Blowing my own trumpet - the Accountancy Age manifesto
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Reasons not to vote Labour #37 - the new NHS contract
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Labour wanted to revise the contractual terms for GPs.
Remarkably, they managed to find a way to pay them more for doing less!
Reasons not to vote labour #38 - sacking Frank Field
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Frank Field is one of the most brilliant and well-respected politicians of his generation. He was asked by Tony Blair to "think the unthinkable" on welfare reform in 1997.
He did. He was sacked for it.
And, 13 years on, welfare is a profound blight on our country's productivity.
Reasons not to vote Labour #39 - the West Lothian question
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 2:08 pm
The 'West Lothian question' was first formulated by Tam Dalyell about the relationship between the English parliament and Scottish, Welsh and Irish MPs.
For how long will English constituencies and English Honourable members tolerate... at least 119 Honourable Members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercising an important, and probably often decisive, effect on English politics while they themselves have no say in the same matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
This was never addressed. In fact the powers granted to the Scottish Parliament made it even more intense. It can only get worse.
Reasons not to vote Labour #40 - public sector non jobs
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 1:12 pm
The truth of Labour's 13 years of increasing expenditure on the public sector is that a fair number of those jobs are unnecessary.
It's all too easy to poke fun at public sector jobs with stupid titles. Let me demonstrate:
Inspire Co-ordinator – London 2012
£36,238 pa
And there's more:
London Empowerment Partnership Co-ordinator (x2)
£31,148 - £35,053 (scp 33-38) p.a. including London Weighting
This is just welfare by another name. And it's very very expensive indeed. Think about this when Brown tells you we can't cut the public sector this year.
Reasons not to vote Labour #41 - the SATs fiasco
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 11:56 am
In 2008, the companies who had been awarded the contracts to administer SATs, the standardised aptitude tests required for all schools, messed it up. They failed to mark them properly, they were late and there were lots of administrative howlers.
The man who awarded this contract was Ed Balls. He refused to apologise for the mess, and then went on to smear Ken Boston, a civil servant in his department.
Reasons not to vote Labour #42 - the Lisbon treaty lies
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 11:35 am
The EU now has 25 members and will continue to expand.The new Constitutional Treaty ensures the new Europe can work effectively, and that Britain keeps control of key national interests like foreign policy, taxation, social security and defence.The Treaty sets out what the EU can do and what it cannot. It strengthens the voice of national parliaments and governments in EU affairs. It is a good treaty for Britain and for the new Europe. We will put it to the British people in a referendum and campaign whole-heartedly for a ‘Yes’ vote to keep Britain a leading nation in Europe.
Labour's 2005 manifesto was very clear on the referendum voters would get on a new settlement for Europe.
Only, when the opportunity came, Labour decided against a referendum (which it knew it would lose). So we are now signed up to the Lisbon Treaty against our will. Never forget it.
Gordon Brown even brazenly told a courtroom that "Manifesto Pledges are Not Subject to Legitimate Expectation". How can we believe a word he says?
Reasons not to vote Labour #43 - tax credits
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 11:00 am
Tax credits are one of Gordon Brown's biggest failings.
He failed to take account of what the policy would mean for real people. In effect, people on low incomes had to tell HMRC every time their income changed. If they didn't, or if HMRC failed to take account of the information properly, then the wrong amount of tax credits were paid. And then HMRC started writing to people demanding the money back, invariably asking for the wrong amount back. Often to the tune of many thousands of pounds.
It was an absolute shambles. It should never have happened.
Reasons not to vote Labour #44 - David Chaytor
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 10:06 am
David Chaytor, formerly a Labour MP, had paid off his mortgage. However, he clearly felt that he deserved to have his interest paid on expenses like all the other MPs. So he made a claim for interest on a fictitious mortgage. He was caught and ordered to pay the money back. He was subsequently charged with offences under the Theft Act.
Wikipedia also reports that, despite himself benefiting from a grammar school education, he now campaigns for selection in British schools to be abolished. So he's a hypocrite as well as a thief.
And don't forget, worst of all, he was a Labour MP.
Why aren't the political parties handing out posters?
Posted by Christie Malry on April 30, 2010 at 9:47 am
I remember the 2001 election. Each major party delivered a leaflet, which could be unfolded to reveal a big poster on the other side. Many people on my street displayed their posters, which was an interesting guide to the prevailing political mood.
This year? No posters. They've decided to cover every inch of their leaflets with stuff about what their local party workers have been doing. No space for posters at all.
This is a big mistake. It's widely recognised that people are swayed by what their peers do. People who aren't sure which party to vote for might be swayed one way or the other by whom their neighbours are voting for.
So why did the parties give up on them? Surely this is a schoolboy error?
