I guess many of you are bored of the recent football obsession on here, so it’s about time I covered something affecting us all. Today the Queen read out the set of mutated bills that are in the pipeline as a result of David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s current love-in.
The Queen said that the first priority of her government was accelerate the reduction of the structural deficit and restore growth. A bit of a paradox, since by doing one you harm the other, but in Dave & Nick we trust.
The Office for Budget Responsibility Bill sees the creation of a 3-person committee chaired by hand-picked yes men to devolve blame from MPs when it all goes wrong. The OBR is said to exceed the IMF’s recommendations on fiscal transparency, so hopefully a government will never again be allowed to buy voters off with pre-election spending bukkake.
The Conservatives hammered Labour for stealth taxation, but this coalition is at it already. Pre-election, did you see Dave talking about ramming up National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for average people? Me neither, but in the National Insurance Contributions Bill, NICs will be going up for everyone earning more than £20,000. The basic Class 1 rate (payable by every employee) is going up by 1% to 12%. For the self employed, the rise is also 1% to 9%. If you earn above the NI threshold (currently about £850 per week), your additional contributions are going up to 2%. For employers, basic NI is going up to 13.8%, including benefits in kind. Supposedly this will raise £9bn.
This is straight from the Tory manifesto and I’m not complaining about the tax hike per se because the outcome of neglecting the structural deficit doesn’t bear thinking about, but I would have preferred it if it hadn’t been spun as though the Conservatives wouldn’t be upping NICs when in fact they are. They now say that most people would be better off relative to the previous Government’s plan. Can be described only as a stealth tax as per Frances Maude’s original description.
The welfare state is to be simplified under a new Welfare Reform Bill. No longer will people be able to earn more on benefits than entering the workplace. The administration will be simpler and there will no longer be a whole array of benefits and qualifying circumstances. Supposedly benefits fraud will be easier to detect through the simplification of the system. No mention of benefits families, so presumably mass reproduction is still a viable means of securing a lucrative career on the state.
The Pensions and Savings Bill aims to review the age at which the state pension age increases to 66. Currently it’s scheduled to go up between 2024 and 2026, but I believe the government wants to bring this forward to 2016 for men and 2020 for women.
Financial services will be reformed with the Financial Services Regulation Bill, granting all reform powers to the Bank of England. Equitable Life policyholders will benefit from the Equitable Life Payments Scheme Bill.
Airports will be encouraged to become more passenger focused as part of the Airport Economic Regulation Bill. On the one hand they say new runways will be blocked and on the other that political involvement in airports will be reduced. Little else has been explicitly decided.
Royal Mail will be part privatised in the Postal Services Bill. Labour supporters have been jumping all over this claiming it’s the spawn of a mutant Maggie Thatcher and a return to the 1980′s. It isn’t. Peter Mandelson came up with it last year. The aim of this is to secure its future and support its pension deficit.
The inevitable bombardment of green taxes comes as part of the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill. This talks about a pay as you save approach to energy efficiency, whereby the savings you make by installing efficiency measures pay for them over the longer term. This seems like a good idea except for the the fact that the only energy efficiency solution that is viable (solar) costs so much that even over 20 years there will still be money owing. Still, the intention is fine. I would have preferred some information about how the blackouts in 2017 will be overcome, but I presume Ed Miliband’s approval of 10 new nuclear power plants remains in the pipeline.
Alarm bells started ringing about the proposition here to tax coal-fired power station emissions because this is another direct stealth tax on the consumer. If the emissions are the problem, then there’s a solution here, Dave and Nick. Just ban them. Finally we have got the formation of a Green Investment Bank which apparently will support low carbon projects to ‘transform’ the economy. Seems more like green lobby lip service than anything that will make a difference.
The Queen went on to talk about a splurge in investment on high-speed fibre optic broadband. Labour intended to apply a phoneline tax of £6 per year to fund extending the current copper broadband network into extreme rurality. Fibre is something else. Fibre has been deployed successfully in countries like Sweden and South Korea, who enjoy broadband speeds not of 2, 4 or 8 megabit/s, but 100 or 1000 with near zero latency to boot. The important statement here is that this investment will be market led, so there will be no government involvement aside from legislating to reduce the cost of digging up roads and so on.
