Could someone please tell us the point of the rather grandly-titled “Hampshire Senate”?
The Senate was set up by Conservative-controlled Hampshire County Council and its leader, Ken Thornber, supposedly to bring together politicians and 'leaders' from various government agencies and businesses in Hampshire.
Some people have likened it to a 'House of Lords' for Hampshire. It is an unelected talking shop with no democratic mandate - but the potential for enormous influence on decision-making. However, set up 18 months ago, all it seems to have achieved to date is introduce yet another burden for local Council Taxpayers to shoulder.
What has turned this farce into local fury are newly-uncovered plans to hire expensive PR lobbyists to promote the Senate at a cost of £100,000 a year – plus a decision to BAN the public and media from many key Senate meetings.
Last month, the County Council organised a conference for the Senate at a 4-star hotel, sending the £11,500 bill to local Council Taxpayers. Credit is due to the leaders of Portsmouth City Council and Eastleigh Borough Council who have boycotted this absurd body and are calling for it to be scrapped forthwith.
Monday 9 November 2009
Sunday 8 November 2009
No to Sham Open Primary - Yes to Peter Viggers' resignation
Gosport's “lame duck” Member of Parliament, Sir Peter Viggers, has brought disgrace upon himself … and SHAME on the proud name of Gosport.
For years, he and his fellow Conservatives have presided over the slow decline of our once proud town. Remember the Ritz? They tore it down. The A32? As gridlocked as ever. Haslar Hospital? They gave up without a fight.
Over the last 5 years alone, Sir Peter has taken home almost £1 million in pay, allowances and 'expenses'. We may never know how much of our taxes he has pocketed during his 35-year rein as Gosport's MP. But what we DO know is that – whilst he was supposed to be representing us in Parliament – Sir Peter was ALSO working as a Director for companies in the oil and gas industries, banking, textiles, telecommunications, as well as working for an American University.
No wonder he has one of the WORST voting records in the Houses of Parliament. Over the last decade, he has turned up to just HALF the votes held in the House of Commons.
Yet not only does he feel he has the RIGHT to claim tens of thousands of pounds of YOUR money in expenses for Christmas lights, manure and the infamous duck house – to name but a few of his more absurd claims – he now INSISTS on staying in his job until the end of the Parliamentary session (at OUR expense), when he stands to receive a handsome TAX-FREE pay-off of several thousand pounds, AND a gold-plated PENSION worth £1 MILLION!
Many people in Gosport believe Sir Peter should be stripped of his knighthood, forfeit his pension and be put on trial. Almost everyone agrees he should give back his mis-claimed expenses, as well as his tax-free pay-off when he eventually steps down. Voters throughout Gosport, Lee, Stubbington and Hill Head have strongly backed Lib Dem calls for Sir Peter to RESIGN NOW.
The only people still supporting Sir Peter are the Gosport Conservatives. Instead of passing a vote of no confidence in him and forcing him to stand down immediately, they have ALLOWED him to continue. Little wonder – seeing as Sir Peter claimed £18,000 of taxpayers money on their behalf for nice new furniture for their office on Stoke Road.
Now, the Conservative Party's HQ – sick and tired of the embarassing antics of their Gosport Conservative Association – are holding a sham 'open primary' in Gosport and are asking people to pick their next candidate from a hand-picked shortlist of Dave "Hug-a-Hoodie” Cameron's favoured few.
NOT ONE OF THE WOULD-BE CANDIDATES IS FROM GOSPORT. Indeed, the Conservative Party STOPPED anyone from the Gosport Conservative Association from even making it onto the shortlist! Which is not really all that surprising, seeing as they can hardly be trusted...
Local people, however, are seeing through the charade. Whoever the Conservatives announce as their next candidate, Gosport Council Taxpayers will STILL be asked by the Gosport Conservative Association to CARRY ON footing the bill for Sir Peter's wages and expenses.
More and more people are backing the Lib Dem campaign demanding that Peter Viggers RESIGN NOW. You can join us by visiting our website: www.gosportfocus.co.uk.
You can also help Gosport Liberal Democrats stamp out the stench of corruption and the cancer of Conservative complacency that has brought our town to its knees – and start rebuilding a better future for local people.
For years, he and his fellow Conservatives have presided over the slow decline of our once proud town. Remember the Ritz? They tore it down. The A32? As gridlocked as ever. Haslar Hospital? They gave up without a fight.
Over the last 5 years alone, Sir Peter has taken home almost £1 million in pay, allowances and 'expenses'. We may never know how much of our taxes he has pocketed during his 35-year rein as Gosport's MP. But what we DO know is that – whilst he was supposed to be representing us in Parliament – Sir Peter was ALSO working as a Director for companies in the oil and gas industries, banking, textiles, telecommunications, as well as working for an American University.
No wonder he has one of the WORST voting records in the Houses of Parliament. Over the last decade, he has turned up to just HALF the votes held in the House of Commons.
Yet not only does he feel he has the RIGHT to claim tens of thousands of pounds of YOUR money in expenses for Christmas lights, manure and the infamous duck house – to name but a few of his more absurd claims – he now INSISTS on staying in his job until the end of the Parliamentary session (at OUR expense), when he stands to receive a handsome TAX-FREE pay-off of several thousand pounds, AND a gold-plated PENSION worth £1 MILLION!
Many people in Gosport believe Sir Peter should be stripped of his knighthood, forfeit his pension and be put on trial. Almost everyone agrees he should give back his mis-claimed expenses, as well as his tax-free pay-off when he eventually steps down. Voters throughout Gosport, Lee, Stubbington and Hill Head have strongly backed Lib Dem calls for Sir Peter to RESIGN NOW.
The only people still supporting Sir Peter are the Gosport Conservatives. Instead of passing a vote of no confidence in him and forcing him to stand down immediately, they have ALLOWED him to continue. Little wonder – seeing as Sir Peter claimed £18,000 of taxpayers money on their behalf for nice new furniture for their office on Stoke Road.
Now, the Conservative Party's HQ – sick and tired of the embarassing antics of their Gosport Conservative Association – are holding a sham 'open primary' in Gosport and are asking people to pick their next candidate from a hand-picked shortlist of Dave "Hug-a-Hoodie” Cameron's favoured few.
NOT ONE OF THE WOULD-BE CANDIDATES IS FROM GOSPORT. Indeed, the Conservative Party STOPPED anyone from the Gosport Conservative Association from even making it onto the shortlist! Which is not really all that surprising, seeing as they can hardly be trusted...
Local people, however, are seeing through the charade. Whoever the Conservatives announce as their next candidate, Gosport Council Taxpayers will STILL be asked by the Gosport Conservative Association to CARRY ON footing the bill for Sir Peter's wages and expenses.
More and more people are backing the Lib Dem campaign demanding that Peter Viggers RESIGN NOW. You can join us by visiting our website: www.gosportfocus.co.uk.
You can also help Gosport Liberal Democrats stamp out the stench of corruption and the cancer of Conservative complacency that has brought our town to its knees – and start rebuilding a better future for local people.
Monday 11 May 2009
MPs' expenses - time to end this scandal NOW
The recent revelations about MPs’ expenses have focused on government ministers and senior Conservative politicians. But it now emerges that Gosport’s own MP, Peter Viggers, is claiming £24,000 a year on a “second home” and, according to local press reports, was involved in claiming £18,000 from the taxpayer in order to redecorate local Conservative Party offices in Gosport. Viggers’ Conservative colleagues go so far as to boast of “taking advantage” of this rotten system.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, has succinctly summarised the rights and wrongs of the current debacle – rights and wrongs it seems so many MPs, including our own Mr Viggers, seem to find it so hard to understand. Writing in The Independent, he says:
“The basic problem is this: claims for expenses should reflect expenditure legitimately and necessarily incurred by a Member of Parliament as part of his or her duties – no more, no less. Instead, they have been used by too many MPs as an alternative income stream, as a way of bumping up salary without having to vote through an embarrassing increase.
“It is quite wrong that MPs should be taking out mortgages with money provided by the taxpayer, then pocketing the capital gain when the property is sold. It is even worse when they regularly change the designation of their second home in order to maximise the income they can generate through the allowance system.
“Does the Home Secretary not realise how wrong it looks to the average person when she calls her sister's spare room her main home, while running up bills at taxpayers' expense for her real home, where her family lives?
