Archive for the 'National Comment' Category

Slow On The Uptake

Published on April 17, 2008 in National Comment. 1 Comment

Labour MP and junior Minister Angela Smith announced she was resigning over the abolition of the 10p tax rate… and then changed her mind and decided she quite liked the ministerial salary after all.

Quite aside from the bizarre dithering, Ms Smith is a Treasury Minister (PPS to Yvette Cooper, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury) and yet it appears to have taken her a whole year to realise that abolishing the lowest tax band means those on the lowest incomes pay more - the changes were announced by Gordon Brown in his last budget in 2007. What sort of people do we have running the country now?

Incidentally, a number of people have raised the 10p band on the doorstep. Labour have taken their core voters for granted since they got into Government, and now they are hitting them where it hurts in the pocket. Labour voters who have been let down have the chance to send a message to Gordon Brown on 1st May - by voting Conservative and evicting their hopeless Labour Councillors.

Conservatives Field More Candidates

Published on April 9, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 0 Comments

An encouraging post on ConservativeHome - there will be more Conservative candidates than Labour or Liberal Democrat candidates in the elections on 1st May. This is a real boost and makes a mockery of the line peddled by Labour and the Liberal Democrats about Conservative strength in the north - a huge chunk of the elections this year are in the Metropolitan Boroughs and Wales, and comparatively few in rural district councils.

It is very telling that in most of our areas of electoral weakness, we as Conservatives still give the electorate the opportunity to vote for us. There are one or two areas where we are not quite there, but our candidate base is increasing year on year. By contrast, in their weakest areas, Labour and the Liberal Democrats can’t even be bothered to put candidates up. Only the Conservatives are a truly national party at these local elections and indeed at previous local elections.

Here in Salford we are running a full slate of candidates for the third successive year. You can view a full list of Salford Conservative candidates here. We have an excellent set of candidates representing all strands of Salfordians. They will make excellent Councillors and I hope that local residents will support them on polling day.

Labour’s Tax On Those Who Can Least Afford It

Published on April 6, 2008 in National Comment. 2 Comments

As from today, thousands of hard-working taxpayers on lower incomes in Salford and across the country will be paying more income tax, thanks to Gordon Brown’s decision to abolish the 10p tax band. On top of the soaring cost of living under Labour, anyone earning £18000 or under - 5 million families across the country - will be paying more income tax from today.

This is just the latest in a long series of examples of Labour badly letting down those people they claim to represent. Locally and nationally, the Labour Party have taken local residents in Salford for granted. It’s time for a change.

Back Home

Published on March 17, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

I had an excellent weekend at Spring Forum in Newcastle and Gateshead, and my spirits were lifted further on my return by the YouGov poll in the Sunday Times showing a Conservative lead of 16 points. It’s only one poll and nothing to get carried away about, but very encouraging nonetheless.

It was great to catch up with friends and colleagues who I haven’t seen for a while, as well as enjoying some excellent and weighty contributions from our front bench team.

However, the highlight for me was a fringe event with some very impressive young people involved with the Lewisham Young Mayor project. I was extremely impressed with the work they are doing and I am sure there are plenty of lessons we can learn here in Salford from the way in which Lewisham ensures that the young people have their say.

Spring Forum

Published on March 13, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

I’m off to Newcastle and Gateshead for Spring Forum first thing tomorrow morning.

I’m looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues and I’m sure it’ll be an enjoyable and interesting weekend.

I don’t know if I’ll have chance to blog from Gateshead - if not then normal service may be resumed on Sunday.

Hope you all have a fun weekend!

So what?

Published on March 13, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 3 Comments

Yesterday during the budget debate, Minister for Children Ed Balls MP managed to encapsulate in two words how arrogant and out-of-touch the Labour Party are in power. Louise Bagshawe picks up the story:

In David Cameron’s excellent Budget reply, he said at one point (I paraphrase):

“Under Labour, Britain is more taxed than at any point in its history”.

On the front bench, Ed Balls - The Man Who Would Be King (part II) heckled:

“So what?’

This astounding statement was met with hoots of shock and disdain from the Tory benches and surprised Cameron sufficiently for him to come back: “So what, says the minister for children. I know he wants to be Chancellor so badly it hurts. I have to tell him another Budget like the one we have just heard and he won’t have to wait very long.”

