as the White List (a list of countries from which virtually no claims would be accepted) and the rule that asylum seekers could only receive benefits if they claimed asylum at the point of entry (Hansard, col.129, 22 February 1999).

In March 2004, the Conservatives tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for the European Constitution to be put to the British people in a referendum.  David Lepper voted against this motion and hence voted against a referendum (Hansard, col. 1535, 30 March 2004).  Although Labour now say that they favour a referendum, MPs like David Lepper did not until Tony Blair changed his mind.

David Lepper voted to sign up to the EU Working Time Directive EU a regulation which costs British business £2.3 billion a year (Hansard, col.241, 27 October 1998).

Supported a motion which called for the introduction of the Tobin Tax – a tax on global financial transactions – and a further tax on businesses and financial services companies.  The motion claimed that ‘a small levy on such spectators… could both help to dampen down the scale and scope of speculation and raise substantial revenues’ (EDM 595, 23 April 2001) 

Signed a highly party political motion tabled by the Labour MP for Wellingborough attacking his Conservative opponent for referring to ‘bogus asylum seekers in Northamptonshire’ (EDM 681, 2 May 2000). 

Signed a motion celebrating ‘the centenary of the world’s first Labour Government and notes that on 1 December 1899 Anderson Dawson MP was sworn in as Labour Premier of Queenstown, Australia, thereby, giving confidence to emerging Labour parties throughout the globe and beginning the process for a century of social advancement, dignity and justice for hundreds of millions working people, delivered upon by future Labour governments’ (EDM 110, 29 November 1999).

Put his name to a motion calling for Sussex police to take immediate action to combat badger baiting in the Eastbourne area because ‘information has been received to suggest badger baiting is going on in this area’ (EDM 1175, 31 March 1998).

Signed a motion calling for ‘a legal right of access to the countryside’ which claimed that ‘ownership by itself is not a sufficient reason to deny access and recognises that there is a widespread expectation that the Government intends to legislate to give the many the right denied to them by the few’ (EDM 825, 24 February 1998).

Signed a motion calling for the School Admissions Code of Practice to state that ‘academic selection should never be used to decide entry into secondary education’ (EDM 409, 13 January 2004).

Expressed solidarity with five Cuban nationals in US jails ‘known as the Miami Five’ and ‘calls on the US Government to support the petition for a retrial’ (EDM 176, 21 November 2002).

Signed a toadishly loyal to the Government motion attacking journalist Rod Liddle for daring to question the Hutton Inquiry report: ‘Mr Liddle described the report as “surreal” and that he further said that the judicial enquiries always end up backing the Government’.  It called on him to retract his comments (EDM 509, 29 January 2004).

Signed a motion paying ‘tribute to the life and work of Barbara Castle; and gives thanks for her tremendous contribution to public life’ (EDM 1244, 7 May 2002).