“And how can it be right to charge the taxpayer for oil paintings, goldfish bowls, pot plants, and mock Tudor beams?
“The standard defence trotted out is that everything done has been within the rules. But that does not make it ethically correct, not least because those rules have been written by MPs themselves.
“And so we have the unedifying spectacle of Peter Mandelson, who after all knows a thing about houses, claiming £3,000 to improve his house less than a week after he announced his intention to stand down as an MP. Within the rules? Yes. Defensible? No.”
Quite.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, has succinctly summarised the rights and wrongs of the current debacle – rights and wrongs it seems so many MPs, including our own Mr Viggers, seem to find it so hard to understand. Writing in The Independent, he says:
“The basic problem is this: claims for expenses should reflect expenditure legitimately and necessarily incurred by a Member of Parliament as part of his or her duties – no more, no less. Instead, they have been used by too many MPs as an alternative income stream, as a way of bumping up salary without having to vote through an embarrassing increase.
“It is quite wrong that MPs should be taking out mortgages with money provided by the taxpayer, then pocketing the capital gain when the property is sold. It is even worse when they regularly change the designation of their second home in order to maximise the income they can generate through the allowance system.
“Does the Home Secretary not realise how wrong it looks to the average person when she calls her sister's spare room her main home, while running up bills at taxpayers' expense for her real home, where her family lives?
“And how can it be right to charge the taxpayer for oil paintings, goldfish bowls, pot plants, and mock Tudor beams?
“The standard defence trotted out is that everything done has been within the rules. But that does not make it ethically correct, not least because those rules have been written by MPs themselves.
“And so we have the unedifying spectacle of Peter Mandelson, who after all knows a thing about houses, claiming £3,000 to improve his house less than a week after he announced his intention to stand down as an MP. Within the rules? Yes. Defensible? No.”
Quite.
Tuesday 17 March 2009
Barclays slammed over tax document secrecy
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable today criticised Barclays for obtaining a court order banning The Guardian newspaper from publishing documents showing how the bank set up companies to avoid paying hundreds of millions of pounds in tax.
He has also offered to provide a witness statement to support the press in court, saying:
"These documents are clearly of immense public interest, suggesting as they do a systematic attempt to avoid paying tax.
"At a time when banks are receiving massive support from the Government, the public has a right to know if those same banks are also trying to avoid paying their tax bills.
"Barclays is negotiating for substantial government backing under the Asset Protection Scheme. The Government must make it an absolute pre-condition that tax avoidance at the expense of the taxpayer should stop.
"The scale of tax avoidance by banks has not been previously exposed because it is so hard to report on. These documents provide chapter and verse on the banks' activities. Banks have been able to hide behind commercial confidentiality and threats of legal action to prevent their tax avoidance becoming known.
"There needs to be an open discussion of the banks' tax avoidance and its role in causing the financial crisis. Allowing independent tax professionals to examine these documents is vital to regulating the banks in a way that properly protects the UK taxpayer."
He has also offered to provide a witness statement to support the press in court, saying:
"These documents are clearly of immense public interest, suggesting as they do a systematic attempt to avoid paying tax.
"At a time when banks are receiving massive support from the Government, the public has a right to know if those same banks are also trying to avoid paying their tax bills.
"Barclays is negotiating for substantial government backing under the Asset Protection Scheme. The Government must make it an absolute pre-condition that tax avoidance at the expense of the taxpayer should stop.
"The scale of tax avoidance by banks has not been previously exposed because it is so hard to report on. These documents provide chapter and verse on the banks' activities. Banks have been able to hide behind commercial confidentiality and threats of legal action to prevent their tax avoidance becoming known.
"There needs to be an open discussion of the banks' tax avoidance and its role in causing the financial crisis. Allowing independent tax professionals to examine these documents is vital to regulating the banks in a way that properly protects the UK taxpayer."
Lib Dem victory on data sharing plans
The government has DROPPED controversial plans to allow people's personal details to be shared between different organisations.
The move follows a campaign by the Liberal Democrats to drop the clause in the Coroners and Justice Bill, which is currently being considered by MPs.
In a humiliating climbdown, Justice Minister Michael Wills today conceded that the powers were "drawn too widely".
The plans prompted heated debate in the Commons when the bill was first discussed in January, with even former home secretary David Blunkett raising concerns about whether they were justified.
The Liberal Democrats argued that, under the bill, data sharing would not just be restricted to public bodies, and that people's information could have been given to private companies in any country.
Mr Wills today told Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders: "I hope it will give your constituents some reassurance that we have now withdrawn the clause that they are worried about."
The move follows a campaign by the Liberal Democrats to drop the clause in the Coroners and Justice Bill, which is currently being considered by MPs.
In a humiliating climbdown, Justice Minister Michael Wills today conceded that the powers were "drawn too widely".
The plans prompted heated debate in the Commons when the bill was first discussed in January, with even former home secretary David Blunkett raising concerns about whether they were justified.
The Liberal Democrats argued that, under the bill, data sharing would not just be restricted to public bodies, and that people's information could have been given to private companies in any country.
Mr Wills today told Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders: "I hope it will give your constituents some reassurance that we have now withdrawn the clause that they are worried about."
1,000+ police have criminal convictions
Over a thousand serving police officers in Great Britain have criminal convictions, according to new figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats.
The information, gathered from Freedom of Information requests to Britain’s police forces, shows how:
- There were 1,063 serving police officers in 41 police forces across Britain who had criminal convictions
- This includes five officers who were sacked by the force but reinstated by the Home Office
- There are 77 serving police officers with convictions for violent offences who have kept their jobs: 59 with convictions for assault; 14 for violence against the person; two for battery; and one for wounding
- In the last five years, just 45 have been dismissed from the police for violent offences
- 96 serving police officers have convictions for offences of dishonesty: 36 for theft; five for perverting the course of justice; three for fraud; and one each for dishonesty and forgery
- In the last five years, just 37 have been dismissed from the police for dishonesty
- 210 officers have been dismissed or required to resign in the past five years as a result of other criminal convictions
Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, said:
"It is staggering that so many of the people entrusted to protect us from crime have criminal convictions themselves.
"It is even more worrying that so many police officers convicted of serious crimes involving dishonesty or violence have been allowed to keep their jobs.
"There is a disturbing lack of consistency in how police forces deal with officers who are convicted of crimes.
"The public entrust the police with the use of legal force precisely because they are self-disciplined and restrained, which is why anyone convicted of a violent offence should be dismissed.
"I cannot see how a police officer convicted of dishonesty can perform their duty effectively, as any prosecutor would be reluctant to call them as a witness for fear of being taken apart by the defence.
"The public will be rightly concerned that there are serving police officers who have committed crimes as serious as GBH, assault, wounding and robbery.
"The trust that is absolutely vital in policing is seriously undermined when police officers are being convicted of crimes of dishonesty.
"Allowing police officers convicted of offences of violence or dishonesty to continue serving merely brings the vast majority of law-abiding and diligent officers into disrepute. Police forces should get tough on bad apples."
The information, gathered from Freedom of Information requests to Britain’s police forces, shows how:
- There were 1,063 serving police officers in 41 police forces across Britain who had criminal convictions
- This includes five officers who were sacked by the force but reinstated by the Home Office
- There are 77 serving police officers with convictions for violent offences who have kept their jobs: 59 with convictions for assault; 14 for violence against the person; two for battery; and one for wounding
- In the last five years, just 45 have been dismissed from the police for violent offences
- 96 serving police officers have convictions for offences of dishonesty: 36 for theft; five for perverting the course of justice; three for fraud; and one each for dishonesty and forgery
- In the last five years, just 37 have been dismissed from the police for dishonesty
- 210 officers have been dismissed or required to resign in the past five years as a result of other criminal convictions
Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, said:
"It is staggering that so many of the people entrusted to protect us from crime have criminal convictions themselves.
"It is even more worrying that so many police officers convicted of serious crimes involving dishonesty or violence have been allowed to keep their jobs.
"There is a disturbing lack of consistency in how police forces deal with officers who are convicted of crimes.
"The public entrust the police with the use of legal force precisely because they are self-disciplined and restrained, which is why anyone convicted of a violent offence should be dismissed.
"I cannot see how a police officer convicted of dishonesty can perform their duty effectively, as any prosecutor would be reluctant to call them as a witness for fear of being taken apart by the defence.
