There has been quite a vast amount of discussion in the last couple of days around NHS reform with the government’s critics and multiple “self-interest” groups attacking the coalition’s plans to reform the NHS. It would have been very funny were it not such a potential danger that the opposition party can not see any need to reform our health system despite the fact that the NHS is the worlds third largest employer and that the budget for the NHS actually accounts for more of the nations tax income than any other service (I seem to remember reading somewhere that the NHS actually costs more than is collected via Income Tax, but I can’t remember where so it’s just here say.) Anyway to have the Shadow Health Secretary claim that plans to reform the NHS are driven by ideology is a chilling indictment that Nu Layb’r seem to think that all of the issue caused by their incompetence are now all forgotten, There seems to be from these people a denial of the problems that they have caused which does not just extend to their usual trick of “Not our fault gov.” and start to point towards an actual policy of “Let’s prevent anyone from trying to improve it.” A policy which could well end up being Labour’s greatest legacy to the anarchic state formally known as the UK.
Anyway the reasons for the reform for the NHS are simple so I will not spend to long labouring the point.
1) It’s too Big
2) It Costs too much
3) It does too much
4) It wastes too much
Now as a resident of the United Kingdom I love the NHS, I think deep down so do most of us, however it IS unsustainable, if you as an individual were in as much debt as the Country is and you were renting a Lamborghini at £2000 a month, it would not be considered very prudent for you to cut your £10 a month newspaper bill (Although I would advise that you also cut out the non-essential items.) instead you would be suggesting that this imaginary person got rid of the Lamborghini and got something more reasonable like an Astra. The problem faced by the UK however is that we are paying for the Lamborghini and have got an Astra, albeit an Astra that is staffed by a professional driver but the hard work of the dedicated workforce still can’t make the Astra a Lamborghini.
So if the problem is not the money going in why would Labour think that the solution is to keep adding more money, if it hasn’t worked for the last 13 years I am at a complete loss to see why they think it would work now – but I guess that kind of thinking is how they got us into this mess in the first place! – The time has not just come to reform the NHS, but has come and passed several times, and if the NHS is to be reformed isn’t it infinitely better that it is driven by local medical professionals based on the needs that they see everyday rather than going the “Labour” way and bringing in another level of management to help push the decisions back into the centre where a Bureaucrat can sit with his medical insurance plan and decide that an old lady in Lancashire doesn’t need access to a drug as it will only extend her life by five years!
Showing posts with label Coalition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coalition. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Can Vince Cable Bring Down the Government?
So it would appear from the press that the coalition are in the process of collapsing, this stunning revelation comes from Vince Cable stating that being part of the coalition is like a constant war. Now there are a few questions that come up from this story.
Primarily, is Vince Cable really a nuclear weapon? Or is this just wishful thinking? Personally I am taking this as a bit of a naive boast. Cable thought that he was talking to two Lib Dem voters in his constituency and it is possible therefore that he decided to “over egg” his power in the coalition in order to justify the votes he received. Surely there is no one man that could bring down the government in one move, if Cameron decided he’d had enough and walked away from Number 10, it may trigger an election but even then I think you will find that in this time of belt tightening and financial pain the general public have little appetite for another general election.
The Second question that struck me immediately on hearing the story was, Is anyone else actually surprised? This is a Coalition government not a single party system, a fracture in a party is something you may not expect (Although personally I welcome it.) but a fracture between two parties is hardly news worthy, I do not believe that the Lib Dems and Conservatives have formed a single party but rather are two parties doing the adult thing and are looking to put their differences aside in the national interest, this can not be easy for any of them and a coalition government will by the very definition always be weaker than a single party administration.
Finally I want to ask if Vince is actually wrong in what he said, he has always been a bit of an uncertainty in the coalition and is definitely one of the less easy cabinet members so I doubt very much that it will shock the PM too much. I am sure that they will be having a word with him to try and ensure that he is more careful with regards to who he talks too but at the end of the day shouldn’t MP’s be allowed to express their own opinions? Surely we elect these people based on believing they are the best person to represent us, therefore why do we insist on trying to silence them all the time. I may not like what Mr. Cable has to say but if it is what he believes then surely he should be allowed to say it (It would then be down to the PM to see if he should be allowed to remain in the cabinet, and the people of Twickenham to decide if he should be allowed to remain in Parliament.) I don’t really see what it has to do with the rest of us, I personally fear a time when our MP’s are not allowed to have independent thoughts, as then you will find that only a few people shape the entirety of our society.
Primarily, is Vince Cable really a nuclear weapon? Or is this just wishful thinking? Personally I am taking this as a bit of a naive boast. Cable thought that he was talking to two Lib Dem voters in his constituency and it is possible therefore that he decided to “over egg” his power in the coalition in order to justify the votes he received. Surely there is no one man that could bring down the government in one move, if Cameron decided he’d had enough and walked away from Number 10, it may trigger an election but even then I think you will find that in this time of belt tightening and financial pain the general public have little appetite for another general election.
The Second question that struck me immediately on hearing the story was, Is anyone else actually surprised? This is a Coalition government not a single party system, a fracture in a party is something you may not expect (Although personally I welcome it.) but a fracture between two parties is hardly news worthy, I do not believe that the Lib Dems and Conservatives have formed a single party but rather are two parties doing the adult thing and are looking to put their differences aside in the national interest, this can not be easy for any of them and a coalition government will by the very definition always be weaker than a single party administration.
Finally I want to ask if Vince is actually wrong in what he said, he has always been a bit of an uncertainty in the coalition and is definitely one of the less easy cabinet members so I doubt very much that it will shock the PM too much. I am sure that they will be having a word with him to try and ensure that he is more careful with regards to who he talks too but at the end of the day shouldn’t MP’s be allowed to express their own opinions? Surely we elect these people based on believing they are the best person to represent us, therefore why do we insist on trying to silence them all the time. I may not like what Mr. Cable has to say but if it is what he believes then surely he should be allowed to say it (It would then be down to the PM to see if he should be allowed to remain in the cabinet, and the people of Twickenham to decide if he should be allowed to remain in Parliament.) I don’t really see what it has to do with the rest of us, I personally fear a time when our MP’s are not allowed to have independent thoughts, as then you will find that only a few people shape the entirety of our society.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The Budget Cuts have Landed
Well the cuts are out there, well to be honest the actual details will be coming out over the next few weeks but we know the kind of cuts we are looking at.
