The chart that paints a telling picture #Jobs

source: ONS

Great set of headlines for the economy

Saturday's business pages say it all...

“Lazy Socialists” live up to their name

Lambeth council – who were branded as ‘Lazy Socialists’ by CommunitiesMinister Brandon Lewis last month – are in fact so lazy they cannot even be bothered to answer a simple questions about the cost of their taxpayer funded propaganda campaign

Shortly after the poster’s started appearing across the Borough, as a concerned Council Tax payer in Lambeth I questions the cost of this wasteful exercise. Surely my taxes could be better spent protecting the services Labour-run Lambeth claim will be hit by Coalition cuts?

Helpfully, I received a confirmation of the request and a date for reply of 22^nd March 2013. 20 days later, I am still awaiting reply.

But the 22nd came and went with no reply. I followed up with a further email, but again received no reply.

Today, I spook with thier Information Compliance Advisor who puts the blame at the door of the communications team. She says ‘this is a simple request’ which ‘should have been answered by now’. 

So why the delay? I sense the hand of political interference here, but I have been promised a response by 5pm tomorrow at the latest.

I will update with the result.

 

The Lambeth propaganda campaign

#Budget13 Graphic

A helpful Graphic on the Budget from Bell Pottinger showing the boom in borrowing under Labour and the 1/3rd fall in the deficit under the Coalition Government.

It's all about #jobs

As I argued last May the real priority is jobs and we should not panic about the growth figures as long as the jobs market is heading in the right direction. Today, we had another set of figures from the ONS showing record employment in the UK, falling inactivity and falling benefit roll.

We have seen many graphics about the rate of recovery from previous recession in terms of GDP, but this one from the Treasury today shows us about the recovery that matters to most people - jobs. We have had a far faster recovery than previous recessions:

Source: HM Treasury

Aspiration for All

I used to blog on this page under the headline 'aspiration for all'. Today, the Chancellor delivered the kind of budget I was talking about: 

A great graphic from the ONS on today's employment data

The 49 MPs who voted against Civil Partnerships - and how they are voting now #equalmarriage

Of the 49 MPs who voted against Civil Partnerships in 2004, 26 are still Members of the House of Commons. According the the Coalition for Equal Marriage, most will stick with their vote from 2004 despite the many comments in the debate today that show people who opposed CPs in 2004 have grown to accept and embrace them.

Three, worthy of comment have changed their mind - Desmond Swayne, Angela Watkinson and Patrick McLoughlin.

Here's the full list:

Civil Partnership Bill (2004) Second Reading

NOES 

Amess, David	Con	?
Arbuthnot, rh James	Con	?
Beresford, Sir Paul	Con	x
Brazier, Julian	Con	C4M Petition
Campbell, Gregory	DUP	C4M Petition
Chope, Christopher	Con	?
Dobbin, Jim	Lab	C4M Petition
Dodds, Nigel	DUP	C4M Petition
Donaldson, Jeffrey	DUP	C4M Petition
Fallon, Michael	Con	x
Francois, Mark	Con	?
Gale, Roger	Con	X
Hayes, John	Con	x
Hoban, Mark	Con	?
Howarth, Gerald	Con	x
Knight, rh Greg	Con	?
Lilley, rh Peter	Con	x
McIntosh, Miss Anne	Con	x
McLoughlin, Patrick	Con	Voting for
Paterson, Owen	Con	x
Robathan, Andrew	Con	x
Rosindell, Andrew	Con	x
Swayne, Desmond	Con	Voting for
Turner, Andrew	Con	x
Watkinson, Angela	Con	Voting for
T. Mr. Edward Leigh	Con	C4M Petition