I’m reminded of a Council budget meeting two or three years ago. During the budget debate, Cllr Maureen Lea (Labour, Pendlebury) - then Lead Member for Environmental Services stood up to speak and said something like “well if I had my way, I’d put the Council Tax up even more“. Cllr Merry turned white as a sheet.

Anyway I am very grateful to Mr Balls for summing up for voters both nationally and here in Salford the attitude that the Labour Party takes towards the views of those people who elect them.

Our Council Tax in Salford has risen nearly 80% in the last decade. ”So what?” says the Labour Party to hard-working taxpayers and pensioners on fixed incomes who struggle to make the payments.

St George’s RC High School, one of the best schools in the City, is being closed down without good reason. “So what?” says the Labour Party to the local community in Walkden and Little Hulton.

Hope Hospital’s maternity unit is being shut down despite being one of the top performing units in the country. “So what?” says the Labour Party to expectant mothers and families across the City.

It’s time for a change in Westminster, and it is time for a change in Salford.

What’s the point of Hazel Blears?

Published on March 1, 2008 in Manchester, National Comment and Salford. 2 Comments

No, really. What benefit do communities in her Salford constituency and nearby get from having her as a local Member of Parliament? Let’s look at the evidence.

She’s directly responsible as Communities Secretary for the worst grant settlement to Salford City Council in decades. The Government - of which she is a prominent member - are closing the maternity and neo-natal unit at Salford Royal (Hope) Hospital and as local MP Hazel described this as “good news”. The Government also approved the Council’s shambolic BSF plans which had to be redrafted due to an inability to count and which still involve the closure of one of the best schools in the City. Her department promised massive investment into East Manchester through the supercasino, which has now been withdrawn and replaced by empty promises, lies and spin.

However, good people of Salford, fear not! In the world of Hazel Blears, the closure of hospital wards and good schools, the failure to provide promised investment into Manchester and the inability to provide Salford City Council with a fair settlement are not important issues at all.

Hazel has her focus well and truly set on the issues that matter to local residents in Salford and across Greater Manchester… not schools, hospitals, council services or regeneration, but setting up a childish ambush of the Leader of the Opposition during his visit to Salford Lads’ Club. Bravo Hazel, your constituents will be proud.

You couldn’t make it up.

Chris Grayling In Salford

Published on February 29, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 4 Comments

I actually managed to cram in two shadow cabinet ministerial visits yesterday. Before dashing off to Manchester to meet George Osborne, I was delighted that we had the chance to welcome Chris Grayling MP, the Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary, to Salford.

This is Chris’s second shadow ministerial visit to Salford in as many years - we showed him around the Lowry and Salford Quays when he was Shadow Transport Secretary - and due to his local connections he has an excellent knowledge of Salford and the surrounding area.

Chris met with Council officers as part of a fact-finding tour for his work and pensions brief, but he was also kind enough to take the time to discuss local issues with Conservative Councillors.

Chris’s visit is the latest in a series of Shadow Ministerial visits to Salford since the New Year. Personally I am delighted that the Conservative Party in Westminster is showing such an interest in the views of local residents here in Salford - a marked contrast to the ignorance and indifference shown by Labour Ministers to communities across the City.

You Can Get It If You Really Want

Published on February 28, 2008 in Manchester and National Comment. 1 Comment

I was delighted to have the opportunity this afternoon to help the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne MP launch the Conservative Party’s new advertising campaign in Albert Square in Manchester.

The adverts lay out the changes a Conservative Government would make to Britain, and launch a new way to join the Party - as a Friend of the Conservatives.

If you’d like more information about the positive change a new Conservative Government can bring to Britain, or if you’d like to become a Friend of the Conservative Party, click here to visit the Conservative Party website for more information.

Casino War

Published on February 27, 2008 in Manchester and National Comment. 0 Comments

The last day or so has seen much gnashing of teeth at Manchester City Council and in the media about the Government’s decision to axe the “Super Casino” in east Manchester.

I’ll save the arguments for and against a huge gambling complex for another time, but Manchester City Council are absolutely right to be furious at the way they have been treated by the Labour Government. In fact, all the bidders have been treated extremely shabbily. They all spent significant amounts of their own money preparing bids in the hope of bringing a huge amount of investment into their towns and cities, only to subsequently find out that the prize for victory did not exist anyway!

Now when TV phone-ins were guilty of something similar, they received huge fines and universal condemnation. If a private company were to run a competition without a prize, they’d be under instant investigation and words like “scam” would be bandied about in the press.

What’s the difference?