Immediately the usual complaints started, The Unions asked why the Public Sector were the hardest hit, Labour asked why young families were the hardest hit, Age UK asked why pensioners were the hardest hit, Disabled groups asked why the disabled were the hardest hit - all whilst at the same time it actually turns out that the top 2% are actually the hardest hit and the top 15% stand to be 10k a year worse off. On top of all this several analysts have actually come out suggesting that Osbourne has not gone far enough. So what does this all mean?
Personally I think that this is probably proof that the cuts are, as Osbourne has been saying, spread across the board surely if everyone is complaining (Well not the middle class as after all there is no one to speak up for the silent majority.) then it means that the cuts are spread out.
Now obviously there are going to be complaints that the poorest are the hardest hit, but as I posted previously that is unfortunately unavoidable, when the country has run out of money it will be the people who are net costs to the state who will be hardest hit. It is very simple maths, if you receive more money from the state than you give then you will be at risk, for those of us who are net contributors then we will simply have to give more, there is a clear limit to what the government can withdraw from me and that is limited to Child Benefit as that is after all the thing they give me, in actual fact it goes to my wife so personally the government can not withdraw anything from me as they do not give me anything in the first place.
The only question that remains to be asked of the government is can they get all of the disparate groups who are feeling like the victims to see the suffering that is being spread around. If the coalition can not give a sense of empathy to the public then we may see that, as predicted by Socrates over 2300 years ago, Democracy is doomed to fail. Socrates stated of the Athenian Democracy Project that Democracy is always due to fail as the demos will always vote in their own interest at the expense of society, eventually resulting in a society which is unable to support itself (Sound familiar?)
Immediately the usual complaints started, The Unions asked why the Public Sector were the hardest hit, Labour asked why young families were the hardest hit, Age UK asked why pensioners were the hardest hit, Disabled groups asked why the disabled were the hardest hit - all whilst at the same time it actually turns out that the top 2% are actually the hardest hit and the top 15% stand to be 10k a year worse off. On top of all this several analysts have actually come out suggesting that Osbourne has not gone far enough. So what does this all mean?
Personally I think that this is probably proof that the cuts are, as Osbourne has been saying, spread across the board surely if everyone is complaining (Well not the middle class as after all there is no one to speak up for the silent majority.) then it means that the cuts are spread out.
Now obviously there are going to be complaints that the poorest are the hardest hit, but as I posted previously that is unfortunately unavoidable, when the country has run out of money it will be the people who are net costs to the state who will be hardest hit. It is very simple maths, if you receive more money from the state than you give then you will be at risk, for those of us who are net contributors then we will simply have to give more, there is a clear limit to what the government can withdraw from me and that is limited to Child Benefit as that is after all the thing they give me, in actual fact it goes to my wife so personally the government can not withdraw anything from me as they do not give me anything in the first place.
The only question that remains to be asked of the government is can they get all of the disparate groups who are feeling like the victims to see the suffering that is being spread around. If the coalition can not give a sense of empathy to the public then we may see that, as predicted by Socrates over 2300 years ago, Democracy is doomed to fail. Socrates stated of the Athenian Democracy Project that Democracy is always due to fail as the demos will always vote in their own interest at the expense of society, eventually resulting in a society which is unable to support itself (Sound familiar?)
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Sir Philip Green Set to Save us £20Bn
Sir Philip Green has completed a review into public spending and has announced that he can save the country £20bn a year in efficiency savings based on procurement and economies of scale, apparently the owner of Top Shop suggests that there is a possibility of saving 6-700M in telecoms alone. This is really just confirmation of what we have known about the Labour Governments attitude to our money all along, The attitude seems to have varied from “It’s not our money so why worry.” All the way to “We need to spend as much as possible otherwise we won’t get as much next year.” And it is this attitude as much as the actual waste that needs to be challenged if we are to ever get a real chance of closing the budget gap, and this is not just the civil servants but has been led from the politicians from the top and the Unions who seem to feel their members have a right to waste this money.
Now this £20Bn saving, if it is achieved will help protect many front line services, unfortunately it will not mean a lot in helping the Quangos and other bodies already facing cuts as after all the deficit last year was £159.8Bn so a further £139Bn of cuts are needed (Just to break even, this will not even start to pay off our now 1 Trillion of debt (or 71% of GDP) simply stop us building up anymore debt and interest. But it is 20Bn less to need to spend than if Labour had been allowed to carry on their policies of waste. After all despite what the last administration seem to believe and the attitude of many people currently living off the state – This is our Money, It comes from our hard work and taxes and it is about time someone started to look after it!
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Can Budget Cuts Ever Not Hit The Poor The Hardest
Latest story on the Obvious News Gazette comes from the Institute for Fiscal Studies a “leading think tank” - read quango - who in a study paid for by the End Child Poverty Campaign who state that the Emergency Budget apparently hit the poor and those on Benefits the hardest, not in actual terms but as a percentage of income, now I am sure that this is a very worrying trend but unfortunately there are two facts that can not be ignored.
1) All budget changes affect the poorest the most as if you only have £100 pounds and lose a £1 it is 1% if you have £1,000 and lose a £5 it is 0.5% therefore the less you have the more you will be effected, to claim this is a Tory plot is quite frankly ridiculous it is just basic economics.
2) If you are living on benefits and the country runs out of money (Which it has) you will obviously be affected, similarly if you are working for a company that runs out of money you will be at a risk of losing your income, the state is no different.
