A Drop In the Ocean - But Every Little Helps

As Tesco profits take a nose dive (unrelated, but they deserve a mention since I've borrowed their slogan), the Government announced today that is has saved taxpayers over £100m on property this financial year.

the Cabinet Office said that savings have been delivered following the introduction of "strict property controls and getting a better grip on the property estate".

Minister for Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said, " We are getting a grip on the Government estate - introducing greater transparency has not only shown the true scale of what we own or lease, it has enabled us to see the scope for savings and to push ahead with making them.

" In our determination to find savings for taxpayers, we have introduced tight controls and saved over £100 million in the first nine months of this financial year.


" We expect even greater savings by the end of this Parliament, as we make better use of space and put an end to the days where the government estate was bigger, inefficient and went without scrutiny.

" Governments will always need property, but it can only be right that the public can see what property is held and how efficiently it is being used."


While £100 million saved is great news, and saves the taxes of 16,000 workers, it doesn't even pay one days interest on Britain's debt mountain.

Press: Politicisation of Caerphilly Newsline Exposed - Conservatives Slam Council Propaganda Spend

Caerphilly Welsh Conservative spokesman, Owen Meredith, has today repeated his call for Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC) to scrap its ‘Newsline’ newspaper after Wales Online (5th December) revealed that material used for the tax-payer funded publication was lifted straight from Plaid Cymru’s website.

In April, Mr Meredith criticised the Council after his Freedom of Information request showed that more than half a million pound of taxpayers’ money had been spent on Council self promotion over the last 5 years. CCBC spent £512,000 on its ‘Newsline’ publication between 2005/6 and 2010/11. The council refused to reveal its full marketing budget under the same request.

Mr Meredith commented:

“In April, Welsh Conservatives exposed the shocking levels of taxpayers’ money being ploughed in to this vanity newspaper.

“Today we have seen shocking evidence of the abuse of taxpayer funds by Plaid Cymru. There is now nowhere for them to hide. The Newsline has been well and truly exposed as the shameful propaganda tool we have always said it was.

“In hard times, Caerphilly Council are spending the taxes of more than 110 council tax payers every year on this Plaid Cymru mouthpiece. It should be scrapped today!

“Both Labour and Plaid administrations in Caerphilly have indulged in self promotion through the Newsline. The Welsh Conservatives are the only party in Caerphilly who would scrap the paper and invest the money in frontline services, where it can make a real difference to local families.”

Letter to the Editor

Dear Sir,

6 months on from the Welsh Assembly election, what have Labour delivered for Wales?

200 more people in the benefits queue; 120 more young people out of work; 50 more languishing in long term unemployment - and that in Caerphilly alone.

Labour fought the election promising to stand up for Wales, but after 12 years in power, and 6 months in to another 5 year term, yet again Labour have let us down.

 

In Caerphilly, we are lucky to have a member of the Welsh Government as our AM - none less than Employment and Skills Minister, Jeff Cuthbert. But unfortunately, just like Labour,  Jeff is failing to deliver for people in Caerphilly, and the whole of Wales.

In that election, the Welsh Conservatives and I promised radical action to tackle the unemployment that has blighted Caerphilly for decades - a new approach on jobs, a financial lifeline to local business, and hope for a workless generation. Jeff and Welsh Labour promised to "stand up for Caerphilly" but once again all they have done is take us for granted, promise everything, underdeliver and wait for the next election and the next chance to weigh our vote.

We deserve better. After more than 80 years of Labour representation in Caerphilly - we have seen little real progress.

Come on Jeff, isn't it time you rolled your sleeves up and started to deliver?

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Owen Meredith
Welsh Conservative Candidate (2011), Caerphilly

Fancy a Stake of £100,000?

A new initiative by Barclays and Channel 4 has been launched this month, which aims to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs and community leaders.
The Stake, launched on 11th November, and links up with social networking site, Facebook to provide young people with the chance to submit ideas for how they would like to spend a share of £100,000 to enhance their community or start a business. Users then vote to decide as an online community which projects should be funded from the prize pool.