Similarly, high speed rail investment features, but seems awfully London-centric. Routes between Heathrow and other airports have been discussed as a means to reduce short-haul aviation. It’s a good idea, of course, but projects like this aren’t going to be forthcoming for years and years. It’s stated that a link between London and Birmingham would shave 30 minutes off the journey time but would incur a cost of £17bn. A High Speed Rail Bill will be coming out shortly.
On education there are a few bills. The first is the Academies Bill which will allow current state-maintained schools to turn into academies. Academies are sponsored by companies, wealthy individuals or charities and are not allowed to make a profit. Academies are outside the control of local authorities and have freedom to choose their own teaching methods. It makes the schools more accountable for the quality of school-leaver and this I believe can only be a good thing. Schools can no longer blame authorities for their incompetence.
Supporting this bill is the Education and Children’s Bill. This devolves power back into the hands of headteachers and brands them responsible and accountable. It calls for a slimmer curriculum to give teachers the flexibility to create a teaching programme to best suit their classes.
The Health Bill is not something you get having visited BUPA: it’s a bill in the Queen’s Speech today that states that a ‘patient-led’ NHS will be supported where patients have control over their care. A quango will be created to allocate funding to the various aspects of the NHS, and the cost of NHS administration will be cut by a third as many health quangos are scrapped.
The coalition has addressed the need to reform the police with the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. It states that the police will be empowered to tackle antisocial behaviour although this seems to be solely about stopping supermarkets selling alcohol at a loss and encouraging increased policing charges to premises with late licenses. There will be elected chief constables which will serve to breathe confidence amongst communities that the right person is providing their security. It also means that if they’re a failure they can be voted out. Finally, this bill promises a dedicated Border Police Force (not a service).
Similarly, power will be devolved back into local authorities with the Decentralisation and Localism Bill. This will return many decision making processes such as that of approving house building back to the local authority and will scrap Regional Spatial Strategies which provided government guidelines for making decisions. It also returns power to the people. Referendums on particular local issues can be instigated and council tax increases can be vetoed. We will also be able to examine the full running cost of local council high flyers including salary and expenses because this bill forces them to be published. Powers for local organisations to take over the running of failing state facilities, such as swimming pools, are also in here. Home Information Packs have already bitten the bullet as part of this bill.
As expected there will be some parliamentary reform: whether Alternative Vote will end up being part of this, who knows, but the Liberal Democrats have got their referendum on it. Constituency sizes will be equalised and fixed, 5 year parliaments implemented. It will be possible to remove a problem MP: by-elections can be triggered if 10% of the electorate sign a petition calling for them to be recalled. The House of Lords will also face reform and become wholly elected on a Proportional Representation basis: I hope this means an end to the vehicle for getting a crony into a ministerial position by making them a peer.
Identity cards will be sentenced to the scrap heap with the Identity Documents Bill. The Freedom Bill which is designed to ‘roll back’ the state’s influence on people’s lives will repeal various facets of legislation and enforcement. This includes repealing certain criminal laws, allowing protests without fear of being criminalised and scaling back the big brother state. This also includes strict restrictions on the storage of internet and email records, CCTV regulation and scaling back the DNA database so that it doesn’t seek to have every single citizen’s DNA on it, innocent or not. Libel law will be reformed and supposedly this bill will prevent the abuse of anti-terrorism legislation by police, too.
Quangos will be attacked wth the Public Bodies Bill. Ministers will have the power to scrap any quango at the drop of a hat. This promises to save £1bn per year.
Devolvement of power from Britain the Europe will be held to a referendum with the European Communities Referendum Lock Bill. One quoted example for which a referendum would be needed is joining the Euro. Sadly the Human Rights Act remains. The Welsh parliament will be given more power.
Foreign Aid will form 0.7% of Gross National Income by 2013, and there will be a new, ‘enhanced partnership’ with India. A two-state solution is supported as part of the Middle East Peace Process. An immigration cap for non-EU economic migrants will be implemented. A reduction in nuclear proliferation is called for and there will be a Strategic Defence and Security Review.
It’s a lot to swallow and a lot to think about, but I take back what I said at the start: little of it actually affects the average person.
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Some quite good stuff in the mix from what I have seen so far, but I don’t understand why they don’t scrap ‘plastic/pretend police’ aka PCSOs, billions could easily be saved by scrapping this great waste of taxpayer’s money. But on the whole I am quite impressed with what I have seen from the coalition. As Conservative MP Peter Lilley said today ‘A coalition of the losers would have been unacceptable and unworkable, governing alone would have impossible so the coalition is the way forward’ I agree with every word.