What the report does not mention however is that what the coalition are attempting to do is increase jobs and keep the country operating, no one in the government has ever said that people who rely on benefits will not be affected, obviously they will as we are all in this together, what they are saying is that if we did nothing and handed out more money we simply didn’t have eventually the facility to borrow money would dry up and the country would collapse, if you are worried about reductions in benefits how do you think it will effect the poor if benefits have to be stopped entirely (And the NHS and all other services) because the government are bankrupt? It will make losing the Child Trust Fund seem like winning the lottery.
It is time that everyone stopped worrying so much about what everyone else may or may not be having that is better than them and instead start to simply look at what is in the best interests of the country.
1) All budget changes affect the poorest the most as if you only have £100 pounds and lose a £1 it is 1% if you have £1,000 and lose a £5 it is 0.5% therefore the less you have the more you will be effected, to claim this is a Tory plot is quite frankly ridiculous it is just basic economics.
2) If you are living on benefits and the country runs out of money (Which it has) you will obviously be affected, similarly if you are working for a company that runs out of money you will be at a risk of losing your income, the state is no different.
What the report does not mention however is that what the coalition are attempting to do is increase jobs and keep the country operating, no one in the government has ever said that people who rely on benefits will not be affected, obviously they will as we are all in this together, what they are saying is that if we did nothing and handed out more money we simply didn’t have eventually the facility to borrow money would dry up and the country would collapse, if you are worried about reductions in benefits how do you think it will effect the poor if benefits have to be stopped entirely (And the NHS and all other services) because the government are bankrupt? It will make losing the Child Trust Fund seem like winning the lottery.
It is time that everyone stopped worrying so much about what everyone else may or may not be having that is better than them and instead start to simply look at what is in the best interests of the country.
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
The Big Society is Coming
Cameron today launched the “Big Society” today. I have been interested in this idea for a while as it is core to my own personal belief structure that the government should play as small a role in people’s lives as possible, and from what I had known about the Big Society Idea it appeared that the Prime Minister Agreed with me.
I believe that the plan suffers slightly from sound-byteism being a phrase that commentators can use and question without trying to understand, Nick Ferrari on LBC who tends to be quite cued up on these topics completely missed the point when he asked how the Big Society would help government force it’s will on a local council over refuse collecting, when it is obviously the exact opposite and will create more localism rather than more central control.
Having seen the PM setting out his “Great Agenda” I have to admit I am slightly disappointed, whilst I appreciate that to suddenly roll back the oppressive Labour regime would run the risk of leaving a power vacuum where people with no experience of fending for themselves are suddenly expected to start looking after themselves, however I did feel that the plan could stretch further than to 5 trial areas (Liverpool, Eden Valley, Cumbria, Windsor & Maidenhead and LB of Sutton.) The initiatives being championed include saving a rural pub, recruiting volunteers for a museum and attempting to increase local broadband schemes; and this is where I have the problem as these ideas are not a redistribution of power from Whitehall to local areas but rather government support for perverting the free market. A rural pub kept open by the state will only ever be a liability, if there is to be a pub that will continue and turn a profit then all it actually needs is customers, without which it will fail.
It is early days and hopefully this will not be the pick of the initiatives, perhaps some of them will actually involve a rolling back of government interference, so I am still optimistic and a supporter of the Big Society, just I will probably have to wait before I get too carried away.
Final words will again have to go to the former government, this time to Ed Balls (Labour Leadership Candidate and former Education Secretary.) who stated that Mr. Cameron should apologise to the people of Liverpool for stopping plans to rebuild 20 schools in the city. Once again this has made me shake my head in disbelief, that members of the last administration are so detached from reality that 1) They do not even know what topic they are being asked about and therefore seem to be bringing up random points that bear no relation to what is being spoken about; 2) They still do not understand that it is their fault, despite the fact that there is no money in the treasury (as admitted by Labour on their way out of power.) they still agreed to rebuild 20 schools and despite all of the extreme hardships THEY have inflicted on this country THEY still think they can sit around and whinge about their frivolous “vote buying” projects being cancelled. It reminds me of watching someone who is having a mental breakdown and is struggling to keep attached to the real world, a real heart break in an individual, but nearly disastrous in a political party.
I believe that the plan suffers slightly from sound-byteism being a phrase that commentators can use and question without trying to understand, Nick Ferrari on LBC who tends to be quite cued up on these topics completely missed the point when he asked how the Big Society would help government force it’s will on a local council over refuse collecting, when it is obviously the exact opposite and will create more localism rather than more central control.
Having seen the PM setting out his “Great Agenda” I have to admit I am slightly disappointed, whilst I appreciate that to suddenly roll back the oppressive Labour regime would run the risk of leaving a power vacuum where people with no experience of fending for themselves are suddenly expected to start looking after themselves, however I did feel that the plan could stretch further than to 5 trial areas (Liverpool, Eden Valley, Cumbria, Windsor & Maidenhead and LB of Sutton.) The initiatives being championed include saving a rural pub, recruiting volunteers for a museum and attempting to increase local broadband schemes; and this is where I have the problem as these ideas are not a redistribution of power from Whitehall to local areas but rather government support for perverting the free market. A rural pub kept open by the state will only ever be a liability, if there is to be a pub that will continue and turn a profit then all it actually needs is customers, without which it will fail.
It is early days and hopefully this will not be the pick of the initiatives, perhaps some of them will actually involve a rolling back of government interference, so I am still optimistic and a supporter of the Big Society, just I will probably have to wait before I get too carried away.
