Posts Tagged ‘National’

Labour will kill the recovery

Monday, April 5 2010

The Conservatives have launched a poster as part of a wider campaign highlighting how Labour’s job tax will kill the recovery.

“Labour have confirmed today that they are going ahead with a national insurance tax rise on jobs that Britain’s business leaders say will endanger jobs”, said George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor.

The Conservatives have also unveiled new research showing how National Insurance has become Labour’s favourite stealth tax:

• Total receipts from National Insurance have risen over five times faster than income tax receipts over the last decade.
• Average National Insurance Contributions (NICs) per family have risen over twelve times as much as average income tax receipts per family over the same period.
• In that time Gordon Brown cut the basic rate of income tax once (as part of the 10p tax con) but he increased National Insurance rates in three different ways – and that’s even before Labour’s new tax on jobs planned for 2011

“With Gordon Brown now finally forced to call the election, the choice is clear”, Osborne added.

“Labour’s jobs tax and debt will stamp out the green shoots and kill the recovery. Conservative plans to cut wasteful government spending and stop the jobs tax will get Britain working.”

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Top Business Leaders Back Tories On Tax

9:42am UK, Thursday April 01, 2010

Ruth Barnett, Sky News Online

A group of business leaders have written a letter backing the Conservatives’ proposal to halt a planned rise in National Insurance.

David Cameron described it as a “very important moment in the election campaign”.

The executive chairman of Marks and Spencers, Sir Stuart Rose, and easyJet entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are among the 23 people to have signed the letter, which is published in the Daily Telegraph.

The signatories employ around half a million workers between them.

They agree with shadow chancellor George Osborne that increasing NI by 1p next April, as Labour plans to do, is bad news for the economy.

“The Government’s proposal to increase national insurance, placing an additional tax on jobs, comes at exactly the wrong time in the economic cycle,” the letter says.

The Labour Party feel that the Conservatives’ plan has not been properly costed and not properly thought through.

Sky’s political correspondent Joey Jones

“In a personal capacity, we welcome George Osborne’s plan to stop the proposed increase in national insurance by cutting Government waste.”

Mr Cameron told BBC Breakfast: “These household names – people like Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Mothercare – are saying that Labour’s plans to put up National Insurance contributions are the biggest threat to the recovery.

“They are saying there is no threat to the recovery from cutting waste in 2010 but there is a threat to the recovery from putting up National Insurance contributions.

George Osborne

“Labour have said the whole thing is that we can secure the recovery. Well, today that plank of their whole approach has been removed.”

Chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to introduce the rise as a way of paying off some of the nation’s debts.

But Mr Osborne said he would axe the increase for people earning less than £45,000 if his party wins power at the next election. He said he would pay for this by finding efficiency savings worth £12bn.

Mr Darling counters that Mr Osborne’s policy is at odds with the Conservatives’ claim they would cut the deficit sooner and deeper than the Government plans.

Treasury Chief Secretary Liam Byrne said the Conservatives were not able to fund their promise on NI.

“No business goes to its shareholders with unfunded promises – but that’s exactly what the Tories are doing,” he said.

The captains of industry and top business leaders are fully aware of the failure of this Labour Government. They are giving their full backing to the Conservatives, because they know we have the experience and common sense, to get rid of Labour’s crippling debt,  but not at the expense of putting more businesses out of action, or risking the creation of new jobs.

Members of the public whose jobs are hanging by a thread need to take note and ensure their vote is for the Conservatives. Another term of Labour could spell disaster for them and everyone else in the United Kingdom.

Jim Ferguson

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Gordon Brown his said any anger is usually directed at himself

Labour has gone on the offensive over Gordon Brown’s temperament after an anti-bullying charity said it had been contacted by staff from his office.

The prime minister’s Parliamentary aide called for evidence of the calls from the National Bullying Helpline.

Charity boss Christine Pratt has said she spoke out in anger at government denials of staff mistreatment in No 10.

