Posts Tagged ‘poor’
Gordon Brown’s record – Conservative “Vote for Me” campaign
Michael Gove has launched a new poster campaign putting Gordon Brown’s record at the heart of the election campaign.
These posters arrive alongside a new analysis of Labour’s time in power, and you can view both by clicking the links below.
Speaking at the launch, Shadow Education Secretary Michael Gove said:
“Gordon Brown is asking people to vote him in for another five years but he and his tired Government will just make things worse.”
“He has doubled our national debt and squandered billions of pounds selling off Britain’s gold at rock bottom prices. He has taken billions out of our pensions system and doubled the tax rate for the poorest workers. He has let down our young people by causing record youth unemployment, and overseen an increase in the gap between the rich and poor. And he has let 80,000 criminals out of prison early, leading to 1,500 crimes being committed by people who should have been behind bars.”
“We can’t go on like this. The choice at this election is five more years of Gordon Brown’s tired government making things worse or David Cameron and the Conservatives with the energy, leadership and values to get the country moving.”
… and here are some other things Gordon Brown did…
Cut the Defence Budget at a time of war – and got caught out denying it!
Gordon Brown misled the Chilcot Inquiry, Parliament and the public when he claimed that ‘the defence budget has been rising every year since 1997’
(Hansard, 10 March 2010, Col. 291).
He was later forced to admit that ‘I do accept that in one or two years defence expenditure did not rise in real terms’
(Hansard, 17 March 2010).
Figures from the Ministry of Defence show that the defence budget actually fell year-on-year in real terms on four occasions since 1997 – in 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2007.
(Channel 4 News Factcheck, 10 March 2010).
Taxed jobs as we were emerging from recession.
Last December, Gordon Brown’s Government announced a tax on jobs – a 0.5 per cent rise in the rate of National Insurance Contributions for both employees and employers. This comes on top of the
rise in NICs announced in the 2008 PBR, meaning a total planned rise of 1 per cent. This is a tax on all businesses and on every person earning over £20,000.
The Federation of Small Businesses has estimated that this could mean up to 57,000 jobs are lost. (FSB,
Press Release, 24 March 2010)
Increased spending on quangos by £10 billion.
The cost of unelected and poorly accountable government bodies has soared by almost £10 billion under Gordon Brown. In his first year as Prime Minister, total expenditure on so-called
“executive non-departmental public bodies” rose from £37.0 billion to £43.0 billion in 2007-08 – a 16 per cent rise
(Cabinet Office, Public Bodies 2007, p.10; Public Bodies 2008, p.10).
Figures for 2008-09 revealed quango expenditure rose by another £3.5 billion to £46.5 billion – a 7 per cent rise
(Cabinet Office, Public Bodies 2009, p.6) making a mockery of his claims to deliver a new politics.
Brought boom and bust to the NHS – which led to NHS cuts.
Despite massively increasing spending, Gordon Brown has been guilty of a ‘boom and bust’ approach to the NHS finances, forcing NHS Trusts into cuts and wasteful short-term spending. Between 2005 and 2007, 14,500 jobs were cut from the NHS as Trusts struggled to recover from deficits
(NHS Information Centre, NHS Staff 1998-2008, 25 March 2009).
And since 2004, the number of beds in the NHS has been cut by 21,500 – the equivalent of 12 per cent
(Department of Health, Bed availability and occupancy 2008-09, 30 September 2009).
Accident and Emergency departments and maternity units up and down the country have faced or are facing cuts and closures. And things are only set to get worse, as one of Gordon Brown’s own health advisers said that ‘the days of the District General Hospital are over’
(Professor Sir Ara Darzi, NHS London, A Framework for Action, 11 July 2007).
Let truancy rise to record levels.
In 1998, Gordon Brown’s Treasury set a target to reduce truancy rates to 0.5 per cent
(HM Treasury, Comprehensive Spending Review, Public Service Agreements 1999-2000, December 1998).
But the figure now stands at 1.05 per cent – up 44 per cent since 1996/7, well in excess of the Government’s target, and at a record high. 67,000 pupils skip school without permission every day
(DCSF, Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2008/09, 25 March 2010).