"The public will be rightly concerned that there are serving police officers who have committed crimes as serious as GBH, assault, wounding and robbery.
"The trust that is absolutely vital in policing is seriously undermined when police officers are being convicted of crimes of dishonesty.
"Allowing police officers convicted of offences of violence or dishonesty to continue serving merely brings the vast majority of law-abiding and diligent officers into disrepute. Police forces should get tough on bad apples."
Monday 16 March 2009
We need more bobbies on the beat
Lib Dems are calling for measures to pay for 10,000 more police within our communities.
The party is calling on the government to scrap its costly plans for huge 'Titan' prisons, currently estimated at between £1.7bn and £2.3bn. New evidence shows that smaller prisons are more effective at rehabilitating prisoners, meaning far fewer commit crimes when they are eventually released.
The Liberal Democrats say that better policing and improved detection are more effective in cutting crime than ‘posturing over penalties'. Money saved from scrapping ID cards would provide an extra 10,000 police officers.
The party is calling on the government to scrap its costly plans for huge 'Titan' prisons, currently estimated at between £1.7bn and £2.3bn. New evidence shows that smaller prisons are more effective at rehabilitating prisoners, meaning far fewer commit crimes when they are eventually released.
The Liberal Democrats say that better policing and improved detection are more effective in cutting crime than ‘posturing over penalties'. Money saved from scrapping ID cards would provide an extra 10,000 police officers.
Don't keep innocent people's DNA
The UK has by far the largest DNA database in the world, with 4.5 million people registered. Now, innocent children are having their DNA taken and it is being held on the database for ever.
Holding innocent people's information on the database contradicts one of the fundamental tenets of British democracy: 'innocent until proven guilty'.
It is particularly worrying that information on 700,000 children who have never been convicted, cautioned or charged with any offence are on the database.
Some of the most bizarre examples include that of the three children who climbed a cherry tree to build a tree house. They were arrested for criminal damage and had their DNA taken, but the case was never taken any further.
Another is that of a the 14-year old boy who was a victim of mistaken identity when teachers at his school gave police the wrong name after a brawl between pupils. Even after admitting they had arrested the wrong boy, the police refused to remove his DNA.
Liberal Democrats believe that innocent people should have their DNA records removed from the database.
Holding innocent people's information on the database contradicts one of the fundamental tenets of British democracy: 'innocent until proven guilty'.
It is particularly worrying that information on 700,000 children who have never been convicted, cautioned or charged with any offence are on the database.
Some of the most bizarre examples include that of the three children who climbed a cherry tree to build a tree house. They were arrested for criminal damage and had their DNA taken, but the case was never taken any further.
Another is that of a the 14-year old boy who was a victim of mistaken identity when teachers at his school gave police the wrong name after a brawl between pupils. Even after admitting they had arrested the wrong boy, the police refused to remove his DNA.
Liberal Democrats believe that innocent people should have their DNA records removed from the database.
Sunday 8 March 2009
Nick Clegg's message of hope
"We are the only party that will put money into people’s pockets with fair tax cuts. The only party to offer universal childcare and smaller classes in our primary schools. The only party that will use Gordon Brown’s wasted billions to create thousands of jobs today by investing in homes, hospitals, schools and public transport to build the green economy of tomorrow. The only party that will rebuild the jobs, homes and hopes this recession has destroyed. So don’t believe the doubters, the nay-sayers, the professional cynics. This time it can be different."
- extract from Nick Clegg's speech to Lib Dem conference today
You can read his speech in full at http://tinyurl.com/betterfuture
- extract from Nick Clegg's speech to Lib Dem conference today
You can read his speech in full at http://tinyurl.com/betterfuture
Lowest Council Tax increase in years
The Liberal Democrats have given Gosport one of its lowest Council Tax increases for years. The inflation-beating rise of just 2.5% is also one of the lowest in the country.
Gosport Council's share of the Council Tax for a Band D property will go up by just £4.94 a year this April. That's less than 10p a week.
Sadly the Conservative County Council have increased their share of the Council Tax by four times as much, adding £19.17 for a Band D property and increasing their share of the Council Tax for a Band D to over £1,000 for the first time.
While Liberal Democrat Gosport cuts Town Hall waste and bureaucracy, the County Council Conservatives are spending £40 million on new Council offices!
Gosport Council's share of the Council Tax for a Band D property will go up by just £4.94 a year this April. That's less than 10p a week.
Sadly the Conservative County Council have increased their share of the Council Tax by four times as much, adding £19.17 for a Band D property and increasing their share of the Council Tax for a Band D to over £1,000 for the first time.
While Liberal Democrat Gosport cuts Town Hall waste and bureaucracy, the County Council Conservatives are spending £40 million on new Council offices!
Bank boss should pay us back
The Lib Dems are demanding that the ex-HBOS boss blamed for the bank’s collapse give back his pension.
Sir James Crosby, 50 — who has quit as a City regulator after claims he ignored disaster warnings — has a £10million pension pot.
Details were buried in a new annual report from HBOS, which has merged with Lloyds. Taxpayers now own 43 per cent of the firm.
Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said Sir James had a “moral obligation” to repay some of the money.
Sir James Crosby, 50 — who has quit as a City regulator after claims he ignored disaster warnings — has a £10million pension pot.
Details were buried in a new annual report from HBOS, which has merged with Lloyds. Taxpayers now own 43 per cent of the firm.
Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said Sir James had a “moral obligation” to repay some of the money.
Do you really trust this lot with your data?
Government staff are misplacing their security passes at a rate of 23 a day, it has emerged. Almost 17,000 civil service passes have been lost or stolen over the past two years. Around two thirds of the misplaced cards have been misplaced by staff at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The figures follow a series of other security lapses by civil servants, including an incident where highly sensitive intelligence files on al-Qaeda were left on a train by a senior Whitehall official. In January last year, a laptop with the details of 600,000 people on it was taken from a Royal Navy officer’s car in Birmingham, and in November 2007, two CDs with details of 25 million Britons were lost after being posted from a Revenue and Customs office in Tyne and Wear.
This government cannot and should not be trusted with our personnel information. All this latest incident does is demonstrate the serious issues around data security should National ID cards be introduced.
The figures follow a series of other security lapses by civil servants, including an incident where highly sensitive intelligence files on al-Qaeda were left on a train by a senior Whitehall official. In January last year, a laptop with the details of 600,000 people on it was taken from a Royal Navy officer’s car in Birmingham, and in November 2007, two CDs with details of 25 million Britons were lost after being posted from a Revenue and Customs office in Tyne and Wear.
This government cannot and should not be trusted with our personnel information. All this latest incident does is demonstrate the serious issues around data security should National ID cards be introduced.
Fight for our Freedoms
"I'm a liberal – I'm against this sort of thing." That's what Harry Wilcox, a dry cleaner from North London, said when asked to produce his ID card in the 1950s. He drew the line.
It's time we drew that line again. The actions of two repressive parties – first the Conservatives, now Labour – have robbed us of too many of our fundamental rights and freedoms.
The Liberal Democrats are proposing the Freedom Bill - http://freedom.libdems.org.uk - and here's a selection of the measures it incorporates:
• Scrap ID cards for everyone.
• Restore the right to protest in Parliament Square.
• Scrap the ContactPoint database of all children in Britain.
• Remove innocent people from the DNA database.
• Reduce the maximum period of pre-charge detention to 14 days.
You can read the full set at http://freedom.libdems.org.uk/
It's time we drew that line again. The actions of two repressive parties – first the Conservatives, now Labour – have robbed us of too many of our fundamental rights and freedoms.
The Liberal Democrats are proposing the Freedom Bill - http://freedom.libdems.org.uk - and here's a selection of the measures it incorporates:
• Scrap ID cards for everyone.
• Restore the right to protest in Parliament Square.
• Scrap the ContactPoint database of all children in Britain.
• Remove innocent people from the DNA database.
• Reduce the maximum period of pre-charge detention to 14 days.
You can read the full set at http://freedom.libdems.org.uk/
Tuesday 24 February 2009
New bid to save Haslar backed by Shadow Home Secretary
Chris Huhne, the Shadow Home Secretary and Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, has launched a new Liberal Democrat website, www.gosportfocus.co.uk, and an online campaign to save Haslar Hospital.