Final words will again have to go to the former government, this time to Ed Balls (Labour Leadership Candidate and former Education Secretary.) who stated that Mr. Cameron should apologise to the people of Liverpool for stopping plans to rebuild 20 schools in the city. Once again this has made me shake my head in disbelief, that members of the last administration are so detached from reality that 1) They do not even know what topic they are being asked about and therefore seem to be bringing up random points that bear no relation to what is being spoken about; 2) They still do not understand that it is their fault, despite the fact that there is no money in the treasury (as admitted by Labour on their way out of power.) they still agreed to rebuild 20 schools and despite all of the extreme hardships THEY have inflicted on this country THEY still think they can sit around and whinge about their frivolous “vote buying” projects being cancelled. It reminds me of watching someone who is having a mental breakdown and is struggling to keep attached to the real world, a real heart break in an individual, but nearly disastrous in a political party.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
The Emergency Budget Has Landed
Well the budget is out and the usual childish debating has started in Parliament, there were few shocks in the budget with the possible exception of the fact that many commentators believed that the recent warnings from the Chancellor and other key figures were softening us up for a budget which would then look tame in comparison. However I think that this Budget really is the first step towards the pain we will all have to bear in the coming years, however if Mr. Osbourne is to be believed (And I have no reason not too.) then in just five years we will be looking at a balanced budget, this is much quicker than Labour suggested and considerably quicker than even many Tory supporters thought were possible, before you get excited though, obviously this is simply the point at which the government can start to work on clearing the massive debt that it will owe, but luckily that should be less than the 1.5 Trillion that labour wanted us left with. (£1,500,000,000,000 – I feel it is good to see it written in numbers in case we forget what a really large number it is.)
Like everyone else I do not want to take the pain that is coming up, and with only one income coming in and a young baby at home it will be a real struggle, but if it means that within 5 years we can start attacking the debt and dare I suggest that within two parliaments (As long as Labour don’t get back in.) we could be approaching a debt free country. We may even be able to start investing in things again.
Anyway the headline figures of today’s report are:
Increase VAT 20%
Widely expected, and a good tax to bring in extra revenue as unlike income and capital gains it is very hard to avoid, I also think it is a fair tax as it works on what you spend, therefore if you have a lot more money you will most likely spend more and as VAT is a percentage of price you will pay more. I know that Labour are saying that it is an unfair tax on the poor (As they spend a higher percentage of their money) but at the end of the day the Rich have already had a 10% increase of higher tax rate.
Two year pay freeze for Public Servants paid over £21,000
This may bring out the strikers this summer but I think it is fair, my Company have struggled with cash flow recently and a pay freeze has been mentioned, again it is not nice but it may have the effect of reducing inflation as we try and get out of recession. I have to admit that I thought £21,000 was a low threshold as after all if you only have one income this is hardly a great wage, but I guess that is what is meant by sharing the pain.
Housing Benefit a Maximum of £400 per week
I am slightly shocked that Housing Benefit was being paid out at a rate over £1800 a month anyway. I guess this will make it hard for the Express and Mail reporters in coming months as “Immigrant living in luxury gets £X a month in housing benefit” has been a regular shock feature over the last few years. Personally I have often advocated that social housing should not come in larger than 3 Bedroom houses. (I know this will anger a few people.) But surely 1 room for Adults and 1 each for Boys and Girls is all you really need?
Parents back to work when youngest child starts school
I do believe that getting parents back into the workforce quicker is a key element to financial stability, Personally to achieve this I would like to see universal free child care, but I guess instead they will simply look to force parents back into the workforce when their youngest is 5, I have a cynical feeling this may lead to an increase in 4 year age gaps between siblings. (As the current system has increased the amount of siblings born over 16 years apart.) Well as long as there is a marked increase in jobs available where the hours are between 10am and 2pm I guess this will work.
Extra £2bn a year tax on the banks
I guess this was inevitable as the Banks are the villains of the 21st Century, I think the amount mentioned will be easily absorbed by the banks (rather than being passed on to us.) As a general rule I do not like a tax that picks on a particular industry as they always seem like petty vengeance for alleged wrong doings, after all I would argue that the “credit crunch” would never have happened if people were not so greedy that they took money they could not afford. However blaming the Banks stops people having to reflect on themselves.
There were also a few small bits of good news
Raise Personal Allowance
The Personal Allowance is going to be increased, This is a incremental step on the way to the Lib Dem election pledge to raise the threshold of Income Tax to £10,000, this will obviously help all tax payers but obviously will mean the most to the lower rate tax payers so should be some help to the less well off.
2 Year Council tax Freeze
This will help all council tax payers, and along with the Public Sector pay freeze (Without which it would probably not be possible) and no increase on Fuel duty should have an effect to keep inflation under 3%. However when you look at the percentage of tax that is actually council tax, it is really just a token gesture.
Like everyone else I do not want to take the pain that is coming up, and with only one income coming in and a young baby at home it will be a real struggle, but if it means that within 5 years we can start attacking the debt and dare I suggest that within two parliaments (As long as Labour don’t get back in.) we could be approaching a debt free country. We may even be able to start investing in things again.
Anyway the headline figures of today’s report are:
Increase VAT 20%
Widely expected, and a good tax to bring in extra revenue as unlike income and capital gains it is very hard to avoid, I also think it is a fair tax as it works on what you spend, therefore if you have a lot more money you will most likely spend more and as VAT is a percentage of price you will pay more. I know that Labour are saying that it is an unfair tax on the poor (As they spend a higher percentage of their money) but at the end of the day the Rich have already had a 10% increase of higher tax rate.
Two year pay freeze for Public Servants paid over £21,000
This may bring out the strikers this summer but I think it is fair, my Company have struggled with cash flow recently and a pay freeze has been mentioned, again it is not nice but it may have the effect of reducing inflation as we try and get out of recession. I have to admit that I thought £21,000 was a low threshold as after all if you only have one income this is hardly a great wage, but I guess that is what is meant by sharing the pain.
Housing Benefit a Maximum of £400 per week
I am slightly shocked that Housing Benefit was being paid out at a rate over £1800 a month anyway. I guess this will make it hard for the Express and Mail reporters in coming months as “Immigrant living in luxury gets £X a month in housing benefit” has been a regular shock feature over the last few years. Personally I have often advocated that social housing should not come in larger than 3 Bedroom houses. (I know this will anger a few people.) But surely 1 room for Adults and 1 each for Boys and Girls is all you really need?
Parents back to work when youngest child starts school
I do believe that getting parents back into the workforce quicker is a key element to financial stability, Personally to achieve this I would like to see universal free child care, but I guess instead they will simply look to force parents back into the workforce when their youngest is 5, I have a cynical feeling this may lead to an increase in 4 year age gaps between siblings. (As the current system has increased the amount of siblings born over 16 years apart.) Well as long as there is a marked increase in jobs available where the hours are between 10am and 2pm I guess this will work.