Paid couples more to live apart than together.
The tax credit system penalises parents who live together, giving families a financial incentive to split up.
The IFS has highlighted the fact that a couple with children earning £20,000 between them could be more than £5,000 better off in terms of benefits and tax credits if they split up.
(The Sunday Times, 4 March 2007).
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Some MP’s expenses are legitimate but are they worth it?
Danny Alexander LibDem MP
MP’s and their expenses are under ever greater scrutiny than ever before and rightly so. Some are legitimate expenses and others are bordering on outright fraud.
I found it interesting to note from the article in the Press and Journal the amount of expenses claimed by a number of Scottish MP’s which were well into the top 50 as far as amounts actually claimed.
Danny Alexander is among the highest expense claims of MP’s at Westminster. It led me to wonder if all that money for these MP’s was money well spent. While the likes of Danny Alexander claim a large geographical area as the reason for such huge expenses claimed we cannot forget the fact that its not all fares.
Not so long ago he was approached as were all the local parties to make a contribution to the Blythwood food bank appeal that was trying desperately hard to assist the poor who had no food to eat here in the Highland capital of Inverness and the surrounding area.
I had raised close to £1000 of food aid which had also come from donations from Conservative Party members and I had thought that a cross party effort would have gone a long way to helping those in need.
Danny refused to help and stated that he thought it more important to talk about the situation than to donate anything to it.
Ofcourse at that time few of us knew that every piece of food that Danny put in his mouth was paid for by the taxpayer from expenses he claimed. All legitimate ofcourse. At least as far as the law was concerned.
I am wondering what actual worth some of these MP’s actually bring though. Sure they can appear in the newspapers and opine on this and that on a regular basis.
Danny talks a lot but in my opinion and many others actions speak louder than words.
Are MP’s like Danny Alexander worth the investment ? With a bit of luck we will find out soon enough once people here in the Highlands look at the real worth of those who claim to be working so hard on our behalf.
Jim Ferguson
North and north-east members in top 50
Chairman of Scottish affairs committee was most expensive in 2009-10
Published: 05/02/2010
NINE MPs representing seats in the north and north-east were revealed last night to be among the 50 most expensive at Westminster in the last financial year.
The MP with the highest expenses for 2009-10 was Glasgow East Labour MP and Scottish affairs committee chairman Mohammed Sarwar, who is retiring at the general election – expected in May.
He racked up £192,986 in second homes allowance claims, travel expenses, office costs, computer costs and staff pay.
But his example was closely followed by MPs north of the central belt.
Moray MP Angus Robertson, ranked third most costly, last night defended his £188,164 claim. He said it was partly caused by the extra expense resulting from opening a second constituency office at Keith, and partly high travel costs.
He said: “Given the unpredictability of parliamentary schedules, weekly commuting arrangements often have to be made at short notice, which sadly adds to the travel costs.
“Constituents rightly expect you to attend to issues and events locally as well as with matters at Westminster on a weekly basis.”
He added: “The biggest cost saving from Westminster will come when Scotland is independent and we don’t need to send MPs there at all. I am focused on making that happen as quickly as possible.
At just £539 a year lower, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander, also blamed travel costs, driving round one of the biggest constituencies in the UK and commuting back and forth between Inverness and London.
Linlithgow and Falkirk East Labour MP Michael Connarty and Falkirk Labour MP Eric Joyce, at fourth and fifth, were only a few pence less.
Mr Joyce — frequently at or near the top of the expenses league — also cited travel between his home in Falkirk and London as the reason his expenses remain high, pointing out that MPs have to fly on expensive open tickets because they do not know their arrangements very far ahead.
Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran came in at No 12 in the table, claiming £182,139.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Lib Dem MP John Thurso, at No 22, claimed £178,689, Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern, 23, £178,597, and Gordon Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce, 24, £178,230.
Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart was 34th with £175,896.
The cheapest was First Minister Alex Salmond, also SNP MP for Banff and Buchan, 533rd, but he rarely appeared in Westminster, claiming £131,316, mainly in staff costs. Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil was 431st, claiming £141,583.
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