Guest blog: David Williams from Stocksfield writes;
"I was interested to read in The Journal on 6th November that the Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, has got his foot on the first rung of the ladder of government. I refer to his position as pump-primer at Prime Minister's Questions which permitted David Cameron to make the outrageous claim that his Government has been responsible for the small (2-3%) rise in exports from the region but ignored the fact that the number of young people unemployed for over a year is up 62% since he came to office.
To get an accurate view of the Tories attitude to this region, people should have watched the debate on 28th October in the Commons to consider if the Thatcher government misled the country over the pit closure programme thirty years ago . It was an eye-opener!
Labour MPs from all the major coalfields in the North East, Yorkshire, Nottingham, Scotland and Wales spoke. The only exception was the small Kent coalfield which was not mentioned at all. These MPs inluded many who were personally involved in the dispute and experienced the strike and its aftermath. These included Dave Anderson, Ian Lavery, Ronnie Campbell and Pat Glass who pointed out the lack of support for the communities affected and went on to call for regeneration assistance now to help communities which are still suffering today from the closure of their pits.
Most Tories, including Mr Opperman, were absent for the duration of the debate which indicates their lack of true conern for the future of the former coalfields.
The opening proposal for the debate was responded to by a junior minister with a prepared statement who then immediately left the Chamber never to reappear. His interest was over!
Some two and a half hours later, another Tory minister, female this time, entered the Chamber and sat on the Front Bench. Significantly she was accompanied by Cabinet Minister, Eric Pickles.
She then read another prepared paper to wind up the debate on behalf of the Government but believe it or not, all she spoke about, in some detail, was the developments on the former Betteshanger Colliery site and how her Government had funded new buildings, etc. which had created jobs for former miners and their families.
Where is Betteshanger? In Kent, of course. The one former coalfield never mentioned or represented in the debate but very near Rochester & Strood constituency where a crucial, to the Tories, bye-election is imminent.
When her blatant electioneering was greeted wth cries of derision from the opposition she paused, only to be told by Pickles to “plough on”.
This proves that the Tories have no interest whatsoever in the future of the North East but are prepared to put their Government's and party's survival before the interests of the nation."
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Monday, 29 September 2014
A Better Future?
Today at the Tory Party conference we have seen more complacency from George Osborne, saying 'job done' when most people are still worse off than they were in 2010. He also said the 'economy is fixed' but national debt has grown since 2010 to a staggering £75bn.
There were 2 contrasting announcements: Firstly, the 4% of richest households will be able to pass more money onto their offspring (if they have any) because inheritance tax is being scrapped. I can see why the thought of a 'Death Tax' might be unpopular but it affects so few estates, now is not the time for more measures to help the few and not the many.
On the other side of the coin there are 10 million households on low to middle incomes claiming tax credits or some sort of in work benefits. These are the people who will be hit hardest by the Chancellor's announcements today. In-work families with children will lose as much as £490 a year in child benefit and tax credits.
The Tories are again standing up for the wrong people, offering nothing to families who work hard to provide a decent standard of living for their children, but instead implementing changes, which only serve to build an economy that is skewed towards those at the very top.
Their conference slogan needs an added strap line: Conservatives: 'Securing a Better Future' ...for themselves and their donors since 1832.
There were 2 contrasting announcements: Firstly, the 4% of richest households will be able to pass more money onto their offspring (if they have any) because inheritance tax is being scrapped. I can see why the thought of a 'Death Tax' might be unpopular but it affects so few estates, now is not the time for more measures to help the few and not the many.
On the other side of the coin there are 10 million households on low to middle incomes claiming tax credits or some sort of in work benefits. These are the people who will be hit hardest by the Chancellor's announcements today. In-work families with children will lose as much as £490 a year in child benefit and tax credits.
The Tories are again standing up for the wrong people, offering nothing to families who work hard to provide a decent standard of living for their children, but instead implementing changes, which only serve to build an economy that is skewed towards those at the very top.
Their conference slogan needs an added strap line: Conservatives: 'Securing a Better Future' ...for themselves and their donors since 1832.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
I'll get by with a little help from my friends
Much has been written this week about Liam Fox, the now former defence minister and his friend/advisor/lobbyist/arms dealer? and I'm not really going to add to the column inches or gigabytes of material already on the internet about this other than to say it is right that he has resigned.
The thing that the whole episode highlights for me is a more general point about tory ministers; they seem think that they are somhow entitled to thier position. I'm sure they got to where they are with a little help from their friends and they think nothing of returning those favours. We heard earlier this year about internships being sold to the highest bidder at a dinner party with David Cameron and Clegg, doing a good impression of an old fasioned tory, subsequently stated that he saw 'nothing wrong' with helping his friends kids' get work experience in governmnent departments.
I remeber a conversation I had with a close friend of mine who is now a lawyer in the City of London. He was lucky enough to attend one of the best private schools in the country, and I was saying that I went to my local comprehensive then to University and now I have a job that (most of the time) I love. My question to him was, you went to school, University and you also have a similarly good job so where was the advantage in paying for education? He said that his teachers were top notch, fair enough, but most interestingly, he mentioned that the friends he has are influential. Now this friend is talented and works incredibly hard and I wouldn't for a minute suggest that he has not earned his position but for somone who needs to rise through the ranks of the Tory party having influential friends would hardly be a hindrance.
In getting a ministerial position a politician has reached the top of the political roller coaster, and it is difficult if not impossible to get to the top with out a helping hand or leg up. The problem is that you can't always take the friends who helped you along for the ride, especially if that ride is in the 1st class cabin of a plane flying to meetings with heads of state.
We all need a little help from our friends and having recieved that help we might hear ourselves ask 'what can I possibly do to repay you?' If the answer is 'how about a pint down the club?' then you will never get anywhere near breaching any ministerial code.
The thing that the whole episode highlights for me is a more general point about tory ministers; they seem think that they are somhow entitled to thier position. I'm sure they got to where they are with a little help from their friends and they think nothing of returning those favours. We heard earlier this year about internships being sold to the highest bidder at a dinner party with David Cameron and Clegg, doing a good impression of an old fasioned tory, subsequently stated that he saw 'nothing wrong' with helping his friends kids' get work experience in governmnent departments.
I remeber a conversation I had with a close friend of mine who is now a lawyer in the City of London. He was lucky enough to attend one of the best private schools in the country, and I was saying that I went to my local comprehensive then to University and now I have a job that (most of the time) I love. My question to him was, you went to school, University and you also have a similarly good job so where was the advantage in paying for education? He said that his teachers were top notch, fair enough, but most interestingly, he mentioned that the friends he has are influential. Now this friend is talented and works incredibly hard and I wouldn't for a minute suggest that he has not earned his position but for somone who needs to rise through the ranks of the Tory party having influential friends would hardly be a hindrance.
In getting a ministerial position a politician has reached the top of the political roller coaster, and it is difficult if not impossible to get to the top with out a helping hand or leg up. The problem is that you can't always take the friends who helped you along for the ride, especially if that ride is in the 1st class cabin of a plane flying to meetings with heads of state.
We all need a little help from our friends and having recieved that help we might hear ourselves ask 'what can I possibly do to repay you?' If the answer is 'how about a pint down the club?' then you will never get anywhere near breaching any ministerial code.
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