Extra £2bn a year tax on the banks
I guess this was inevitable as the Banks are the villains of the 21st Century, I think the amount mentioned will be easily absorbed by the banks (rather than being passed on to us.) As a general rule I do not like a tax that picks on a particular industry as they always seem like petty vengeance for alleged wrong doings, after all I would argue that the “credit crunch” would never have happened if people were not so greedy that they took money they could not afford. However blaming the Banks stops people having to reflect on themselves.
There were also a few small bits of good news
Raise Personal Allowance
The Personal Allowance is going to be increased, This is a incremental step on the way to the Lib Dem election pledge to raise the threshold of Income Tax to £10,000, this will obviously help all tax payers but obviously will mean the most to the lower rate tax payers so should be some help to the less well off.
2 Year Council tax Freeze
This will help all council tax payers, and along with the Public Sector pay freeze (Without which it would probably not be possible) and no increase on Fuel duty should have an effect to keep inflation under 3%. However when you look at the percentage of tax that is actually council tax, it is really just a token gesture.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Council Tax Freeze
With 24 Hours before what is probably the most anticipated and important budget that I can remember speculation is rife as to what it can include.
One widely expected measure that it is believed will be included is that Council tax will be frozen, this is an interesting initiative, however I would need to see the Brass Tacks before I decide if it is a good idea, the Conservative Manifesto included the scope for awarding councils who kept increases to 2%, an award of the same amount basically cancelling out any increase.
If this was a Labour initiative I would have expected it to be simply an exercise in trying to further squeeze the councils but as it is the Coalition I will give them the benefit of the doubt and wait to see if Councils get a fair deal or not.
One widely expected measure that it is believed will be included is that Council tax will be frozen, this is an interesting initiative, however I would need to see the Brass Tacks before I decide if it is a good idea, the Conservative Manifesto included the scope for awarding councils who kept increases to 2%, an award of the same amount basically cancelling out any increase.
If this was a Labour initiative I would have expected it to be simply an exercise in trying to further squeeze the councils but as it is the Coalition I will give them the benefit of the doubt and wait to see if Councils get a fair deal or not.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Poll Results out
The Results of my Poll "How Long Will the Coalition last." are in
And it is 100% in favour of a full term, I just wish that it was more than 7 people who cast their votes! oh well, if I manage to build up more followers maybe I will ask the question again.
And it is 100% in favour of a full term, I just wish that it was more than 7 people who cast their votes! oh well, if I manage to build up more followers maybe I will ask the question again.
the Axeman Comes
Well here it comes, The Cuts are starting to be announced. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has announced £2bn of cuts. This is not a massive surprise as I think I half blind turtle could see that the Labour Government had given out money that it did not have and could not afford in a shameless effort to purchase votes. (I thought this had ended in the 19th Century)
Mr. Alexander said "As a result of the poor decisions made by the previous government, I have taken the decision to cancel certain projects that do not represent good value for money, and suspend others pending full consideration in the Spending Review. "
Which sounds fair to me and I think is something that would be hard to argue against, However true to his delusions Liam "the Joker" Byrne has tried to reply saying that the statement "smashed the coalitions claim that Labour spent unwisely." - Now I assume that like his previous comments that he had spent all the money, this is also supposed to be a joke. How can finding £2bn of projects that the last government agreed too without the necessary funds to complete be anything other than proof positive that Labour's financial mismanagement is worse than we thought.
Although in "Joker Byrne's" fantasy world they have done nothing wrong whatsoever, I have a terrible feeling that Joker and his mates simply believed the view that seems to be shared by Labour Treasury ministers and No win, No fee lawyers, that governments simply have their own money, they don't, the money does actually have to come from somewhere.
Back to the actual topic, among the projects cancelled was the Stonehenge visitor centre, which is a shame as Stonehenge is one of our main tourist attractions and the facilities are really lacking for a site of it's worldwide prestige, however I understand that it has to be delayed as that is what happens when you have no money. Also cancelled is Outukumpu - £13m if anyone can tell me what this is I would appreciate it.
The full list of projects cancelled:
Stonehenge Visitor Centre: £25m
Local Authority Leader Boards: £16m
Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited: £80m
Rollout of the Future Jobs Fund: £290m
Six month offer recruitment subsidies: £30m
Extension of Young Person's Guarantee to 2011/12: £450m
Two year Jobseeker's Guarantee: £515m
Active Challenge Routes - Walk England: £2m
County Sports Partnerships : £6m
North Tees and Hartlepool hospital: £450m
Local Authority Business Growth Initiative: £50m
Outukumpu: £13m
Mr. Alexander said "As a result of the poor decisions made by the previous government, I have taken the decision to cancel certain projects that do not represent good value for money, and suspend others pending full consideration in the Spending Review. "
Which sounds fair to me and I think is something that would be hard to argue against, However true to his delusions Liam "the Joker" Byrne has tried to reply saying that the statement "smashed the coalitions claim that Labour spent unwisely." - Now I assume that like his previous comments that he had spent all the money, this is also supposed to be a joke. How can finding £2bn of projects that the last government agreed too without the necessary funds to complete be anything other than proof positive that Labour's financial mismanagement is worse than we thought.
Although in "Joker Byrne's" fantasy world they have done nothing wrong whatsoever, I have a terrible feeling that Joker and his mates simply believed the view that seems to be shared by Labour Treasury ministers and No win, No fee lawyers, that governments simply have their own money, they don't, the money does actually have to come from somewhere.
Back to the actual topic, among the projects cancelled was the Stonehenge visitor centre, which is a shame as Stonehenge is one of our main tourist attractions and the facilities are really lacking for a site of it's worldwide prestige, however I understand that it has to be delayed as that is what happens when you have no money. Also cancelled is Outukumpu - £13m if anyone can tell me what this is I would appreciate it.
