Archive for the ‘council tax’ Category
Posted by michael on February 10, 2011
The more we find out about the appalling (in my view) Labour government of the last 13 years, the more debt is revealed that we are now having to pay for.
Did anybody in the last government stand up against this lemming-like drive by Blair and Brown to just spend, spend and spend public money regardless of the debt being built up for future generations?
No wonder student loans have to be increase! No wonder we are having to cut public services!
These cuts are not the fault of the current government. They are having to be done because of the actions of the last Labour government.
I cannot imagine why anyone would ever trust a Labour government again! (especially when the current opposition consists mostly of the same people who made such a mess of our economy!)
Posted in benefits, Blogroll, ConLib, Conservatives, council tax, debt, economy, labour, Lib Dems, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on June 7, 2010
There are still Labour supporters saying that we must maintain the same level of spending on public services!!
These dinosaurs of economic thinking do not seem to understand that the UK simply does not have the money to spend on these high levels of public sector jobs and services.
All public sector jobs are paid for through the taxes of everyone in the UK.
Both Darling and ‘call me prudent Brown’ simply borrowed the money to pay for their public sector improvements. Anyone who thinks that this practice could go on and on is not being sensible!
How Labour thought that they could get away with it is staggering! It was always going to end in a financial crash and/or the IMF coming in to run the economy (as has happened before with Labour in power!)
Labour, new or otherwise, have shown themselves to be unfit for government, especially whilst they have ministers from the Brown government in the Labour party!
There are even Labour supporters still saying that we must maintain the same level of spending on public services!!
These dinosaurs of economic thinking do not seem to understand that the UK simply does not have the money any more to spend on these high levels of public sector jobs and services.
All public sector jobs are paid for through the taxes of everyone in the UK. Both Darling and ‘call me prudent Brown’ simply borrowed the money to pay for their public sector improvements.
Anyone who thinks that this practice could go on and on is not being sensible! How Labour thought that they could get away with it is staggering!
It was always going to end in a financial crash and/or the IMF coming in to run the economy (as has happened before with Labour in power!)
Labour, new or otherwise, have shown themselves to be unfit for government, especially whilst they have ministers from the Brown government in the Labour party!
Posted in benefits, Blogroll, ConLib, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, debt, economy, financial, labour, Lib Dems, national health service, nhs, tax, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on May 11, 2010
At last, I have waited a long time for this!
One thing for sure, I was not wrong about my not wanting a Labour government over the last 14 years! It was always going to be a disaster, the only difference this time is that it has taken longer than normal for New Labour to collapse!
I have always known that this government would end in a financial crisis with serious consequences for the people, because that is what Labour governments do!
Our debt levels are massive. People will be very shocked when they see the extent of our indebtedness and the consequences that it will have on them.
Brown kept us ignorant of the state of the economy during the election period. Why? If there was any good news about our economy don’t you think that it would be exploited during the election campaign?
This policy prevented the opposition to give us their detailed plans, but it also hid the state of the UK economy during the election!
I trust that the Conservatives will give us a full statement about the economy as soon as possible, because they won’t want to be blamed for the huge debts that Brown has incurred in our name! But it is a balancing act because it could unsettle the financial markets.
Cameron will find it difficult increasing taxes and raising extra money from us all unless people understand that this is needed to repay debts incurred by Brown and New Labour!
Yes we have more new schools and hospitals now. But the country needs to know if we have actually paid for them already or are we going to have to pay for them out of increased taxes for years to come in the future?
Blair and Brown took over running the country 14 years ago. They started with the ‘Golden Inheritance’ from the last Conservative government. Until the Credit Crunch (Oh why did Brown change the banking regulations which resulted in us suffering so much from the Credit Crunch!!!) the UK was doing well.
Since the Credit Crunch all this government seem to have done is to increase our indebtedness, even to the extent of giving money away to other countries!
We now seem to have a Conservative government about to take over. They have to deal with a real mess. We will suffer financial pain as a result. But don’t blame the Conservatives who are sorting it out. Blame the Blair, Brown and Darling for their inept management of the economy which has dumped us with all this debt!
Posted in Blogroll, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, debt, election, financial, labour, Lib Dems, recession, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Tagged: bankers, conservative, credit crunch, david cameron, debt, economy, election, gordon brown, government, labour, recession, tax increases, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on April 2, 2010
New Labour are making a real big deal about the opposition to increases in the NI. It should be obvious to them that we need as many jobs in the UK as possible and that increasing taxes on jobs is not the best thing to do!
And the jobs need to be in the private sector. Public sector jobs are paid for by our taxes. Every new public sector job increases the UK debt levels!
But Brown, New Labour and Mandelson seem to be unable to cope with any criticism of their plans. It comes over as a ‘matter of principle’ that Labour will not accept any criticism even if it is obvious to most that Labour is wrong!
This just reinforces the fact that New Labour, and Brown, have dealt with the UK economy so very well that the UK is in deep trouble. We now have huge debts. We are now facing huge tax increases in almost every aspect of our lives.