Chris Huhne called on Gosport residents to visit the website and to sign the online petition which calls on the MOD to hand over the site to a Council-led partnership which plans to take it over and keep beds and services open. He also warned that the Tories were not to be trusted on health issues.
Huhne said that the Liberal Democrats were now the only party committed to saving Haslar following The News’ report which revealed that the Tory leader David Cameron thought Haslar has no future, adding that Gosport Conservatives cannot even convince their own party leadership to support Haslar. Chris Huhne gave support to the local Liberal Democrats’ efforts to find a viable future for the Haslar site which ensures beds and health services are kept on after the Ministry of Defence leaves.
The Gosport Liberal Democrat plan includes redeveloping part of the site to pay for the cost of keeping 250 beds open plus clinical services and medical research. Gosport Council’s Lib Dem administration has been in talks with developers who are prepared to back the bold plan to keep the historic hospital open, but they say that the public’s support is vital to its success.
Chris Huhne called on Gosport residents to visit the website and to sign the online petition which calls on the MOD to hand over the site to a Council-led partnership which plans to take it over and keep beds and services open. He also warned that the Tories were not to be trusted on health issues.
Huhne said that the Liberal Democrats were now the only party committed to saving Haslar following The News’ report which revealed that the Tory leader David Cameron thought Haslar has no future, adding that Gosport Conservatives cannot even convince their own party leadership to support Haslar. Chris Huhne gave support to the local Liberal Democrats’ efforts to find a viable future for the Haslar site which ensures beds and health services are kept on after the Ministry of Defence leaves.
The Gosport Liberal Democrat plan includes redeveloping part of the site to pay for the cost of keeping 250 beds open plus clinical services and medical research. Gosport Council’s Lib Dem administration has been in talks with developers who are prepared to back the bold plan to keep the historic hospital open, but they say that the public’s support is vital to its success.
REVEALED: British police taser children
Liberal Democrats have forced the Home Office to admit that police 'shot' children with taser guns 28 times in a 20-month period.
At the same time, experts have questioned Home Office claims that tasers are “non-lethal”.
Police officers must be able to protect themselves, but these weapons have killed more than 300 people in the United States and should not be issued to untrained officers.
We need an in-depth inquiry into the use of Tasers before they become commonplace on British streets.We must not slide down a slippery slope towards fully-armed, US-style policing.
At the same time, experts have questioned Home Office claims that tasers are “non-lethal”.
Police officers must be able to protect themselves, but these weapons have killed more than 300 people in the United States and should not be issued to untrained officers.
We need an in-depth inquiry into the use of Tasers before they become commonplace on British streets.We must not slide down a slippery slope towards fully-armed, US-style policing.
We can't have a bonus? Then we demand a pay increase – bankers
According to the Independent online, bankers are demanding a pay rise to compensate for the loss of bonus payments. “Base salaries at investment banks across the board will have to rise to compensate people for the falls in bonuses they have seen,” said one senior corporate finance investment banker.
Surely the laws of supply and demand suggest that this is completely perverse, as there is a currently a significant reduction in the demand for bankers as the sector contracts. If members of the financial services community are managing to pull the wool over the eyes of their shareholders, this suggests that the problems of governance in the sector are even deeper than we imagined.
The continued ability of the semi-nationalised banks to put highly paid staff ahead of taxpayers shows that the Government has been far too detached and pathetic in its arms-length approach to them.
Surely the laws of supply and demand suggest that this is completely perverse, as there is a currently a significant reduction in the demand for bankers as the sector contracts. If members of the financial services community are managing to pull the wool over the eyes of their shareholders, this suggests that the problems of governance in the sector are even deeper than we imagined.
The continued ability of the semi-nationalised banks to put highly paid staff ahead of taxpayers shows that the Government has been far too detached and pathetic in its arms-length approach to them.
Schools still failing teenagers
Government education adviser Mike Tomlinson estimates that up to 25,000 teenagers are leaving school before starting to study for GCSEs. In other words, thousands of young people are dropping out of school early because the education system has let them down.
This shows just how ludicrous it is for the Government to raise the education leaving age when it can’t even get 14 year olds to turn-up. Ministers need to get a grip on this problem and create a system which motivates and challenges all young people.
Instead of producing more targets and gimmicks, ministers need to provide a better range of vocational qualifications and allow students to access college education from age 14.
This shows just how ludicrous it is for the Government to raise the education leaving age when it can’t even get 14 year olds to turn-up. Ministers need to get a grip on this problem and create a system which motivates and challenges all young people.
Instead of producing more targets and gimmicks, ministers need to provide a better range of vocational qualifications and allow students to access college education from age 14.
Every UK home could be made energy-efficient within 10 years
Every UK home could be made energy-efficient within 10 years in a revamp of British housing stock equivalent to the "digital switchover".
It is estimated that carbon emissions from British homes account for a quarter of the country's total. Under EU agreements, the government has 42 years to cut emissions by 80%.
Currently just one per cent of our housing stock is energy-efficient, yet only half of Britain's poorest households are ineligible for help from the £852m “Warm Front” scheme set up by the government to try to cut fuel bills with grants for home insulation and heating.
The government should underwrite renovation work worth £6,500 per household. Householders should be able to apply for commercial loans to revamp their homes, with the cost being repaid through energy bills that should fall because of improved energy efficiency of the renovated house.
It is estimated that carbon emissions from British homes account for a quarter of the country's total. Under EU agreements, the government has 42 years to cut emissions by 80%.
Currently just one per cent of our housing stock is energy-efficient, yet only half of Britain's poorest households are ineligible for help from the £852m “Warm Front” scheme set up by the government to try to cut fuel bills with grants for home insulation and heating.
The government should underwrite renovation work worth £6,500 per household. Householders should be able to apply for commercial loans to revamp their homes, with the cost being repaid through energy bills that should fall because of improved energy efficiency of the renovated house.
Lib Dem plans for education to be launched
Liberal Democrats are gearing up to officially launch their new package of education education policies which aim to offer long-term proposals to invest in every child from their first day in childcare, through their time at school, to their last day at university.
The policies will be a key plank of the party's manifesto at the next election, just as education has been in past elections. It is through education that we can break down the barriers to social mobility and truly create an opportunity society in Britain. We can train our young people to be productive members of our economy - filling skills gaps for industry and competing in the global economy.
With increased childcare, smaller class sizes and greater funding for the
most disadvantaged, we will ensure that we provide the best education for our
children. With the abolition of tuition fees we will ensure that students
are no longer crippled by debt and with greater support for adult education
we will support life long learning.
The policies will be a key plank of the party's manifesto at the next election, just as education has been in past elections. It is through education that we can break down the barriers to social mobility and truly create an opportunity society in Britain. We can train our young people to be productive members of our economy - filling skills gaps for industry and competing in the global economy.
With increased childcare, smaller class sizes and greater funding for the
most disadvantaged, we will ensure that we provide the best education for our
children. With the abolition of tuition fees we will ensure that students
are no longer crippled by debt and with greater support for adult education
we will support life long learning.
RBS plans £1bn staff bonuses... out of taxpayer bailout
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable has hit out at the Royal Bank of Scotland's plans to pay almost £1billion in bonuses - despite being propped up with £20billion of public money.
"This is unbelievably crass and irresponsible behaviour by people who have learned absolutely nothing and appear to have no standards of honesty."
Around half of the total would be "discretionary" payments to RBS staff. RBS are "contractually" obliged to give the rest of the cash to employees of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank they bought last year in a catastrophic deal.
"This is unbelievably crass and irresponsible behaviour by people who have learned absolutely nothing and appear to have no standards of honesty."
Around half of the total would be "discretionary" payments to RBS staff. RBS are "contractually" obliged to give the rest of the cash to employees of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank they bought last year in a catastrophic deal.
How we are now “forbidden” from knowing about MPs' foreign trips
Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has started a new row over Parliamentary secrecy by blocking the release of information about foreign trips for MP’s.
The dispute started after the Commons Registrar of Members’ Interests, decided that MPs should not have to declare details of trips they make abroad as guests of the British Council, which is a taxpayer-funded body.
Since February 2007, 12 MPs have travelled overseas with the British Council to destinations including Thailand, India and Malawi, often at a cost to the taxpayer of thousands of pounds.
