First of all, apologies for not updating the blog recently. Ive been helping in the redesign of the UKIP Bradford website, had uni exams over the last few weeks and been campaigning.
The national party has produced a policy paper regarding pubs.
Find here: http://www.ukip.org/media/pdf/pubs.pdf
I'm sure publicans and customers won't find any proposals more attractive than these from the other parties.
After the successful launching of a pub campaign last May in Queensbury, we distributed UKIP beermats, posters and petitions garnering much interest and response. Now with much more resources and help from the national party, we should be able to roll this campaign out around Bradford.
It is also interesting to point out the Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe is the licensing minister for the country. Some of his past comments can be found here: http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/59415?Ntt=sutcliffe&Ntk=All&PagingData=Po_0~Ps_10~Psd_Asc
We've got a real chance to send Gerry a message that damaging legislation and rises in alcohol duty only costs jobs and much like the closure of Post Offices, destroying what can be the hub of a village.
Also worth of note is that the Queensbury BNP Councillors currently do not take their seat they can have on the licenscing committee, so there is only UKIP standing up for our local pubs!
The Campaign (Save the pub) website can be found here: http://www.savethepub.co.uk/
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Tory Tax Rises
The BBC reports that Council Tax will be rising by 3.5%
“A 3.5% increase in April would take the average bill for 2009-10 to £1,421.
This would be a rise of £48 over the year, or 92p a week.”
The Tories of course are crying foul of tax hikes at a time when it’s becoming harder and harder to pay the bill, and as people are losing their jobs.
However, no doubt the Bradford Tories have other ideas. Year on year they have raised Council Tax, and put more pressure on the elderly and the hard working families of our district.
With these rises we have also seen cuts in services, bus fares increase and we still have a crater in the middle of our city.
With the recession, if we should have to tighten our belt, so should government. How about making savings by abolishing the regional quangos the Regional Assembly and Regional Development Agency that cost us tens of millions every year?
UKIP Bradford is the only local party that will vote against any more Council Tax rises and actively seek more Council Tax relief, especially those in immediate vulnerable circumstances.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7836327.stm
“A 3.5% increase in April would take the average bill for 2009-10 to £1,421.
This would be a rise of £48 over the year, or 92p a week.”
The Tories of course are crying foul of tax hikes at a time when it’s becoming harder and harder to pay the bill, and as people are losing their jobs.
However, no doubt the Bradford Tories have other ideas. Year on year they have raised Council Tax, and put more pressure on the elderly and the hard working families of our district.
With these rises we have also seen cuts in services, bus fares increase and we still have a crater in the middle of our city.
With the recession, if we should have to tighten our belt, so should government. How about making savings by abolishing the regional quangos the Regional Assembly and Regional Development Agency that cost us tens of millions every year?
UKIP Bradford is the only local party that will vote against any more Council Tax rises and actively seek more Council Tax relief, especially those in immediate vulnerable circumstances.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7836327.stm
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Fuel Poverty
An interesting piece in the T&A regarding fuel poverty, and upcoming legislation.
Instead of creating more complicated rules and regulations (and thereby making the whole process more expensive), I think the following proposals would be good to debate.
Scrap VAT on energy
Raise the tax-free personal allowance to £10,000
Freeze Council Tax rises
The energy companies are making millions out of us, at a time when it's becoming harder and harder to pay the bill. We need more than a one off payment, we need lasting lower prices and help paying the bill. (Labour want a one off windfall tax payment by the energy companies)
We need to help out the lower earners with a higher personal allowance.
We should at least freeze Council Tax as it is this that really hits the elderly hard.
Scrap VAT on energy thereby lowering prices for everybody.
There was talk of Labour looking into raising the personal allowance to £10,000 which is good news. But I seriously doubt the Bradford Tory Council will resisit putting up Council Tax again this year. As for scrapping the VAT, we couldn't do that because we are in the EU. (Well UKIP could but none of the other parties can!)
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4055182._Solve_fuel_poverty_for_12_000_people_/
Instead of creating more complicated rules and regulations (and thereby making the whole process more expensive), I think the following proposals would be good to debate.