We now cannot afford to maintain most public services.
We couldn’t afford the salt in the winter and now the roads are falling apart and will cost billions to repair! What crazy logic from this government stopped them from buying enough salt, which really was the cheap option!, even though they knew road surfaces would be seriously damaged by the freezing temperatures. It might save a million or two now, but will cost hundreds of millions over the next few years.
When Brown promises to ring fence an NHS service, then that means the other NHS services will be cut! If they were not at risk of being cut then there would be no need to ring fence certain services!
I want to see a government in power which is prepared to govern for the benefit of the UK and NOT to spend all their efforts trying to maintain their own positions in government!
The fact that Brown refuses to release the financial data for the UK means several things:
- He is hiding the size of the financial mess that he has put the UK into.
- He is trying to stop the opposition from making their plans for government.
Brown is able to attack the opposition by claiming that they don’t have the finances right. We would not know if the opposition is right or wrong, since we do not know the figures either!
On the other hand we don’t know if Brown is right or wrong, since he does not reveal the figures that his policies are based on!
Posted in Blogroll, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, crime, debt, economy, election, financial, labour, national health service, nhs, recession, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Tagged: bankers, benefits, cost of living, credit crunch, david cameron, debt, gordon brown, labour, recession, repossession, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on January 26, 2010
The worst of the recession is not over. Apart from the less than expected growth figure, which will probably adjusted in the next few weeks, there is very little else going for the UK economy!
But in my view it is the way that this lame government has chosen to focus almost entirely on the banking system that is going to prove to be the most damaging of Brown and Darling’s policies!
Apart from a couple of relatively sensible policies that a number of governments around the world adopted, there has been very little from New Labour to help anyone through the recession.
The scrappage scheme was welcome but limited. What a shame the scheme was not restricted to green, environmentally friendly cars to begin the process of cleaning up the environment!
But the real issue is with the banks. This New Labour government forced the banks to increase their capital levels. The consequence of this was that many businesses had their existing loans withdrawn or were refused the new loans and overdraft facilities required to keep their businesses and cash flow going.
How many small businesses were forced out of business by Brown and Darling’s focus on keeping the banking system going at the expense of the smaller businesses? How many of their employees lost their jobs as a result?
When these smaller UK manufacturers and suppliers go bust then the employees and the management are forced to depend on the benefits system. This increases the UK debt. Families are often unable to pay their mortgages or rent. How many families were unable to pay their mortgage and ended up being housed at the expense of UK tax payers?
How is the UK economy now expected to grow when so many of the businesses that were present before the recession have now stopped trading simply because the UK banks would not support them?
The people of the UK have been allowed to suffer whilst the government put most of the money and most of their efforts into protecting the banks.
When will our government allow the banks to start lending money, at reasonable rates, to small businesses to encourage them to expand. The same question applies to new start up businesses being given the funding and credit facilities that they require.
For Brown and Darling to increase the banks capital and reserves at the cost of many businesses and jobs is inexcusable. Apart from anything else banks do not vote in general elections, people do!
Do we now have enough people who can afford to set up new businesses? Even if people want to get new businesses going, the banks will most probably refuse to support them.
This useless government has failed to support businesses who need finance and loans to stay in business . We cannot expect much help from our greedy bankers!
Brown and Darling have made a real mess of the UK economy. This is why they do not deserve to be in government again!
Posted in Blogroll, council tax, credit crunch, crime, national health service, recession, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Tagged: banker, bankers, conservative, gordon brown, government, labour, mortgage, recession, repossession, tax, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on January 6, 2010
One of the worst things about this authoritarian government we have in the UK is that they cannot bring in laws without emphasising the punishment factor for those who don’t obey.
Recycling organic waste should be something that most people will do, and most people will be pleased to do it.
Instead of a debate on the good reasons for doing this, we have all been ordered to do this , or else!!! This gets peoples backs up.
The natural response to being ordered to do this is to tell Brown where to go!!! New Labour are an elected government. Yet they treat the people as the unelected governments in China, North Korea and other dictatorships around the world do.
Posted in Blogroll, climate change, council tax, credit crunch, renewable energy, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Tagged: conservative, david cameron, debt, economy, government, labour, recession, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on December 29, 2009
Naturally Labour are desperate to show a class war with the Conservatives helping their rich friends and New Labour helping their poor, lower paid supporters.
The poor, lower paid have of course been the focus of the the last 12 years of New Labour in government?
Actually NO! Labour have failed to look after the lower paid. They have failed to support their union friends.
Living standards for the poor are worse now than 12 years ago.
Child poverty, despite the money spent on it, is as bad as it ever was.
Education standards are lower in state schools!
New Labour like their millionaire friends, to have (several) expensive houses, to be photographed with important people, to jump when the USA tells them to!
New Labour have no right to claim that they care for the poor. The traditional left-wing Labour MPs appear to have been sidelined!