MPs are required to declare any hospitality they receive from outside organisations, and the British Council does not appear on a list of bodies whose gifts are exempt from the requirement.
When The Sunday Telegraph attempted to use the Freedom of Information Act to ask the Commons authorities why the trips were not being declared, Mr Martin, the Speaker, took the highly unusual action of issuing a certificate preventing the release of any information about how the decision was reached.
The document claims Parliamentary privilege to avoid releasing the information. The certificate even prevents any further investigation by the Information Commissioner, who would normally have the power to intervene.
The Speaker’s decision not to allow the release of information that campaigners claim should be in the public domain has been condemned by MPs from all parties as well as civil liberty experts.
Mr Martin has been previously criticised for trying to suppress details of MPs’ expenses, and for trying to exclude some of their work from the Freedom of Information Act.
It is not the first time that the Speaker has used this controversial certificate, as in 2006, he also issued a certificate which prevented the release of a list of MPs’ staff under Freedom of Information laws, claiming that identifying the employees would “prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs” despite the Information Commissioner ruling that there were no legitimate grounds for witholding the names. Last year, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that two MPs and a peer travelled to Bangkok with the British Council for a two-day conference, two flying first class and the other flying business class.
Documents obtained from the British Council under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that other MPs have enjoyed business and first class flights. They show that the British Council spent £5,018 on business class flights for Mark Lancaster, the Conservative MP, who travelled to Malawi in 2008.
Sally Keeble, the Labour MP, who went on the same trip, flew out economy class and returned business class at a cost of £2,452. In May 2007, Derek Wyatt was flown to India business class by the British Council at a cost of £2,142. Other MPs who have received hospitality from the British Council in the last two years include Phyllis Starkey, Tony Baldry, Denis Macshane, Charles Clarke, Edward Garnier, Patricia Hewitt and Paul Keetch.
The dispute started after the Commons Registrar of Members’ Interests, decided that MPs should not have to declare details of trips they make abroad as guests of the British Council, which is a taxpayer-funded body.
Since February 2007, 12 MPs have travelled overseas with the British Council to destinations including Thailand, India and Malawi, often at a cost to the taxpayer of thousands of pounds.
MPs are required to declare any hospitality they receive from outside organisations, and the British Council does not appear on a list of bodies whose gifts are exempt from the requirement.
When The Sunday Telegraph attempted to use the Freedom of Information Act to ask the Commons authorities why the trips were not being declared, Mr Martin, the Speaker, took the highly unusual action of issuing a certificate preventing the release of any information about how the decision was reached.
The document claims Parliamentary privilege to avoid releasing the information. The certificate even prevents any further investigation by the Information Commissioner, who would normally have the power to intervene.
The Speaker’s decision not to allow the release of information that campaigners claim should be in the public domain has been condemned by MPs from all parties as well as civil liberty experts.
Mr Martin has been previously criticised for trying to suppress details of MPs’ expenses, and for trying to exclude some of their work from the Freedom of Information Act.
It is not the first time that the Speaker has used this controversial certificate, as in 2006, he also issued a certificate which prevented the release of a list of MPs’ staff under Freedom of Information laws, claiming that identifying the employees would “prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs” despite the Information Commissioner ruling that there were no legitimate grounds for witholding the names. Last year, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that two MPs and a peer travelled to Bangkok with the British Council for a two-day conference, two flying first class and the other flying business class.
Documents obtained from the British Council under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that other MPs have enjoyed business and first class flights. They show that the British Council spent £5,018 on business class flights for Mark Lancaster, the Conservative MP, who travelled to Malawi in 2008.
Sally Keeble, the Labour MP, who went on the same trip, flew out economy class and returned business class at a cost of £2,452. In May 2007, Derek Wyatt was flown to India business class by the British Council at a cost of £2,142. Other MPs who have received hospitality from the British Council in the last two years include Phyllis Starkey, Tony Baldry, Denis Macshane, Charles Clarke, Edward Garnier, Patricia Hewitt and Paul Keetch.
Beating the housing crisis
Lib Dems have launched a raft of proposals to boost the availability of affordable housing, stem the tide of repossessions and rescue the beleaguered construction industry.
Among them are plans to introduce a “Repair and Renewal” loan scheme for owners of empty properties if they agree to lease them for at least five years to housing associations.
As the recession deepens, social housing queues are growing ever longer while the construction industry has ground to a halt. Renovating empty and abandoned properties can provide low cost homes while boosting the struggling construction sector.
Among them are plans to introduce a “Repair and Renewal” loan scheme for owners of empty properties if they agree to lease them for at least five years to housing associations.
As the recession deepens, social housing queues are growing ever longer while the construction industry has ground to a halt. Renovating empty and abandoned properties can provide low cost homes while boosting the struggling construction sector.
“No frills mortgages” will help kickstart lending
The Liberal Democrats have called for the introduction of basic mortgages secured by the Government to protect borrowers from the collapse in lending by banks and building societies.
“Safestart” mortgages would be fixed for five years at a suggested interest rate of around 4.5 per cent and would be available to borrowers with a 15 per cent deposit. There would not be any fees attached to the deal.
The plan by the Lib Dems is designed to break the deadlock in the mortgage market, caused by the collapse in wholesale moneymarkets which traditionally supported new mortgage lending.
Mortgage lending fell to a record low in January. Lenders granted £12.4 billion in mortgages last month, down 8.4 per cent from £13.5 billion in December and down 52.1 per cent year on year, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show.
“Safestart” mortgages would be fixed for five years at a suggested interest rate of around 4.5 per cent and would be available to borrowers with a 15 per cent deposit. There would not be any fees attached to the deal.
The plan by the Lib Dems is designed to break the deadlock in the mortgage market, caused by the collapse in wholesale moneymarkets which traditionally supported new mortgage lending.
Mortgage lending fell to a record low in January. Lenders granted £12.4 billion in mortgages last month, down 8.4 per cent from £13.5 billion in December and down 52.1 per cent year on year, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show.
Failed bank boss should pay us back
The man responsible for the collapse of HBOS back will collect a pension of over half a million pounds a year.
Whilst 50-year old Sir James Crosby is picking up a fat pension, the taxpayer is picking up the pieces of his mistakes. Crosby ignored repeated disaster warnings, and now we are all paying the cost.
Can we have our money back, please Sir?
Whilst 50-year old Sir James Crosby is picking up a fat pension, the taxpayer is picking up the pieces of his mistakes. Crosby ignored repeated disaster warnings, and now we are all paying the cost.
Can we have our money back, please Sir?
Saturday 7 February 2009
Annual Dinner latest
The menu for the Gosport Lib Dems Annual Dinner (see below for detailed post) – at which CHRIS HUHNE MP is guest speaker – reaches us:
Fan of Gallia melon
Chicken wrapped in Parma ham served with vegetables and a white wine sauce
Profiteroles
Tea and coffee
The vegetarian option is mushroom tagliatelle.
The annual dinner is taking place at the Alverbank Hotel on Friday 13 February, at 7.30 for 8 pm. Tickets are available from Bob Forder: r.w.forder@btinternet.com
Fan of Gallia melon
Chicken wrapped in Parma ham served with vegetables and a white wine sauce
Profiteroles
Tea and coffee
The vegetarian option is mushroom tagliatelle.
The annual dinner is taking place at the Alverbank Hotel on Friday 13 February, at 7.30 for 8 pm. Tickets are available from Bob Forder: r.w.forder@btinternet.com
82-year old Lib Dem Councillor confronts youths goading dog
The following story reaches us from the Islington Tribune about a Lib Dem councillor with a track record of tackling crime and anti-social behaviour head-on:
FACED with a group of youths goading a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to strip bark off trees to toughen its jaws, a lesser person would walk away. But 82-year-old deputy mayor and Lib Dem councillor Anna Berent is not a lesser person – she once bit a burglar – and the safety of the tree, in Petherton Road, in Highbury, was more important to her. …
Cllr Berent said: “I was going home and I saw these young men with a dog. It was attacking the tree. I wandered in that direction because I had to go past them anyway and said: ‘Nice dog but you really shouldn’t teach it to rip bark off the trees’.
“They said trees die anyway and I said give them a chance and they will live longer than you. “They ‘Humphed’ and walked away.”