The full list of projects cancelled:
Stonehenge Visitor Centre: £25m
Local Authority Leader Boards: £16m
Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited: £80m
Rollout of the Future Jobs Fund: £290m
Six month offer recruitment subsidies: £30m
Extension of Young Person's Guarantee to 2011/12: £450m
Two year Jobseeker's Guarantee: £515m
Active Challenge Routes - Walk England: £2m
County Sports Partnerships : £6m
North Tees and Hartlepool hospital: £450m
Local Authority Business Growth Initiative: £50m
Outukumpu: £13m
Monday, 7 June 2010
Cameron Comes out Truthful on Hard Times Ahead
Cameron spoke today about the cuts facing the country, he has stated that there is no one in the country who will be unaffected by cuts or tax rises, they include cuts of 6.2bn this year. Unsurprisingly he blamed the former administration ( I Say unsurprisingly as it is the way of politics to blame your opposition – Oh and also it is their fault.)
It turns out that the last government tried to hide the fact that in five years time we would be paying more than £70Bn a year just in servicing our debts. More than is paid on Schools/Traffic and climate change. Obviously there was the usual outcry from the Unions; Hugh Lanning (Public and Commercial Services Union) said the Prime Minister was “Trying to paint the public sector as a problem.”
Now whilst I agree that the Public Sector should not be made scapegoats, the problem is that almost 1 in 4 people work in the public sector, in fact I was reading a fact book last night which stated that last year people employed in the private sector would each have paid more into the pension of a public sector employee than into their own. Whilst I do not blame the civil servants (I blame New Labour and their “Job Sweetners” in exchange for votes.) clearly it is unsustainable.
Dave Prentis (Unison) said the speech was a “Chilling Attack on the public sector.” Saying “There was nothing in the speech that told the rich, the banking and financial sector or the city speculators that their privileged way of life will change.” Obviously a Union representative trying to make this a class issue is of no great surprise, and I am sure Mr. Prentis thinks that it really is as simple as taking all the profit from the banks and using to provide extra public sector posts, unfortunately that shows a complete lack of understanding how the world works. If you hit the banks too heavily they will leave the UK, the only ones who will stay will be the ones who have to (Basically just the High Street chains – and just the High Street Business the investment banks will leave as well.) and guess what 1) the High Street Banks do not make any money, 2) The Government are the biggest shareholders in the banking sector. So basically Mr. Prentis’ great idea to bring down net debt is to remove our highest earning sector from the economy and lumber the government with even more publicly funded loss paying businesses.
After all the blame is not entirely shouldered by the bankers, after all each loan deal has people on both sides, the people accepting credit they could not afford are just as guilty as those doing the lending, unfortunately in the nanny state we expected someone else to tell us if something was ok and we forgot to look at it ourselves. If anyone should feel hard done by it is someone like me who has:
a) Never defaulted on a payment
b) Only taken credit I could afford
c) NEVER VOTED FOR NEW LABOUR
Personally however I think it is time to stop trying to blame people and start looking at some facts.
FACT – The Civil Service Must be cut
FACT – Taxes must go up
FACT – it is going to be a very unpleasant time
FACT – if we stay focused we will get through it.
I will however let the last comment on this post go to the former administration.
According to the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasurery – Gaff Prone Liam Byrne,
"The coalition has inherited an economy that is growing, borrowing which is falling, and unemployment lower than in America or Europe,"
To me this seems a quite remarkable “rose tinted” outlook on the economy, which seems quite at odds with the note he left after leaving his office last month. ‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam’
It turns out that the last government tried to hide the fact that in five years time we would be paying more than £70Bn a year just in servicing our debts. More than is paid on Schools/Traffic and climate change. Obviously there was the usual outcry from the Unions; Hugh Lanning (Public and Commercial Services Union) said the Prime Minister was “Trying to paint the public sector as a problem.”
Now whilst I agree that the Public Sector should not be made scapegoats, the problem is that almost 1 in 4 people work in the public sector, in fact I was reading a fact book last night which stated that last year people employed in the private sector would each have paid more into the pension of a public sector employee than into their own. Whilst I do not blame the civil servants (I blame New Labour and their “Job Sweetners” in exchange for votes.) clearly it is unsustainable.
Dave Prentis (Unison) said the speech was a “Chilling Attack on the public sector.” Saying “There was nothing in the speech that told the rich, the banking and financial sector or the city speculators that their privileged way of life will change.” Obviously a Union representative trying to make this a class issue is of no great surprise, and I am sure Mr. Prentis thinks that it really is as simple as taking all the profit from the banks and using to provide extra public sector posts, unfortunately that shows a complete lack of understanding how the world works. If you hit the banks too heavily they will leave the UK, the only ones who will stay will be the ones who have to (Basically just the High Street chains – and just the High Street Business the investment banks will leave as well.) and guess what 1) the High Street Banks do not make any money, 2) The Government are the biggest shareholders in the banking sector. So basically Mr. Prentis’ great idea to bring down net debt is to remove our highest earning sector from the economy and lumber the government with even more publicly funded loss paying businesses.
After all the blame is not entirely shouldered by the bankers, after all each loan deal has people on both sides, the people accepting credit they could not afford are just as guilty as those doing the lending, unfortunately in the nanny state we expected someone else to tell us if something was ok and we forgot to look at it ourselves. If anyone should feel hard done by it is someone like me who has:
a) Never defaulted on a payment
b) Only taken credit I could afford
c) NEVER VOTED FOR NEW LABOUR
Personally however I think it is time to stop trying to blame people and start looking at some facts.
FACT – The Civil Service Must be cut
FACT – Taxes must go up
FACT – it is going to be a very unpleasant time
FACT – if we stay focused we will get through it.
I will however let the last comment on this post go to the former administration.
