Tory Bank Shares Madness

I was frankly astounded by Tory Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne’s, recent scheme for selling the Government’s stake in the Banks. Shares in state-owned banks would be offered to voters at a discount as part of a Tory scheme, George Osborne has announced.

Excuse me, but we taxpayers have already paid our hard-earned money once to bail out these banks, why on earth should we put yet more money the banker’s way?

This Tory proposal to sell these bank shares at a discount beggars belief-we taxpayers want every possible penny of the money back we had to stump up to repair the damage caused by the reckless bonus driven excesses of the bankers.

If George Osborne and his Tory chums lived in the real world he would know the ordinary hard-working British public are, with good reason, very wary of the Stock Market.  I’ve spoken to many Shrewsbury people who owned shares in High Street banks and never dreamt they would become worthless, yet this is exactly what happened to investors in Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock.

As a result the discount required to tempt small investors back into this sector is going to have to be very, very, large. So as a result of this Tory bright idea, we stand to get only a fraction back of the vast sums we poured into propping up the banks.  And as the mouldy cherry on top of this Tory financial cake, it will be a safe bet that the only people making money will be  some of the same financial ‘experts’ responsible for the banking crisis in the first place.

If this is the best the Tories can come up with by way of economic policy, is it any surprise their poll ratings are slipping?

FOX HUNTING-THE UGLY PICTURE

I was very disturbed to see the article in the Shropshire Star of 16 February, about the incident concerning the South Shropshire Hunt at Cruckton, near Shrewsbury.

The hounds, whilst supposed to be on a drag hunt, came onto private property and ripped apart a fox in the back garden of a local resident. Otis Ferry, joint huntmaster, said they had temporarily lost control of the hounds. The lady owner of the land had previously repeatedly warned the hunt not to enter her private land. This incident must have been extremely distressing for that lady, whose horses and pet cat were understandably terrified.

This unpleasant incident illustrates only too well the real practical problems hunting creates for us in Shropshire. This lady had every right, as all residents of country areas have, to quietly enjoy their property without such horrible acts as this being carried out on their land against their express wishes.

But it is not an isolated incident. A few years back the hunt got into the gardens of several houses in Condover village and caused chaos. A local resident recently found the A41-a main Shropshire Trunk Road blocked by the hunt at Tern Hill with all the resulting danger to other road users.

My question is, if a group of other outdoor pastime enthusiasts such as anglers, or rugby players, turned up in a private garden and killed a wild animal, the outcry would rightly be massive. So why are the hunting lobby allowed to do this infringing private property rights with apparent impunity?

The Police have said no laws were broken at Cruckton, and the incident just amounted to “Trespass”. I doubt the unfortunate lady landowner thought that.

Our MP Daniel Kawczynski went on record on Radio Shropshire to categorically state he would support a vote to reverse Labour’s ban on hunting with dogs.

I would ask him does he still support the pro-hunting lobby when they show such disregard for private property rights? Does he not agree that people who have worked hard to buy country property and land, and who do not wish the hunt to come across it, should have the total right to have that wish fully respected?

If the hunt were engaged in a drag hunt, why didn’t they plan a route well away from this lady’s land?

Broken Britain – A Genuine Picture?

Sometimes when reading the letters pages of the local press, one can be given a rather depressing and nihilistic view of the world. Often, the same narrow band of correspondents are pushing an intolerant view of life, choosing to focus upon that which divides society rather than what brings us together.

Other times, those with a particular axe to grind will seek to make political capital out of isolated national tragedies far from Shrewsbury. A recent instance is David Cameron’s ‘Broken Britain’ claims following the child violence case in South Yorkshire.

Personally I prefer to concentrate on the facts, and recognise that not all was well in the good old days. For example the number of violent deaths among children in England and Wales fell by almost 40% in the past 30 years, or nearly 50% when taking into account growth in the child population, according to the recent report by Bournemouth University.

Improvements in social care systems, along with a greater focus on child poverty, had helped lower the death rate. Thirty years ago England and Wales were the third or fourth highest child killers in the western world, but we’re now fourth lowest.

These national tragedies are terrible and one violent death of a child is too many but this research clearly proves the way to protect children’s lives is to invest in our social care systems, fight child poverty and support those families who need it.

To consider cutting initiatives such as Labour’s Sure Start scheme, which provides health, education, parenting and employment services to pre-school children and parents, is in my opinion, bordering on the cruel.

I hope our Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski will confirm that he will back our four Shrewsbury Sure Start centres in Monkmoor, Crowmoor, Harlescott and Meole Brace, and not permit any cuts in their funding laid out nationally by his own party.

School Places Solution Vital

The problem of surplus school places in Shropshire is back on the front page (Shropshire Star 2nd Feb). Now the spotlight has moved on to our secondary schools, which are reported to be facing large reductions in pupil numbers over the next 5-6 years.  This issue has been central to school funding in our County in recent years. To be fair to the controlling Tory group on the former County Council, they did recently attempt to tackle surplus numbers in the primary sector.  Sadly, rank and file Tory Councillors when faced with the inevitable angry protests buckled under the pressure, and appeared more concerned with the approaching unitary elections than with making progress on the matter.

Well, the problem has not gone away. I fully appreciate, and sympathise, with village residents concerned about the risk of closure to their school. On top of the loss of the local shop, pub and bus service this can seem like the last straw. But we must all accept small rural schools cannot be considered in isolation. Surplus places kept open mean less funding for the rest of our schools, including those in both village and town.

In my opinion what is required is an approach that considers the whole of our school system, and whilst listening fully to the people,  is not then derailed by narrow local electoral considerations. The issue is very emotive and inevitably supporters of some schools will be disappointed. The ruling Conservatives on Shropshire Council face some very tough decisions on the matter, but to do nothing is no longer an option.

What was not acceptable was the stance of certain prominent local Tories, who sought to blame the Labour Government for Shropshire’s surplus place problem. Spouting misleading and  inaccurate claims will not solve the problem, and does nothing to foster the informed debate we all need to have on the subject. The funding figures per pupil are largely a product of past failures to tackle the surplus place problem. No Government, of whatever party, is going to pay us to maintain significant numbers of empty desks.

If the same people repeat these claims now, they will truly have exposed themselves to be unable to understand simple mathematics, or worse, to be total cynics.

Figures Show Tory Marriage Tax Pledge Con

New figures from the Treasury reveal that only 6% of married couples would benefit from the Tories’ new married couples plan.

Far from his commitment to ‘recognise all marriages’, 94% of married couples would get nothing.

In fact, in order to fund this new tax pledge, David Cameron and George Osborne have admitted they will raise other taxes, hitting married couples as well as the rest of the population.

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, today said:

“Marriage plays a vital role in our society. But David Cameron’s latest marriage tax plan does nothing for 19 out of 20 married couples – except put a tax rise on their cars and holidays.

“David Cameron broke his promise to help all married couples when he was forced to admit his plans didn’t add up.

“Now, he’s got himself into the absurd position of having a married couples policy that leaves the majority of married couples worse off.

“As the Tories stagger from one promise to another, it’s becoming clear their plans are dangerously ill thought through and they remain a risk to families and the economy.”

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