But Cllr Berent was not shaken by the experience. She said: “I was marginally nervous but I always feel that I’m probably the least likely age and appearance to be thumped. I’m not a challenge to anyone’s masculinity. I’m much too old to be a sex object and I’m not so decrepit that I look like I will fall over if anybody blew.”
FACED with a group of youths goading a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to strip bark off trees to toughen its jaws, a lesser person would walk away. But 82-year-old deputy mayor and Lib Dem councillor Anna Berent is not a lesser person – she once bit a burglar – and the safety of the tree, in Petherton Road, in Highbury, was more important to her. …
Cllr Berent said: “I was going home and I saw these young men with a dog. It was attacking the tree. I wandered in that direction because I had to go past them anyway and said: ‘Nice dog but you really shouldn’t teach it to rip bark off the trees’.
“They said trees die anyway and I said give them a chance and they will live longer than you. “They ‘Humphed’ and walked away.”
But Cllr Berent was not shaken by the experience. She said: “I was marginally nervous but I always feel that I’m probably the least likely age and appearance to be thumped. I’m not a challenge to anyone’s masculinity. I’m much too old to be a sex object and I’m not so decrepit that I look like I will fall over if anybody blew.”
Thursday 5 February 2009
Chris Huhne MP coming to Gosport
Shadow Home Secretary and Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh CHRIS HUHNE is the guest speaker at the Annual Dinner of Gosport Liberal Democrats, which is being held at the Alver Bank Hotel on Friday 13 February.
Huhne, who came within 500 votes of becoming the Lib Dem party leader when Ming Campbell stood down last year, prompted the recent police investigation into Labour members of the House of Lords who allegedly told undercover Sunday Times reporters they had tabled amendments to legislation for paying clients. Huhne has now asked Scotland Yard to extend its cash-for-influence investigation to cover claims made about four more members of the House of Lords.
The MP for Eastleigh this week said that the loss of 400-500 jobs at the Ford Southampton assembly plant was a "hammer blow" for the workers, their families and the local economy. He added that the latest Ford results showed that the car company was "bleeding cash" and was forced to take desperate measures, which were communicated on Wednesday to the trade unions at the plant. But he blamed the Government for worsening the situation by failing to ensure that there was credit for van purchasers.
"Last week's statement from Lord Mandelson missed the key ingredient, which is the loans that van purchasers need as they do not buy vans and cars with cash up front. A van is an investment that needs to be paid back over its lifetime," said Mr Huhne.
"Ford Credit Europe Bank has been struggling, along with other car company financing arms, to raise the cash to loan to customers. This is a key problem if the market is to be stabilised and jobs are to be saved” he added.
"These are desperate times for the car industry with collapsing sales, restricted credit and now job losses. My sympathies are with the local families whose future now looks so uncertain."
Tickets for the annual dinner are priced £22 and are available from Bob Forder on 023 9252 7965 or at r.w.forder@btinternet.com.
Huhne, who came within 500 votes of becoming the Lib Dem party leader when Ming Campbell stood down last year, prompted the recent police investigation into Labour members of the House of Lords who allegedly told undercover Sunday Times reporters they had tabled amendments to legislation for paying clients. Huhne has now asked Scotland Yard to extend its cash-for-influence investigation to cover claims made about four more members of the House of Lords.
The MP for Eastleigh this week said that the loss of 400-500 jobs at the Ford Southampton assembly plant was a "hammer blow" for the workers, their families and the local economy. He added that the latest Ford results showed that the car company was "bleeding cash" and was forced to take desperate measures, which were communicated on Wednesday to the trade unions at the plant. But he blamed the Government for worsening the situation by failing to ensure that there was credit for van purchasers.
"Last week's statement from Lord Mandelson missed the key ingredient, which is the loans that van purchasers need as they do not buy vans and cars with cash up front. A van is an investment that needs to be paid back over its lifetime," said Mr Huhne.
"Ford Credit Europe Bank has been struggling, along with other car company financing arms, to raise the cash to loan to customers. This is a key problem if the market is to be stabilised and jobs are to be saved” he added.
"These are desperate times for the car industry with collapsing sales, restricted credit and now job losses. My sympathies are with the local families whose future now looks so uncertain."
Tickets for the annual dinner are priced £22 and are available from Bob Forder on 023 9252 7965 or at r.w.forder@btinternet.com.
Wednesday 4 February 2009
NEW GOVERNMENT BAILOUT IS BLANK CHEQUE
Without a thorough review of all the assets that are being underwritten, the latest government bank bail-out means ministers are effectively writing a blank cheque to the banks that have arguably been largely responsible for the financial crisis.
The Government is now proposing to underwrite billions of pounds worth of debt which could leave taxpayers open to vast losses.
Ministers are offering hardly any details about the terms of this underwriting. Taxpayers are being signed up to yet another bank bailout, when it is clear the Government hasn't done its homework. The £100bn insurance of bad debts owned by the banks could result in enormous losses for taxpayers, since these assets are being insured in a falling market and there are still further big losses to come in the property market.
The Prime Minister says he is putting in place proper controls to monitor the use of taxpayers' money. They should already be there! Why weren't the banks required to make a full declaration of their bad loans when the £37bn was invested?
With RBS now 70% publicly owned, there can be no more excuses for it not to start lending at reasonable levels to viable businesses and individuals.
The Government is now proposing to underwrite billions of pounds worth of debt which could leave taxpayers open to vast losses.
Ministers are offering hardly any details about the terms of this underwriting. Taxpayers are being signed up to yet another bank bailout, when it is clear the Government hasn't done its homework. The £100bn insurance of bad debts owned by the banks could result in enormous losses for taxpayers, since these assets are being insured in a falling market and there are still further big losses to come in the property market.
The Prime Minister says he is putting in place proper controls to monitor the use of taxpayers' money. They should already be there! Why weren't the banks required to make a full declaration of their bad loans when the £37bn was invested?
With RBS now 70% publicly owned, there can be no more excuses for it not to start lending at reasonable levels to viable businesses and individuals.
Northern Rock Bonuses
Nationalised bank Northern Rock is to award staff a 10% bonus.
Northern Rock, you will recall, was nationalised in February 2008 after a run on the bank in 2007. Once Britain's fifth-biggest home loan provider, it was taken into public ownership after it failed to find a suitable buyer from the private sector.
A Northern Rock spokesman refused to be drawn on how much money was being paid out, but pointed out that the staff-wide bonus scheme had been announced in October. He also stressed that no executives or senior management would benefit. The reward comes after staff met targets on repaying the bank's £26bn loan from the government.
Asked whether Mr Brown approved of the bonuses, the prime minister's spokesman said: "Northern Rock, as I think is well known, has repaid its debts to the government at a rate faster than originally planned for. Operational decisions such as this are a matter for Northern Rock."
Northern Rock still owes billions to taxpayers. At a time when millions of people are facing pay cuts or even unemployment, this bonus is hard to understand. And harder to accept.
Northern Rock, you will recall, was nationalised in February 2008 after a run on the bank in 2007. Once Britain's fifth-biggest home loan provider, it was taken into public ownership after it failed to find a suitable buyer from the private sector.
A Northern Rock spokesman refused to be drawn on how much money was being paid out, but pointed out that the staff-wide bonus scheme had been announced in October. He also stressed that no executives or senior management would benefit. The reward comes after staff met targets on repaying the bank's £26bn loan from the government.
Asked whether Mr Brown approved of the bonuses, the prime minister's spokesman said: "Northern Rock, as I think is well known, has repaid its debts to the government at a rate faster than originally planned for. Operational decisions such as this are a matter for Northern Rock."
Northern Rock still owes billions to taxpayers. At a time when millions of people are facing pay cuts or even unemployment, this bonus is hard to understand. And harder to accept.
Tories No Better Than Labour On Managing the Economy
Last week, the respected independent research organisation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies released their forecast for UK's public finances. Interestingly, they showed that Labour and the Conservatives are just as bad as each other at managing the UK economy.
Charting the UK's progress, they demonstrated the structural budget balance had risen from minus 5% of national income under the Tories to 1% after three years in government from 1979, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. It then fell to minus 5% after 14 years, closing at minus 3% again after 18 years. Everyone remembers the Conservatives' humiliating failure with Sterling and the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).
And guess what. Under Labour the structural budget balance started at minus 3% in 1997, rose to 1% again after three years, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies now forecast that the balance will fall again to minus 7% after thirteen years before closing at minus 3% again. And so no better than where they started.
