UK MPs argue over games industry, tax relief was "uncosted"

Labour’s Shadow Minister for International Development, Gareth Thomas, called the Coalition’s scrapping of tax relief dangerous to jobs.

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake counters that proposed industry tax relief was ”another spending commitment” that was ”uncosted” by Labour.

The two British politicians duked it out (with words - boring) on the BBC Politics Show. Gareth Thomas said there had been a ”whole series of British jobs created by the games industry in the UK”, but that lack of tax incentives for the sector has caused there to be a ”question mark that jobs created can now be maintained”.

Tom Brake said: ”It was going to cost £192 million.” The Government has to be ”well placed to pick winners… In the game industry, we’ve just seen RealTime Worlds in Scotland - responsible for Grand Theft Auto - has gone put of business… We need to make sure the infrastructure is strong” before investing.

Obviously the little bit about Realtime Worlds being responsible for Grand Theft Auto is complete tosh, as it was the studio’s founder Dave Jones who helped design the original birds-eye view Grand Theft Auto when he worked at DMA Design.

Liberal MP Brake continued saying that relief promises were ”another spending commitment made by Labour that was uncosted”, noting that putting it in place and still managing to trim state spending by 20% ”doesn’t add up, I’m afraid.”

Coalition Chancellor George Osborne ruled out any favouritism toward the videogames industry in June, with Prime Minister David Cameron noting it as a ”difficult decision”, and giving no hope to any positive developments for a tax break.