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“No mention of benefits families, so presumably mass reproduction is still a viable means of securing a lucrative career on the state”
so the rectum sucking Pollits/Yusufs/Mgrawleys/Stokes insects get off scot free?
Its not on, I exepcted better from DC;these sponging parashites are the scourge of this society and should be desposed of like used toilet paper, by all and any mains necessary.
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Actually so far I’m very disappointed. Where are the real radical changes? Where are the redundancies of Equality and Diversity Officers in government of all levels? Why campaign on NI increases being a tax on jobs and then go ahead with it (if only partially)? With welfare, why aren’t people having to do something for their benefits and people being guaranteed to have their salaries topped up to benefit levels if they can’t find enough work to get to that level? And why keep all the crap “green” taxes (aren’t we Londoner’s trendy on such issues) and giving our money away to India. If you want to improve a third world economy, try looking at Fleetwood and money other towns like it first. Been there today and now very depressed. How can a town look so run down and everywhere need maintenance?
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I do admit some of the stuff was not quite as radical as I would like, but I am reasonably satisfied for now and really its the price you have to pay for having a coalition; compromises had to be made. But I feel its a price worth paying to keep Labour out. We just need to finish the job in 2014/15 whenever and get MARSDEN OUT.
I agree about Fleetwood it does need an awful lot of work but one of its biggest problems is that the people of Fleetwood seem to be reluctant to accept change and modernise. A fine example of this is the derelict pier site. I think the proposal put forward by Simmo Developments is just what Fleetwood needs and they are opposing it. I like Fleetwood, I often bike up there and I want to see it succeed but by resisting change its not going to get anywhere.
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I agree Frustrated, Diversity and Equality (D&E) is the biggest waste of money I can think of,all should be sacked.Diarrhea & Excrement (D&E) is nothing less than the promulgation of racial hatred; at the expense of the taxpayer, to keep Idi Amin wannabes like Trevor Philips in a job.
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Yes, I would like to see a clampdown on PC and ‘diversity’. I’m all for equality but jobs should ALWAYS without exception be awarded on merit to the best candidate, I would like to see ‘positive’ discrimination outlawed completely, no more all-woman shortlists, no more of this ‘you’re too white, male and middle-class’, jobs should go to the best person. I am glad to see ID cards are being canned, I just wish they would bin PCSOs with it, they cost billions a year needlessly.
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There was a classic story in the paper a bit ago about Herr Phillips. Apparently his quango was discriminating against women in terms of pay.
But fuck him, maybe his quango will be scrapped now as part of the quango bill or whatever it’s called.
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I certainly hope so, I am just sorry to hear the NWDA is being saved, I would love to see that overpaid jobsworth Steve Broomhead get sacked and have to get a real job.
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another wanker who deserves his p45,another mafia-mandarin of waste,inefficency and uselessness, should be sacked and all of his assets seized and handed over to another Quango, lol.
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Don’t know about that: Dr Vince was never going to go there and tell them it was going to be axed.
He’s already said there’ll be ‘less money’ which in real terms means ‘no money’, and if there is no money, it negates the need for Mr Steve Broomhead on £180k per year and all the other pen pushing desk jockeys that make up the NWDA.
The NWDA was Labour’s way of channelling money through to various projects. Scrapping it does not mean that the North West is cut off from all funding.
Anyone that is not a dimwit realises that if the NWDA goes, like the other 8 RDAs, it is to be merged into a central government department that will perform the same work as all of the current RDAs. Yes, this means 9 quangos will merge into one quango. It’s called efficiency, and Labour supporters don’t like it because oh! the jobs! the jobs! Call the unions, quick!
This HIP thing cracked me up as well, with these companies whining about it being scrapped. Word in your shells like, ye bandwagon jumping leeches. Just because it created jobs, does not mean it was a good idea.
Arguably it was a Labour technique for creating jobs. Create a product nobody needs. Create legislation that forces everyone to have it. Hey presto, companies set up to provide it.
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well if for every 9 quangos currently in existence,they are replaced by one,thats a good start.
If theres only 1/9 of them left thats fine;some may be needed, most arent.
Labours give a cretin a job principle has been in force for 13 years, now its on the wane.
Broomhead on 180k?? Jesus juckin christ,180k for being a glorified bank clerk; fuck him off along with that cunt Weaver.