So neither party left the public finances in a healthy position after many years in government.
After seeing so much crisis and failure, its now time to give Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and the very well respected Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable and colleagues a chance.
Charting the UK's progress, they demonstrated the structural budget balance had risen from minus 5% of national income under the Tories to 1% after three years in government from 1979, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. It then fell to minus 5% after 14 years, closing at minus 3% again after 18 years. Everyone remembers the Conservatives' humiliating failure with Sterling and the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).
And guess what. Under Labour the structural budget balance started at minus 3% in 1997, rose to 1% again after three years, but then fell back to minus 3% after eleven years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies now forecast that the balance will fall again to minus 7% after thirteen years before closing at minus 3% again. And so no better than where they started.
So neither party left the public finances in a healthy position after many years in government.
After seeing so much crisis and failure, its now time to give Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and the very well respected Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable and colleagues a chance.
Monday 2 February 2009
Latest Poll...
There were 7 local Council elections in Britain last week. Of the 3 being defended by Labour, two were gained by the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems also won a seat from the Tories, gained 2 others from independents, and held the seat they were defending.
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Quote of the week
"This is a humiliating climbdown for Gordon Brown after he was forced to accept that people will not tolerate MPs continuing to act like members of a secret society. It is also a victory for everyone who think that politicians should be open and accountable to the people who pay their wages."
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, commenting on news that Gordon Brown has retreated from plans to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act - 21 January
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, commenting on news that Gordon Brown has retreated from plans to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act - 21 January
DEMOCRACY SPECIAL: PM dodges MPs questions
Lib Dem MP Norman Baker has a formidable reputation as a parliamentary inquisitor. After being elected to Parliament in 1997 he asked more questions in his first three months than his Conservative predecessor had asked in 23 years. His notable achievements since include triggering Peter Mandelson's second Cabinet resignation with his questions over the passport application of billionaire Dome sponsor Srichand Hinduja, and winning a freedom of information battle with the Commons authorities over the publication of MPs' expenses.
But according to Norman the job of the inquisitor is getting harder. In an adjournment debate on January 22nd he claimed that, while Labour ministers had initially improved the fullness and frankness of answers to parliamentary questions when they took over in 1997, the years since had seen a big increase in the use of classic answer avoidance techniques. These include the partial answer, use of the ‘disproportionate cost' excuse, and referring the questioner to an often lengthy statistical digest or website rather than providing an answer directly.
Norman said the number of questions being denied an answer on the basis of commercial confidentiality was also on the up. "An analysis of the number of times that that reason was used under the Conservatives before 1997 can be demonstrated by a steadily rising graph, but that graph drops dramatically after 1997 when the Minister's Government came to power. I have to say, however, that the graph has subsequently risen to the level that it had reached under the Conservatives. It is difficult to imagine that there were fewer matters of commercial confidentiality in 1998 than at any other point, and there is rightly a suspicion that the number of times when that excuse, or reason, for not giving a full answer has been given is related not simply to the existence of commercial confidentiality but to the difficulty or expediency involved in not giving an answer for political reasons."
Norman said that questions that would previously have been answered were now being rebuffed. "In about 1998, I asked the former Department of Transport... about the carriage of radioactive material by air. I asked how many flights carried radioactive material, and I was given a specific figure. When I asked that question again recently, I was told that those figures were not collected. I cannot believe that in the past 10 years, the Government have decided not to collect those figures, but that is what I was told." On another occasion, he said, a minister had given a misleading answer to another MP because a question asked how much nuclear waste was carried by air, rather than how much spent nuclear fuel. The intention of the question was clear, said Norman, but while the answer was technically correct, it was totally misleading.
Norman identified Gordon Brown as one of the biggest offenders at failing to answer questions. Of the 23 written parliamentary questions he had tabled to the PM over the last 12 months, only four had been answered in any way satisfactorily. "Sometimes the Prime Minister will provide irrelevant information: he is asked one thing, but his reply bears no relation to the question he was asked. Sometimes he provides information that is so vague that it cannot be used in any shape or form. Sometimes he answers the bit of the question he likes, and leaves unanswered the bits that are more difficult to answer."
He gave the example of a question he had tabled to 22 ministers, including the Prime Minister, about when they had last travelled by train. 18 ministers had responded with a precise date. Two had given holding answers. But the Prime Minister and the Chancellor refused to give the information. Mr Brown had just provided a bland statement of his general criteria for deciding how to travel. Another example was the Prime Minister's refusal to answer a question about when he had last met Tony Blair.
While there may be circumstances in which it is legitimate to not answer a parliamentary question, the sheer number of occasions on which this is happening suggests that increasingly, the test was whether an answer would cause political embarrassment. This is a misuse of power, the government must change its ways.
But according to Norman the job of the inquisitor is getting harder. In an adjournment debate on January 22nd he claimed that, while Labour ministers had initially improved the fullness and frankness of answers to parliamentary questions when they took over in 1997, the years since had seen a big increase in the use of classic answer avoidance techniques. These include the partial answer, use of the ‘disproportionate cost' excuse, and referring the questioner to an often lengthy statistical digest or website rather than providing an answer directly.
Norman said the number of questions being denied an answer on the basis of commercial confidentiality was also on the up. "An analysis of the number of times that that reason was used under the Conservatives before 1997 can be demonstrated by a steadily rising graph, but that graph drops dramatically after 1997 when the Minister's Government came to power. I have to say, however, that the graph has subsequently risen to the level that it had reached under the Conservatives. It is difficult to imagine that there were fewer matters of commercial confidentiality in 1998 than at any other point, and there is rightly a suspicion that the number of times when that excuse, or reason, for not giving a full answer has been given is related not simply to the existence of commercial confidentiality but to the difficulty or expediency involved in not giving an answer for political reasons."
Norman said that questions that would previously have been answered were now being rebuffed. "In about 1998, I asked the former Department of Transport... about the carriage of radioactive material by air. I asked how many flights carried radioactive material, and I was given a specific figure. When I asked that question again recently, I was told that those figures were not collected. I cannot believe that in the past 10 years, the Government have decided not to collect those figures, but that is what I was told." On another occasion, he said, a minister had given a misleading answer to another MP because a question asked how much nuclear waste was carried by air, rather than how much spent nuclear fuel. The intention of the question was clear, said Norman, but while the answer was technically correct, it was totally misleading.
Norman identified Gordon Brown as one of the biggest offenders at failing to answer questions. Of the 23 written parliamentary questions he had tabled to the PM over the last 12 months, only four had been answered in any way satisfactorily. "Sometimes the Prime Minister will provide irrelevant information: he is asked one thing, but his reply bears no relation to the question he was asked. Sometimes he provides information that is so vague that it cannot be used in any shape or form. Sometimes he answers the bit of the question he likes, and leaves unanswered the bits that are more difficult to answer."
He gave the example of a question he had tabled to 22 ministers, including the Prime Minister, about when they had last travelled by train. 18 ministers had responded with a precise date. Two had given holding answers. But the Prime Minister and the Chancellor refused to give the information. Mr Brown had just provided a bland statement of his general criteria for deciding how to travel. Another example was the Prime Minister's refusal to answer a question about when he had last met Tony Blair.
While there may be circumstances in which it is legitimate to not answer a parliamentary question, the sheer number of occasions on which this is happening suggests that increasingly, the test was whether an answer would cause political embarrassment. This is a misuse of power, the government must change its ways.
Britain’s trains are most expensive in Europe – yet thousands are cancelled every year
MORE than 62,000 train journeys were cancelled in Britain last year, according to new figures.
Yet off-peak rail fares are higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
In Britain, £10 only takes travellers an average of 26 miles. In comparison, £10 in Serbia provides 512 miles of rail travel.
Even with an off-peak return ticket in Britain, £10 only buys 56 miles of travel on the railways, making Britain's off-peak returns more expensive than single tickets in more than half of European countries.
British rail passengers are being ripped off. Nowhere else in Europe are passengers taken advantage of in this way.
The Government doesn’t give a damn about rail passengers, with inflation-busting fare rises that will force some travellers to swap the train for the car - and every indication that this will only get worse.