Anyone aged between 16 and 21 can submit their idea for a community or business project that they feel will make a real difference in their local area. The most popular ideas will be considered by a panel of judges, and up to six young people will win a share of £100,000 to make their idea a reality.

The competition aims to demonstrate that business and social enterprise can be creative, fun and challenging and that good ideas and passion can be rewarded.

The competition closes on December 23rd 2011 at midnight.

You can enter The Stake via the competition website www.thestake.co.uk

Why The Government Will Vote No on Monday

Writing in Today's Daily Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary William Hague spells out the Government's opposition to an EU referendum.

On Monday, the House of Commons will vote on a motion for a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union. The Government will oppose the motion. Our policy is very clear: we believe that Britain should be in Europe, not run by Europe. We believe that Europe needs fundamental reform. As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto. But a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer.

Europe is back in the headlines across the world. The eurozone crisis is the epicentre of global economic difficulties. Monetary union without greater fiscal integration has not worked. But the countries of the eurozone are our closest neighbours; more than 40 per cent of our trade is with them. Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the eurozone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break up would have a very serious impact on our economy.

That crisis is stimulating debate in Britain about our place in Europe, a debate already alive because of the British public’s unprecedented disillusionment with the European Union. One of the major causes of this is the Lisbon Treaty. The EU is much changed since we joined in 1973: there have since been five major treaties. All the previous treaties had at least been foreshadowed in the governing party’s general election manifesto; all but Lisbon.

Not only did it not feature in Labour’s manifesto, it was almost the same as the constitutional treaty on which they promised a referendum. The Conservative Party fought hard and was united in voting for a referendum but we did not succeed: Labour got the treaty through without consulting the British people, a shameful act. That has been a serious blow to the European Union’s democratic legitimacy in this country.

There are many other reasons, such as those European policies, regulations and directives that are unnecessary and unwanted interferences in our national life. Why on earth should it be decided in Brussels what herbal medicines people here can or cannot buy? And why should the training of doctors in local hospitals be mucked about by European legislation on working hours?

But despite these many burdens and nuisances, the EU brings advantages that are enjoyed daily by people and businesses across the country and that are important for our prosperity: nearly untrammelled free trade across 27 countries, enforceable legal rights to work in all those nations, and combined clout in trade talks to open new markets for our goods and services.

The ability to lead European countries to a united position, as with sanctions on Iran and Syria, strengthens Britain’s power in the world. Even obscure directives can have benefits: directive 2009/147/EC prevents the slaughter of our garden birds as they migrate over the Mediterranean.

Consequently, my view on the European Union has long been that we should be in it to enjoy its advantages but not let ourselves be sucked into a federal state, and we should be bringing powers back rather than handing more over. That has long been the Conservative Party’s policy.

We have a Coalition Government; the two Parties differ on Europe, but in a year and a half we have accomplished more than Labour did in 13 years: there has been real success in bringing the EU budget under control, saving hundreds of millions of pounds from what Labour committed us to; where Labour enmeshed us in EU bail-outs, we have won agreement to get us permanently out of such liabilities; and now the referendum lock is law, there can be no further change to the EU treaties that shifts power from Britain to the EU without triggering a national referendum – under the provisions of the Act passed this summer all the treaties of the past 20 years would have been subject to a referendum in Britain.

The sudden holding of a referendum on leaving the EU would add to economic uncertainty at a time when businesses need all the certainty and confidence they can get. And it was clearly not part of the manifesto on which Conservative MPs were elected, or part of the Coalition Agreement by which we govern.

Instead, we should use any further changes to the EU treaties to our national advantage. The whole Government is agreed that we must first make sure that eurozone integration would not allow countries in the single currency to impose decisions on countries outside it and, second, ensure that Britain’s leading position in financial services is recognised and protected. Beyond that, we should seize opportunities as they arise to reduce the EU’s powers in Britain in other areas, most importantly in social and employment laws, where EU interference is doing real harm.

