Posts Tagged ‘Tory’

One of the most amusing – and breathtaking – acts of political cheek of recent times is to see the Tories claim that they are the true party of progressives.Below is a  little reminder of just  how ‘progressive’ the Tories really are.

You would think watching the hubris demonstrated by Wirral Tories that Seacombe has suddenly turned into a safe Tory seat, simply because former Socialist Cllr Knowles has abandoned his obviously shallow principles for reasons known only to himself and joined the Tories (though I suspect that losing his £20k + Merseytravel allowance had something to do with it).

The reality is that there is a great deal of anger from the people of Seacombe in the way Cllr Knowles has treated them, with many unhappy in the way they have had a Tory Councillor foisted upon them, and all we have spoke to want him out.

No doubt Cllr Knowles is enjoying mixing with his new Tory chums like Cllr Chris Blakeley, Tory Party Chairman Eric Pickles and no doubt he is looking forward to meeting the great leader himself David Cameron, but if Cllr Knowles had an ounce of decency left then he would resign and let the people of Seacombe have their say. But I doubt that will happen as everyone knows including Cllr Knowles and the Wirral Tories that the Tory hubris in Seacombe is pure fantasy.

However there has been one side effect, that is the number of people beating a path to the door of Seacombe Branch Labour Party in order to join the Labour Party and help rid Seacombe of former Socialist Cllr Knowles.

You would think that with all those years of experience of being a Councillor, former Socialist Cllr Knowles would be able to write to his own constituents without having to rely on a spin doctor fellow Tory, Cllr Ian Lewis to do it for him. Or is it the case that judging by the following quote from fellow Tory Cllr Lesley Rennie’s Twitter feed, Cllr Knowles holds the public in the same contempt as his Tory colleagues obviously do

“The Globe has just arrived. Great piece about OUR Denis, some nark having a ‘go’ in letters page.”

Chancellor Alistair Darling today delivered his second Budget, a full transcript can be read here, however the main announcements are listed below

• Supporting people back into work with an extra £1.7 billion in Jobcentre Plus.

• Supporting 18-24 year olds with a guaranteed job, training or work placement for all who reach 12 months unemployment.

• Supporting pensioners with an additional payment alongside the Winter Fuel Payment worth £100 for households with someone aged over 80 and £50 for households with someone aged over 60

• Supporting savers by raising the tax free Individual Saving Accounts (ISAs) limit to over £10,000.

• Supporting families with children by increasing the Child Tax Credit by £20 a year from April 2010.

• Supporting those made redundant by increasing statutory redundancy pay to £380 per week.

• Supporting homeowners with a £600 million funding package to build more homes through unlocking sites currently sitting dormant

• Supporting the housing market by extending the stamp duty holiday to the end of the year for properties under £175,000.

• Supporting business by extending the Business Payment Support Service to help businesses experiencing short-term cash-flow difficulties.

• Supporting the automotive industry by enabling people who scrap vehicles older than ten years to replace them with new vehicles at a discount of £2,000.

The scrappage scheme supporting the automotive industry is particularly welcome here on Merseyside and will benefit the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port and the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Halewood as well as the numerous firms supplying those plants, a similar scheme is operated with great success in Germany.

David Cameron’s Conservatives do nothing but talk Britain down and shockingly some Conservatives even appear to be enjoying the recession.

By Helen Symons

People often scoff at politics. They say that politicians are just in it for themselves. That politics doesn’t matter. That there’s no point because no one listens any more.

But it’s not true. And I wanted to show you why. We’ve just made this video and I wanted you to be some of the first to see it.

Over the past 11 years the trade unions, working in tandem with Labour, have brought change to Britain. The minimum wage. Better maternity and paternity rights. And let’s not forget the extension of paid leave – meaning that all full time workers have 20 days holiday + 8 Bank Holidays. But David Cameron is threatening all of these rights and more.

He says that pulling out of the Social Chapter – the legal guarantee that protects hundreds of working rights – is his "top priority." Senior Tories openly state that Cameron plans on letting the National Minimum Wage "melt away."

If they get their way the Tories would condemn thousands of workers to a life on poverty pay.

But we believe in something better. Please watch the video and then share it with your friends.

These are tough economic times, but it’s fair rights at work which will help us get through them – and build a fair and just economy, and society, for when the good times return.

Watch our latest video and then sign our petition.

Thanks for all that you’re doing to help us support working rights – our rights are precious and with your help we’ll keep them.

Originally Posted On labourlist.org Reproduced With Permission