The Government has got transport policy upside down, with more polluting forms of travel regularly cheaper than more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Ministers are putting a huge amount of effort into forcing through an environmentally disastrous third runway at Heathrow while ignoring the plight of rail passengers.
Yet off-peak rail fares are higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
In Britain, £10 only takes travellers an average of 26 miles. In comparison, £10 in Serbia provides 512 miles of rail travel.
Even with an off-peak return ticket in Britain, £10 only buys 56 miles of travel on the railways, making Britain's off-peak returns more expensive than single tickets in more than half of European countries.
British rail passengers are being ripped off. Nowhere else in Europe are passengers taken advantage of in this way.
The Government doesn’t give a damn about rail passengers, with inflation-busting fare rises that will force some travellers to swap the train for the car - and every indication that this will only get worse.
The Government has got transport policy upside down, with more polluting forms of travel regularly cheaper than more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Ministers are putting a huge amount of effort into forcing through an environmentally disastrous third runway at Heathrow while ignoring the plight of rail passengers.
Data plan is draconian
The government plans to allow people's details to be shared across government departments and agencies.
The Information Sharing Orders would remove data protection restrictions that mean information can only be used for the purpose it was taken.
The plans are not confined to public bodies - private companies in any country could also see people's information, and there would be a greater risk of information being lost.
Among other measures in the bill is one to allow some inquests in England and Wales to be held without juries.
The Information Sharing Orders would remove data protection restrictions that mean information can only be used for the purpose it was taken.
The plans are not confined to public bodies - private companies in any country could also see people's information, and there would be a greater risk of information being lost.
Among other measures in the bill is one to allow some inquests in England and Wales to be held without juries.
One third of suspected crimes fail to reach court
Almost a third of criminal suspects arrested in the past year were not charged, government figures have shown.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, has admitted that out of 550,000 cases leading to arrests last year, 160,000 were dropped.
This is a substantially higher number than was expected by the government and we need to know why.
Either police are not preparing cases as well as they should be, which seems unlikely, or the Crown Prosecution Service are getting more choosy about when to charge.
We owe it to the victims concerned to get to the bottom of this. At the moment it is out of order that so many cases are being investigated and then nothing happens.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, has admitted that out of 550,000 cases leading to arrests last year, 160,000 were dropped.
This is a substantially higher number than was expected by the government and we need to know why.
Either police are not preparing cases as well as they should be, which seems unlikely, or the Crown Prosecution Service are getting more choosy about when to charge.
We owe it to the victims concerned to get to the bottom of this. At the moment it is out of order that so many cases are being investigated and then nothing happens.
Expel Lords who break the law
The allegations of accepting payment in return for changing legislation are serious enough. But on top of that the sanctions applied to the peers if they are found guilty are so weak.
The most the accused peers will have to do if the Lords’ investigation finds them guilty is to apologise.
It is wholly out of step with the public’s legitimate demand for transparency in politics that just because someone happens to be in the House of Lords they are exempt from the most basic standards of accountability.
Sunday 25 January 2009
Police 'should probe Lords case'
The Liberal Democrats have called for a police inquiry into allegations that four Labour peers were prepared to accept money to change proposed laws.
Home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said if the claims, made in the Sunday Times newspaper, were true a criminal offence would have been committed.
The four are said to have offered to amend laws in return for up to £120,000 - claims that they all deny.
The Leader of the House of Lords has promised a full investigation.
The Sunday Times said its reporters had posed as lobbyists acting for a foreign client.
This firm was said to be setting up a chain of shops in the UK and wanting an exemption from the Business Rates Supplements Bill.
Mr Huhne said the Lords must "toughen up" its own procedures to make sure allegations such as these did not surface again.
From BBC News Online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7849990.stm
Saturday 24 January 2009
Bringing back the Beast could backfire...
So David Cameron has brought back Ken Clarke to the Tory front bench. It is a decision which could come back to haunt him at the ballot box. Many people still remember “The Beast's” shameful record as the Chancellor that ABOLISHED student grants, introduced VAT on fuel, DOUBLED national debt ,and CUT NHS and education budgets.
Roll on the election...
Friday 23 January 2009
Conservative membership collapse under Cameron
The Tories are suffering a massive slump in Party membership. Secret party documents show 40,000 supporters have left since David Cameron took over as leader three years ago. Overall, Tory Party membership has fallen from 290,000 to 250,000 in the three years since Cameron took over. The fall in membership and the revenue it brings in, along with the credit crunch, means the Tories have been forced to take drastic steps to balance their books.
Last month ten per cent of Conservative Central Office staff were made redundant. Some 24 staff at the party's Millbank headquarters lost their jobs. In a separate move the party also closed its Constituency Campaigning Services-based in Coleshill Manor in the West Midlands. It provided campaigning material and acted as a call centre for constituency parties.
Labour passes the buck on recession
The BBC is reporting that government will fight the recession with “every weapon at its disposal. However, they have been slow to react and they have not put in place the building blocks for economic stability – they have a decade in which they have achieved very little.
Figures published on Friday showed that UK economic output contracted by 1.5% in the last three months of 2008 compared with the previous three months. This was the steepest quarterly fall since 1980.
The UK economy has now shrunk in each of the past two quarters - it fell 0.6% between July and September - providing official confirmation that the UK is in recession for the first time since the early 1990s.
Unemployment has been rising sharply with the total number of people out of work now at its highest level since 1997.
Friday’s figures confirm what everyone in Britain has seen coming for a long time.
It’s a sad commentary on a decade of Labour government that they have succeeded in producing an almost exact replica of the boom-bust cycle we had under the Conservatives.
The recession cannot be blamed simply on problems overseas. In blaming everything on the US, Gordon Brown is desperately seeking to pull the wool over our eyes and distract attention from his own failure.
For a decade he presided over an overheated housing market and a City of London gambling with the nation’s future. The Government must now urgently clear up the confusion over its bank bail out plans.
Gordon Brown must deliver big, permanent and fair tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes and use the money wasted on a pointless VAT cut on a huge green job creation scheme instead.
Heads must roll over Home Office data loss fiasco
The Information Commissioner’s Office has ruled that the Home Office breached data protection laws when a memory stick containing the personal information of thousands of prisoners was lost.
This latest judgement is another nail in the coffin for public trust in the Government. Institutionalised disregard for our personal data continues to worsen. It only serves to demonstrate that going ahead with the ID card scheme will pose a real threat to the security of our personal data.
Heads must roll if the slapdash culture is to end.
Anti-knife campaign fails as crime soars
We are facing a crimewave which is being fuelled by the recession. Latest figures show a big rise in knife-point robberies, burglaries, and fraud.
Robberies at knife-point are up 18 per cent, domestic burglaries are up four per cent and fraud or forgery is up 16 per cent.
More people died last year as a result of stabbings than at any time since records began. The Home Office figures show that robberies involving “knives or sharp instruments” were up 18 per cent between July and September last year, compared with the same period in 2007.
Fatal stabbings increased by 10 per cent to 270 in 2007-8, the highest since records began in 1977.
Domestic burglaries were up for the first time since 2002, by four per cent from 66,900 between July and September 2007 to 69,700 in the same period last year.
Other types of burglary were also up, by three per cent.
Drugs offences were nine per cent higher in July to September 2008 than in the same quarter the previous year and fraud and forgery increased by 16 per cent.
There is now clear evidence of rising crime as the recession bites.
The effectiveness of the anti-knife crime campaign launched by the government last June is questionable. The Government has failed to effectively roll out the measures that we know work against knife crime.
Posturing about penalties is no substitute for the hard graft of visible and intensive policing.
Labour's housing failure as repossessions soar
Yesterday, it was announced that repossessions were rising at an alarming rate; today we hear that the number of households on local authority housing waiting lists has hit 1.77 million - official statistics show this is up 100,000 on last year.
With the banks overstretching their credit facilities it could well mean that in the coming months that councils will have to help pick up the pieces as people end up on social housing waiting lists.
Since Labour took power 12 years ago the council house waiting list has risen from one million to almost 1.8 million, showing this Government has failed to build anywhere near the number of social homes Britain desperately needs.
The Government’s response to the social housing crisis is not only inadequate but scandalous. It is essential that the Government uses the current economic crisis to allow councils and housing associations to buy up land to build new social houses for the increasing number of families left waiting for social housing.
By allowing social housing to wither, the Government has let down hundreds of thousands of families.
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