A decade ago, many thought we could settle our position on Europe as “thus far and no further”. That is no longer adequate. There may be debates about means and timing, but the Conservative Party is united around the goal of bringing powers back from Brussels to Britain. That is what we stand for, that is our aim now and that is what we will campaign for in future elections.

A Sensible Amendment - Any EU Vote Must Be In or Out

A group of 2010 intake MPs have tabled an amendment to the EU Referendum motion, to be voted on in the House on Monday. I hope the Speaker selects this amendment for debate, as it makes a much more sensible case for a referendum.



The amended motion would read: "This House calls upon the Government to publish a White Paper during the next session of parliament setting out the powers and competences that the Government would seek to repatriate from the EU, to commence a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the EU and to put the outcome of those negotiations to a national referendum.”


That allows the Government to renegotiate our relationship with Europe and then have the much needed in/out vote on the resulting deal. Rather than having a 3 option referendum which the original motion calls for.

A 3-way vote simply fails to address the issue and final settle the debate over the EU. A spilt vote and narrow victory for any of the options would not be ideal, and the most likely outcome – referendum call for renegotiation could be more damaging to the argument. With the euro-sceptics saying not enough has been achieved through renegotiation and the pro-Europeans arguing too much has been.

If we are to have an EU vote, it must settle the debate once and for all. Only an in/out referendum will do that.

Pensioners & Benefits Claimants Cash In as Inflation Spells Bad News For Government

Today’s inflation figures are bad news for the Government as the CPI rate hit 5.2%. Putting aside the political difficulties of an inflation rate that is running at more than twice the Bank of England target (2%), high inflation will cost the Government more than £5billion.
Despite a recent change from RPI to CPI for up-rating, the cost of welfare benefits and state pensions will soar next year, as their April increase is linked to the September inflation rate.

Today’s figure of 5.2% will mean that the basic state pension will have to rise by at least £5.30 a week from April. Up from £102.15 to £107.45

There are around 12 million pensioners in the UK, each gaining an extra £275 a year as a result of inflation linked payouts. Basic State Pensions alone with add £3.3bn to the welfare bill next year.

The 1.6 million Job Seekers will see their weekly payout rise from £67.50 to £71.01 – adding a further £300million to the bill.

Labour’s Maths Doesn't Add Up – University Fees Plan Is Flawed

All weekend Labour have been rolling out shadow ministers to hail their policy u-turn over tuition fees as a way of helping students and taxing the banks. Labour claim that plans to reduce the tuition fee cap would be paid for by reversing the tax corporation tax cut for financial services.

But do the figures add up?

Firstly, the policy doesn’t benefit anyone but the rich. Reducing the fees cap to £6,000 (assuming they are sticking to the Government's reformed repayment terms) will makes degrees cheaper for those earning over £140k, but do nothing for anyone else as has been explained very well here.

Secondly, they are funding it with money that has already been spent.

In March, the Chancellor announced a plan to cut corporation tax, step by step over the term of this parliament, to deliver the lowest corporate tax regime in the G7. Supporting private sector investment and job creation in the UK and giving us a corporate tax rate 16% lower than the USA.

Labour claim they would reverse this cut for financial services companies (and increase interest rates for high earning graduates) to fund the £800m cost of their tuition fees policy. Yet George Osborne was also clear that this corporation tax cut would not benefit the banks. Judging the mood of the public and ensuring that the banks pay their fair share to fix the mess they helped create, the Chancellor said:

“And to ensure that this is not a net tax cut for banks, I am adjusting the bank levy rate next year to offset its effect.

“In each and every year of this Parliament our permanent bank levy raises more than the one-year bonus tax of the last Parliament.”

Yet again, Labour are planning to spend money that doesn’t exist (even ignoring the fact they plan to tax the banks in this way to pay for their un-funded VAT cut).

Labour left office with us borrowing £1 in every £4 we spend. They still haven’t learnt you can only spend a pound once!