According to the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasurery – Gaff Prone Liam Byrne,
"The coalition has inherited an economy that is growing, borrowing which is falling, and unemployment lower than in America or Europe,"
To me this seems a quite remarkable “rose tinted” outlook on the economy, which seems quite at odds with the note he left after leaving his office last month. ‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam’
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Queens Speech
Despite all the excitement of England’s preparation for the world cup there are slightly more important things happening today, The Coalition (Sounds like an unseen enemy from a cheap sci-fi series.) had their first Queen’s Speech as parliament was officially re-opened. In all 22 Bills were mentioned as the Queen set out the next 500 days of legislative programme. (This is longer than the normal 12 months as the next one isn’t until autumn of next year.) Most of what was announced was not exactly a surprise.
Schools will be offered the chance to become Swedish Style Academies free from state control, this is a long term goal which gets very mixed reactions. The Teachers Union are, of cause, against it – as they seem to be of any change. Most parents I have spoken to are either in favour or don’t care. I would guess the in favour ones are the ones who see it as a real chance to try and increase the education of their children, personally I am still slightly unsure as to how this would work but I am in the very fortunate position of having over 4 years for it to bed in before I need to worry about it.
Although that will be the first bill to be raised, the speech underlined that the first priority would be to reduce the deficit and try to restore economic growth. This will obviously be no small measure as the state of the economy is still far to shocking for anyone to contemplate (How many zero’s in a trillion anyway?) obviously as I said below Child Trust Fund Vouchers have gone but that will save half a billion which is still shockingly a tiny amount of what is needed.
A large part of the legislative agenda will be taken up with passing power from the government to the people, the so called “Big Society” several measures were introduced including the ability to force by-elections to remove a corrupt MP. I have a good friend from California who has always been shocked that we have no ability to remove our politicians, recall elections being a way of life over there.
ID Cards have been scrapped, as I have spoken about previously I am not against these, but the way they were to be introduced – having to carry them and your other ID and pay through the nose for the privilege. – So I am happy for them to be gone. CCTV and the DNA databases will be reduced, again I have to admit that my feelings are not strong either way on this as I am of the “Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Worry About” school of thought. However I had lost all faith in the last government to manage these systems so perhaps it is better for the coalition to not even leave themselves open to be as atrocious as Labour were at keeping our details secure.
It also looks like we have a lot of referendums in our future as well as they have pledged to have a referendum on any further transfer of power to Brussels, I think this effectively puts the brakes on our integration with the EU as I can not imagine it ever passing a referendum. We also look set to get a referendum on Alternative Vote; I think this is a very interesting point as the coalition could easily be split on either side.
It could be that Labour took power before my 18th Birthday but I really have no idea what a referendum would look like as I have never seen one, I assume it would be just like the normal polling arrangements with a Yes or No box? But would they hold a special vote or have it at the same time as local elections? I guess time will tell.
Final Item of interest that I have seen is that the Coalition currently has over 50% of support of the public which I hope will mean that the country will get behind them, we are in an almost unique scenario but I think if the country can support the coalition we can have the type of government we need. Also my own poll (Just to the right) shows that 100% of people think the coalition will last a full term in office, now that is only 6 people and 1 of them is me but it still shows overwhelming support.
Schools will be offered the chance to become Swedish Style Academies free from state control, this is a long term goal which gets very mixed reactions. The Teachers Union are, of cause, against it – as they seem to be of any change. Most parents I have spoken to are either in favour or don’t care. I would guess the in favour ones are the ones who see it as a real chance to try and increase the education of their children, personally I am still slightly unsure as to how this would work but I am in the very fortunate position of having over 4 years for it to bed in before I need to worry about it.
Although that will be the first bill to be raised, the speech underlined that the first priority would be to reduce the deficit and try to restore economic growth. This will obviously be no small measure as the state of the economy is still far to shocking for anyone to contemplate (How many zero’s in a trillion anyway?) obviously as I said below Child Trust Fund Vouchers have gone but that will save half a billion which is still shockingly a tiny amount of what is needed.
A large part of the legislative agenda will be taken up with passing power from the government to the people, the so called “Big Society” several measures were introduced including the ability to force by-elections to remove a corrupt MP. I have a good friend from California who has always been shocked that we have no ability to remove our politicians, recall elections being a way of life over there.
ID Cards have been scrapped, as I have spoken about previously I am not against these, but the way they were to be introduced – having to carry them and your other ID and pay through the nose for the privilege. – So I am happy for them to be gone. CCTV and the DNA databases will be reduced, again I have to admit that my feelings are not strong either way on this as I am of the “Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Worry About” school of thought. However I had lost all faith in the last government to manage these systems so perhaps it is better for the coalition to not even leave themselves open to be as atrocious as Labour were at keeping our details secure.
It also looks like we have a lot of referendums in our future as well as they have pledged to have a referendum on any further transfer of power to Brussels, I think this effectively puts the brakes on our integration with the EU as I can not imagine it ever passing a referendum. We also look set to get a referendum on Alternative Vote; I think this is a very interesting point as the coalition could easily be split on either side.
It could be that Labour took power before my 18th Birthday but I really have no idea what a referendum would look like as I have never seen one, I assume it would be just like the normal polling arrangements with a Yes or No box? But would they hold a special vote or have it at the same time as local elections? I guess time will tell.
Final Item of interest that I have seen is that the Coalition currently has over 50% of support of the public which I hope will mean that the country will get behind them, we are in an almost unique scenario but I think if the country can support the coalition we can have the type of government we need. Also my own poll (Just to the right) shows that 100% of people think the coalition will last a full term in office, now that is only 6 people and 1 of them is me but it still shows overwhelming support.
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
A Possible Appology to Mr. Clegg
Today I heard my first speech from a Lib Dem that I have ever enjoyed listening too. Which was good as I heard Lembit Opik talking earlier who always annoys me. But today Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister actually started to speak like a Liberal!
His proposed reforms, which I am not all in favour of, should at least take some power from Westminster and replace some back in the control of the rest of us.
He mentioned a partially elected House of Lords - I am against a "Partially" elected house as I think it should be either elected or unelected. That said whilst I agree with the principal of an elected Lords I do think it is often important to have an unelected watch on the workings of parliament as the views of the many are not always right (Hitler was elected after all.)