Scrap VAT on energy
Raise the tax-free personal allowance to £10,000
Freeze Council Tax rises
The energy companies are making millions out of us, at a time when it's becoming harder and harder to pay the bill. We need more than a one off payment, we need lasting lower prices and help paying the bill. (Labour want a one off windfall tax payment by the energy companies)
We need to help out the lower earners with a higher personal allowance.
We should at least freeze Council Tax as it is this that really hits the elderly hard.
Scrap VAT on energy thereby lowering prices for everybody.
There was talk of Labour looking into raising the personal allowance to £10,000 which is good news. But I seriously doubt the Bradford Tory Council will resisit putting up Council Tax again this year. As for scrapping the VAT, we couldn't do that because we are in the EU. (Well UKIP could but none of the other parties can!)
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4055182._Solve_fuel_poverty_for_12_000_people_/
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Labour Hipocrisy Over Royal Mail Privatization
Bradford Labour MPs are crying foul over Gordon Brown bringing in Dutch owned TNT to begin the creeping privatization of our Royal Mail.
This is just symptom of much wider problem. I'm sure these local MPs would be shocked to learn that there must be full liberalisation of postal services by 2011!
Due to EU regulations Royal Mail has been forced to compete with private and foreign postal services. These other providers are only interested in the profit, and so only operate on the profitable parts of the service and business mail, while poor old Royal Mail has to keep the rural routes and less profitable parts going. Of course this is un-sustainable.
Labour is running the Royal Mail into the ground due to this unfair competition.
If the Labour MPs really cared for our public services they would demand Royal Mail be brought back into public ownership and given the sole monopoly to operate as it did pre-1997, as an efficient, profit making service which put people before profit.
Of course, the only way that is going to happen is to ignore the rules or leave the EU, which Labour MPs will not dare do. So Labour MPs which is it? You can't have your cake and eat it.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4047377.MPs_fight_Royal_Mail_privatisation/
This is just symptom of much wider problem. I'm sure these local MPs would be shocked to learn that there must be full liberalisation of postal services by 2011!
Due to EU regulations Royal Mail has been forced to compete with private and foreign postal services. These other providers are only interested in the profit, and so only operate on the profitable parts of the service and business mail, while poor old Royal Mail has to keep the rural routes and less profitable parts going. Of course this is un-sustainable.
Labour is running the Royal Mail into the ground due to this unfair competition.
If the Labour MPs really cared for our public services they would demand Royal Mail be brought back into public ownership and given the sole monopoly to operate as it did pre-1997, as an efficient, profit making service which put people before profit.
Of course, the only way that is going to happen is to ignore the rules or leave the EU, which Labour MPs will not dare do. So Labour MPs which is it? You can't have your cake and eat it.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4047377.MPs_fight_Royal_Mail_privatisation/
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Quango has the Power
Reported has been the stimulus of £10 billion by Gordon Brown to help create jobs.
All very nice to hear and much needed too, but no doubt we won't be getting a Council Tax cut from whatever money is trickled down to the Tory Bradford Council.
What is made clear in the report is that the Regional Development Agency (Yorkshire forward) holds the power of attorney over how much money will be given to Bradford.
This is a regional quango much like the Regional Assembly an un-elected, unaccountable, middle man wasting tax payers money when it could be spent on better public services.
The money will be poured into the city centre, withough any thought to the needs of the towns and villages of the district where most of the councillors actually hold their seat - and we all know how big city centre projects are managed!
An interesting quote at the end of the report:“...the EU heads of state, then announced a £12 billion fund to help small businesses deal with the financial situation...We still haven’t seen a mechanism for that. There’s a lot of rhetoric but no delivery.”
So, all talk and no money from the EU. The money we would get from this EU fund is a lot less than we put in, as we pay billions for this foreign bureaucracy. And apparently we can't even get our hands on that EU money. Sounds about right for the EU, why do we put up with it? I’m sure the French businesses get our money easy enough.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4038170.___City_is_ready_for___10bn_cash_boost___/
All very nice to hear and much needed too, but no doubt we won't be getting a Council Tax cut from whatever money is trickled down to the Tory Bradford Council.