The Observer had reported that civil service head Sir Gus O’Donnell warned the PM about behaviour towards staff.

Labour MP Anne Snelgrove – who is the prime minister’s Parliamentary private secretary – said the charity “needs to demonstrate that these questions really have come from staff at Number 10″.

“Why is she [Ms Pratt] going public with this rather than taking it up privately if these phone calls were genuine?”

In ‘denial’

The charity’s chief executive told the BBC that its helpline had been called three or four times by Downing Street staff in the last three or four years.

Ms Pratt added: “Over recent months we have had several inquiries from staff within Gordon Brown’s office.

“Some have downloaded information; some have actually called our helpline directly and I have spoken to staff in his office.”

She said she would expect any employer in this situation not to “go into denial, but to look into it, to follow due process”.

Outright denial could “compound the stress of those who believe they are being bullied”, she said.

“We are not suggesting that Gordon Brown is a bully, what we are saying is staff in his office working directly with him have issues, and have concerns, and have contacted our helpline.”

What Labour had hoped would be a one-day story is getting wind in its sails BBC deputy political editor James Landale

Downing Street said it had never been contacted by the charity about the allegations, a No 10 spokesman adding that it had “rigorous, well established procedures” for “staff to address any concerns over inappropriate treatment or behaviour”.

“The civil service will continue to have a no tolerance policy on bullying,” the spokesman said.

Warning claim

Reports of Mr Brown’s alleged mistreatment of staff appeared in extracts from a book by the Observer’s chief political commentator Andrew Rawnsley.

The book includes details of incidents where it is alleged Mr Brown grabbed staff by the lapels, shoved them aside and shouted at them.

Downing Street says the reports are “malicious allegations” that are “without foundation”.

I have not seen any of that behaviour in all the time I have been at No 10 or an MP Labour MP Anne Snelgrove

Responding to the allegations, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “I don’t think he so much bullies people as he is very demanding of people.”

Other members of the cabinet rallied to the prime minister’s defence, with Home Secretary Alan Johnson saying that in 17 years he had “never” heard Mr Brown raise his voice.

A Cabinet Office statement said: “It is completely untrue to say that the cabinet secretary ever gave the prime minister a verbal warning about his behaviour”.

Mr Rawnsley told the BBC his source for the story was “24 carat”.

‘Non-political’

BBC deputy political editor James Landale said Ms Pratt’s claims had “put paid” to Labour’s hopes that “allegations about Gordon Brown’s temper would fade once the Sunday papers were forgotten”.

“What Labour had hoped would be a one-day story is now getting wind in its sails and disrupting even further the party’s election plans.”

Mrs Snelgrove questioned why the National Bullying Helpline had “popped up out of the blue when all of this is happening around Gordon”.

NICK ROBINSON’S NEWSLOG The woman who told the BBC her National Bullying Helpline was called by three people who worked with the prime minister is now at the centre of a political storm Read Nick’s latest blog in full

She added: “Life is too short to work for someone who is a bully and I would not be working for Gordon if he was a bully.

“I have not seen any of that behaviour in all the time I have been at No 10 or an MP.”

Tory MP Ann Widdecombe is a patron of the charity, whose website also displays a statement of support from Conservative leader David Cameron.

Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business recommends the helpline to businesses.

The charity says it is non-political, and the BBC has found no evidence of any political involvement by Ms Pratt or the helpline.

Ms Widdecombe said it would be “quite a good idea” for Sir Gus to take “an informal look” at workplace conditions at No 10.

But she criticised Ms Pratt’s decision to go public, saying the helpline was supposed to be confidential.

Labour is starting to disintegrate and the Prime Minister is in denial. His shocking agressive past is now catching up with him and his latest attempts to persuade the public have failed. Being a strong leader is one thing. Being an aggressive bully is quite another and no one in high office can be allowed to treat people in such an appalling way.

Its time for Brown and his cabal of misfits to go once and for all. We dont need him and we dont want him.

Jim Ferguson

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