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I wonder whether bills introduced as part of this Queen’s Speech will allow us power to recall COUNCILLORS as well as MPs?
Trouble is with this recall legislation, I think it’s a phoney policy. It’s good in theory, but in practice I bet an MP would have to paint their face with a St. George’s Cross then maraud through Brixton with an AK-47 wearing a BNP bandana screaming “go home niggers” whilst they indiscriminately mowed down family after family.
Even then they’d probably only get a slap on the wrist for buying the gun on expenses and wouldn’t quite fit the criteria for recall eligibility.
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I would to see some Blackpool councillors recalled, agree the devil is in the detail there.
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I’m not too impressed with the recall though. 10% of MPs to start a vote to oust their leader would be easy enough to orchestrate. They’re all in the House of Commons and easy to talk to each other.
10% of the electorate (of whom around only 50-65% tend to turn out to vote anyway) of a constituency such as Blackpool South would mean over 6,300 having to petition for it (6,600 in Fylde). So how would you orchestrate that when you don’t have a central location or publicity money/printing money etc. no matter how crap the MP was?
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Fair point, the 10% would be a bit of a sticking point.
I think Gordon Marsden would have had to have hung, drawn and quartered Bambi before we’d get that many out to recall him.
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Unfortunately yes, there is so much apathy in Blackpool I find. I once started a petition on a website calling on more regeneration funding from the Government for Blackpool. I notified the Gasjet asking them to publish a letter about it and they were not the slightest bit interested. I just wish people would think about who they vote for and give Blackpool an MP who will do us justice. Another point about Labour supporters is they are total hypocrites. That davie@layton once came on and launched a stinging attack on Paul Maynard calling him ‘upper crust’ and all the usual class snobbery. So I bit back and said look at Marsden he went to a public school and Oxford. Davie@layton then said ‘So Marsden went to Oxford there’s nowt wrong with that’. So if you’re Labour you can go to public school/Oxbridge and be a man of the people but if you’re a Tory it makes you a ‘toff’, what a load of hypocritical cobblers. Also that annoying cardy, I keep pointing out to him how ‘local’ Marsden really is and he keeps playing it down saying I don’t care when an MP comes from it is the politician that matters. But that guy changes his opinion so much you can guarantee if Ron Bell lived in Brighton he would kick off about it.
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One way to do it would be for local action groups to raise the issue, although its still tough and theres the usual apathy.I would love to see Thornton Action Group petition for the removal of certain WBC councillors……..and as for Gary payne, well hes not a councillor but an employee of WBC, as well as working for developers, lol.
So getting rid of him would be tough.
Will we be able to rid ourselves of unelected mayors?
Thinking of Russell Foreskin here, he needs to go,twat that he is.
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Spot on Phil, it really pisses me off when Labour supporters try and scaremonger people about RDAs saying without them there will be no regeneration. Like that obnoxious abusive ‘Chances’ guy that came on here. Like you say Phil it is efficiency. Why have 9 of these costly organisations paying hundreds of people massive salaries like Broomhead, why not trim down? I agree completely Labour has just created thousands (even millions?) of pointless non-jobs.
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I dunno I think you took what Chances said to heart. He made some okay points that disagreed with you. So what, make a rock solid case to counter it or admit defeat!
Regards quangos, it makes sense to me to always be efficient. Why were 9 RDAs needed in the first place?
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Apologies, when I referred to him as obnoxious I was referring to some of the disgusting comments he wrote later on. I agree his earlier points were fair points, yes I don’t agree with them and I feel some of his comments were misguided like all that ‘This wouldn’t have happened under the Tories’ stuff. But then he turned very nasty with his comments and started insulting everyone.
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All Labour supporters are like that, lol
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Lol, don’t I know it. They never ever admit they are wrong, never admit when Labour is wrong and they just blame everything on the past administration.
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Labour is the party of non jobs and non politics, it creates problems then wastes billions to “fix” them.
God I hate that party with a passion.
Never again
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When I saw that Harridan monstrosity running the Liebour party, I knew that they will be out for decades.
I hate that scum-bastard Phillips,hes Idi Amin and a worshipper of Lenin.
I would rip out all of this D&E culture,its pointless,wastes money and causes offence.
Its reverse racism/sexism and has no place within a modern democratic society.
I hope DC does just that,lance the boil of D&E.
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