Blair and Brown and many of their ministers would appear to be only interested in living the high life! Now the chickens are steadily coming home to roost and New Labour are beginning to understand that they have isolated themselves from almost all areas of society.
An example of Brown and Labour putting themselves before the country is the refusal of this government to stand down now and have an election.
The UK is in desperate straits. The finances are shot. The debts are huge and will take years to pay back. Public Services are being cut. Decisions are being taken by a government whose focus is on surviving the next six months.
How can that be good for the UK? We need decisive action and long term decision making. Whilst New Labour hang on to power looking for ways to survive, they are putting the interests of the UK after the interests of the country!
Posted in benefits, Blogroll, climate change, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, crime, debt, economy, education, energy, Euopean Union, financial, health, military, national health service, recession, renewable energy, UK Economy, war | Tagged: bankers, conservative, cost of living, credit crunch, david cameron, debt, families, government, recession, UK Economy, war | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on November 25, 2009
This court case was never addressing the main issue.
It is not the principle of having penalties for going overdrawn, it is the AMOUNT of penalty that these greedy and grasping banks are taking.
The very concept of a FIXED penalty is the problem. These penalties are set up to penalise the poorest and weakest in our society.
This incompetent Labour government did a huge amount of damage by closing post offices and forcing many people to have benefits, pensions etc paid into bank accounts. They did not understand the consequences of this action, all they could see were cost saving!
People on low incomes should NOT be forced to have a bank account. They are the least able to manage bank accounts and the ones who suffer the most when things go wrong.
Many elderly, sick and low paid workers only have £50 a week available to pay ALL their bills. The moment they get charged £30 plus, their accounts go out of control and they end up owing the banks hundreds of pounds.
Penalty charges MUST be PROPORTIONAL to income.
We cannot have a situation where the money paid to the poorest people in our society and which they need to live on is taken by the banks to increase their profits and add to the bonuses paid to the senior staff!!
Our prime minister did not bother listening to those who forecast exactly what would happen if the government persisted in forcing people to open bank accounts. Gordon Brown made the wrong decision, as usual, and the poorest people in the UK are the ones who are hit the hardest!
Posted in benefits, Blogroll, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, energy bills, financial, labour, recession, UK Economy, Uncategorized | Tagged: bank, bankers, brown, government, greedy, labour, new labour, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on September 10, 2009
We should have a national debate on the scandal of local councils being able to use monetary fines to effectively enslave people to do as they are told.
There hasn’t even been a vote in Parliament for these rules which will have such an impact on our lives.
Perhaps we are seeing why we need our MPs to be focused on all these changes that are rapidly being foisted on us without our consent! They are worth five times their current salaries if they are able to stop some of the abuses that are being used to control us now.
New Labour sneak through too many law changes that seriously impact our lives without a national debate, and more importantly, without a vote.
Yes we need to bring in legislation to cover waste disposal, recycling, climate change etc.
But what is happening at the moment under this government is that our society is becoming like Iraq, North Korea and other countries where the government totally dominates the population through fear.
Please don’t tell me that £5000 fines under the fly tipping legislation is not using fear to control the people!!
It is an absolute disgrace that fly tipping laws are applied to the regular household bin collections. This is not what should happen in a free society. But Blair and Brown have shown over the years that we are not in a free, democratic society!
Posted in Blogroll, climate change, Conservatives, council tax, labour, Lib Dems | Tagged: bin collextion, gordon brown, green tax, recycling, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by michael on July 26, 2009
What are New Labour proposing?
The Mail on Sunday has details of a new tax on anyone who lives in a house, unless there are no redeeming features at all of the house or the view from the house!
William III introduced a window tax in 1696. That is why some of the windows in older houses are bricked up. Just to avoid the tax!
Charles Stuart II introduced a Hearth or Fireplace Tax in 1662. The tax had to be paid for each fireplace in a property.
The significance of this new New Labour tax is that it is not based on absolutes, At least the Kings of old actually taxed something that was useful to the householder!
You may not like the view from your house. You may be fed up with the bus stop outside your gate because of the noise at night and the mess left around your gate. But you will still have to pay this tax!
We already pay council tax on our properties, the amount paid depends upon the value of the property in question. But the factors that determine the value of a house include the size of the house, the area the house is in, the views from the house, the presence of patios and conservatories, garages and the availability of parking.
In fact the new envy tax from New Labour is based on many of the factors that establish the council tax band.
This is a second tax on top of the council. We are being taxed TWICE for the same property assets!
No wonder New Labour like this tax! Right down their street! They should be taxed fr the idea!
Posted in Blogroll, Conservatives, council tax, credit crunch, labour, Lib Dems, recession, UK Economy | Tagged: abuse, brown, conservative, cost of living, council tax, credit crunch, david cameron, debt, gordon brown, government, greedy, household, labour, more taxes, new tax, recession, stealth tax, tax, tax increases, UK Economy | Leave a Comment »