Scrap the ID cards - this is another that I am torn on, I actually think that an ID card is a good idea, what I would like is one card that can work as an ID card, Passport (not just in EU), Driving License (with no paper part.), NI card and anything else I have to carry around, I suppose in short I am not against the idea if it has a provable improvement to my day to day life.
Recall Corrupt MP's - I like this idea, personally I think it should always have been there, I would like some more detail though.
Ask the public which laws should go - this is an interesting one as the Lib Dems have removed the Tory pledge to repeal the Human Rights act, I think there is a very real chance that this may be one of the laws the public want repealed.
So my feelings are that whilst they have not brought up points which all appeal to me, I think after 13 years of "Nanny State" and Big Government, I am willing to give big society and "Adult State" a try, even if it means apologising to all the Lib Dems out there. Well except Lembit.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Entering the New Nuclear Age?
Chris Huhne has today outlined the coalition's feelings over Nuclear power, If I was still a member of the council I would have to declare an interest on this one as my company EDF are the world leader in Nuclear and after purchasing British Energy last year are also the UK's biggest Nuclear Generator. It would therefore be no surprise to know I am pro nuclear and strongly believe that the time to invest in the next generation of plants is here (in fact a few years overdue) I was pleased when the Tories went into the election in favour of Nuclear but have to admit was slightly worried when Chris Huhne was made Energy Secretary as obviously the Lib Dems were opposed.
However it does look like there will be a new generation of reactors after all as Mr Huhne has said that as long as no public money is involved a private consortium would most likely be successful in obtaining permission to build a Nuclear Power Station. Now I am not nearly senior enough in the company to know if they were hoping for public money but I doubt it.
However it does look like there will be a new generation of reactors after all as Mr Huhne has said that as long as no public money is involved a private consortium would most likely be successful in obtaining permission to build a Nuclear Power Station. Now I am not nearly senior enough in the company to know if they were hoping for public money but I doubt it.
The New More Efficient, Less Waste and Air Strike Proof European Pressure Reactor (EPR)
I know that the Lib Dems would prefer all energy to come from renewables, and whilst I think this is an admirable goal and I do personally love to see Wind Turbines, Dams and Solar Fields - In fact one of my favourite memories of travel is watching the Waldpolenz Solar Park coming to life at sunrise whilst taking a trip across Germany.A small part of the vast solar generating park in Eastern Germany
But unfortunately I believe that we are at least two decades away from a permanent solution to the problems of Consistency and dependability which we have with Wind and Solar. And with many of our current generation options at or beyond their operational lifespan Nuclear is the only thing that can bridge the gap and offer the freedom from the volatility of fossil fuels that the economy and the environment so badly need.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
The Coalition becomes clearer
Reading through the BBC News Website we have a lot more of an idea of the form the coalition will take.
Nick Clegg will become the Deputy Prime Minister, Vince Cable will work in the Treasury in charge of Banks and Business and Danny Alexander will take over as Scottish Minister.
From the Conservatives side Osbourne will be Chancellor, Hague Foreign Secretary and Fox as defence secretary.
The Agreed policy decisions are:
There will be Cuts this year to reduce the Deficit including £6bn of cuts this year, although out of a predicted 1.5 Trillion that we will be in the red this is unlikely to be enough.
Fixed five year parliaments so no more elections until May 2015 (So no more threat of another poll this year, would be very interesting if the coalition collapses.)
The Lib Dems drop the Mansion Tax in return for the Tories not changing the Inheritance Threshold - Personally I would be happy for both these taxes to have stayed but in reformed form.
They have agreed to scrap part of the "Job Tax" but will look to raise the income tax threshold. - This is good news for the economy but we will need to wait and see how affordable the income tax changes will be when the drains are up on the country's current account.
The lib Dem's will delay adoption of the Euro for at least one parliament, and agree to the Tory idea of a referendum on any future EU power grabs - Hopefully we will at some point be able to call ourselves a sovereign nation again at some point.
A cap on Non-EU immigration, another policy which without a proper understanding of how it will work it is hard to understand if it will be any good. But at least it is being considered.
Lib Dems will drop opposition to the Trident deterrent, this is unfortunate as this is pretty much the only Lib Dem pledge I agreed with.
A referendum on the Alternative Vote system, which is at least preferable to Proportional Representation. We will have to see how the public decide but I have a feeling it will get through.
I am sure a lot more will come out in the forth coming days and the budget which I am sure we will see soon enough.
Nick Clegg will become the Deputy Prime Minister, Vince Cable will work in the Treasury in charge of Banks and Business and Danny Alexander will take over as Scottish Minister.
From the Conservatives side Osbourne will be Chancellor, Hague Foreign Secretary and Fox as defence secretary.
The Agreed policy decisions are:
There will be Cuts this year to reduce the Deficit including £6bn of cuts this year, although out of a predicted 1.5 Trillion that we will be in the red this is unlikely to be enough.
Fixed five year parliaments so no more elections until May 2015 (So no more threat of another poll this year, would be very interesting if the coalition collapses.)
The Lib Dems drop the Mansion Tax in return for the Tories not changing the Inheritance Threshold - Personally I would be happy for both these taxes to have stayed but in reformed form.
They have agreed to scrap part of the "Job Tax" but will look to raise the income tax threshold. - This is good news for the economy but we will need to wait and see how affordable the income tax changes will be when the drains are up on the country's current account.
The lib Dem's will delay adoption of the Euro for at least one parliament, and agree to the Tory idea of a referendum on any future EU power grabs - Hopefully we will at some point be able to call ourselves a sovereign nation again at some point.
A cap on Non-EU immigration, another policy which without a proper understanding of how it will work it is hard to understand if it will be any good. But at least it is being considered.
Lib Dems will drop opposition to the Trident deterrent, this is unfortunate as this is pretty much the only Lib Dem pledge I agreed with.
A referendum on the Alternative Vote system, which is at least preferable to Proportional Representation. We will have to see how the public decide but I have a feeling it will get through.
I am sure a lot more will come out in the forth coming days and the budget which I am sure we will see soon enough.
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