What is made clear in the report is that the Regional Development Agency (Yorkshire forward) holds the power of attorney over how much money will be given to Bradford.
This is a regional quango much like the Regional Assembly an un-elected, unaccountable, middle man wasting tax payers money when it could be spent on better public services.
The money will be poured into the city centre, withough any thought to the needs of the towns and villages of the district where most of the councillors actually hold their seat - and we all know how big city centre projects are managed!
An interesting quote at the end of the report:“...the EU heads of state, then announced a £12 billion fund to help small businesses deal with the financial situation...We still haven’t seen a mechanism for that. There’s a lot of rhetoric but no delivery.”
So, all talk and no money from the EU. The money we would get from this EU fund is a lot less than we put in, as we pay billions for this foreign bureaucracy. And apparently we can't even get our hands on that EU money. Sounds about right for the EU, why do we put up with it? I’m sure the French businesses get our money easy enough.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4038170.___City_is_ready_for___10bn_cash_boost___/
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Goodbye Greenbelt
It is being reported that Bradford is going to have to add to the 50,000 homes its already being forced to build. Bradford will be taking extra housing that was allocated to the rest of the region, and i'm sure we all know where this housing is going to end up being built on.
The Regional Assembly is overseeing this Regional Spatial Strategy, an unacountable, bureaucratic and very expensive talkingshop which can tell elected councils what to do. (Much like the Regional Development Agency and the Odeon fiasco)
Of course the Conservative led council won't stand up to the regional bodies for the people of Bradford or for our greenbelt, and must have a hand in these rules because Tory leader Kris hopkins gets a nice little earner for sitting on the Regional Assembly.
So thanks to Labour not being able to control migration to the country (especially EU migration which is unrestricted), more houses are needed and guess what it's going to be built on? Our already disappearing greenbelt.
T&A report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4030891.Thousands_of_homes_threat_to_greenbelt/
The Regional Assembly is overseeing this Regional Spatial Strategy, an unacountable, bureaucratic and very expensive talkingshop which can tell elected councils what to do. (Much like the Regional Development Agency and the Odeon fiasco)
Of course the Conservative led council won't stand up to the regional bodies for the people of Bradford or for our greenbelt, and must have a hand in these rules because Tory leader Kris hopkins gets a nice little earner for sitting on the Regional Assembly.
So thanks to Labour not being able to control migration to the country (especially EU migration which is unrestricted), more houses are needed and guess what it's going to be built on? Our already disappearing greenbelt.
T&A report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4030891.Thousands_of_homes_threat_to_greenbelt/
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
The not-so-Liberal Democrats
Astonished is the word I’d use at what the Liberal Democrats said about the Conservative Bradford Council using anti-terror laws to secretly spy on the public.
The T&A reported: "Bradford Council has secretly monitored members of the public and its own staff more than 500 times in the past five years"
Of course the Conservatives were defensive over using this (so much for the new face of Camerons Conservatives defending our liberties)
Labour brought in these powers in 2003, so of course the leader of the Labour councillors couldn't bring himself to criticise.
The reaction of the Lib Dems was extraordinary. The leader of the liberal group said:"I think it is right and appropriate that the Council uses the power to investigate people who are fly-tipping and people who are involved in illegal activities"
So the Lib Dems support the Council secretly monitoring citizens of Bradford whether rightfully or wrongly. I think a lot of Lib Dem members need to take a long hard look at themselves.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4014406.Council__spying_powers__used_500_times/
The T&A reported: "Bradford Council has secretly monitored members of the public and its own staff more than 500 times in the past five years"
Of course the Conservatives were defensive over using this (so much for the new face of Camerons Conservatives defending our liberties)
Labour brought in these powers in 2003, so of course the leader of the Labour councillors couldn't bring himself to criticise.
The reaction of the Lib Dems was extraordinary. The leader of the liberal group said:"I think it is right and appropriate that the Council uses the power to investigate people who are fly-tipping and people who are involved in illegal activities"
So the Lib Dems support the Council secretly monitoring citizens of Bradford whether rightfully or wrongly. I think a lot of Lib Dem members need to take a long hard look at themselves.
T&A Report: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4014406.Council__spying_powers__used_500_times/
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