Dismal failure of Customs and Revenue

I found an interesting snippet in the report of Margaret Hodge's Public Accounts Committee for September 10 2014.

I'm sure we've all heard reports that HMRC is doing much better at making the tax-dodgers cough up.  Well, not quite,

It turns out they made a trivial error of a mere £1.9 billion when setting the baseline against which their performance could be judged.  Thus in 2012, 2013 and right up until this summer, they were boasting they had exceeded their targets by miles when in fact they only just about scraped past the line.  As a result George Osborne and the Treasury team have repeatedly misled parliament.  Usually, I'd relish the chance to berate George for telling whoppers, but in this instance he was lied to first.  And if you can't trust HMRC to do a simple adding up exercise...

We all know that Farage and UKIP want to privatize the NHS because he has publicly said so.  David Cameron and his on-the-run Tories aren't so upfront.  But they want to privatize just the same.  They want to flog off the last of our national crown jewels for a short-term gain and long-term pain.  And the rubbish Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) is their vehicle for doing so.  Never heard of it?  No, Tory newspapers like the hideous Daily Mail and media like Sky haven't exactly been headlining it.

For the avoidance of doubt, let's be clear: Labour is pledged to repeal HCSA.  It really is that simple.

Labour's vision

Labour’s vision is one where everyone who works hard is rewarded and where broken markets are reformed so that vested interests serve the public and not the other way round. We want to ensure that the next generation does better than the last and that wages are protected and not undercut by immigration. 

Like every country round the world, Britain is susceptible to waves of change which create opportunities as well as challenges. The question is who is best to control these forces on behalf of everyday people. The answer is Labour. 

We're Britain. We're better than this."

"We are talking more about immigration as a party and it's right that we do so.  But it will always be on the basis of Labour values, not UKIP values.  Unlike David Cameron what will never do is try to out-UKIP UKIP.

"I think it is time we levelled with people about UKIP.  It is time we had a debate about where they really stand.

"They think that working mothers aren't worth as much as men.  Life was easier when there wasn't equality for gay and lesbian people.  The NHS would be better off privatised.  Rights at work, whether they come from Europe or from here, are simply a barrier to economic success.

"We're Britain.  We're better than this.  You can't build a vision of the future if you don't believe in equal rights.  You can't succeed as a country if you try to close yourself off from the world.  You can't make a fairer country if you try to destroy our National Health Service."

Ed Miliband, November 2014

Wine tasting raises election funds!

Lutterworth BLP had a most enjoyable evening tasting a selection of wines chosen by Branch member and wine expert, Leigh Jones. 6 different wines were tasted from Italy, France, Spain and South Africa. They included red, white, rose and a sparkling white first made by medieval monks in the foothills of the Pyrenees. All were of modest price, so affordable even in these tough Tory times! It was a very pleasant way to raise funds, with live music, great raffle prizes and it made a change to chat with members after the recent wet canvassing sessions!

Leigh displays a fine wine!

Leighs Mum, Edna, who supported and did lots of organising for the event

Chair, Sandra, says a few words

Peter on piano

Members enjoying delicious wines

Labour and wildlife policy

On Nov 13th, I attended a brilliant talk by Dominic Dyer, the CEO of the Badger Trust. A Party member, he previously worked for Tony Blair, as a Young Labour organiser in 1995, when he and TB discovered how passionately young people felt about the environment and wildlife. TB recognised this, and put a whole range of wildlife protection and animal welfare policies in his manifesto. During the last Labour government, there was also an extensive scientific study carried out into the value of culling badgers in the fight against bovine TB in cattle. The evidence was clear that badger culling did not work.
Compare this to David Cameron`s "Greenest Government ever" which continues culling despite the evidence that it is inhumane, ineffective and hugely expensive. He can only be persisting with this for political reasons, and siding with land owners and the shooting and fishing fraternity rather than protecting our wildlife.
There is massive public antagonism to the cull of badgers and lack of protection of our wildlife, as shown in the huge petitions to the government, masses of letters sent to MPs, people taking to the streets in towns and cities in marches, and challenges to these government policies in the high court.
Ed Miliband needs to make wildlife protection a key issue in his manifesto - stopping the cull, not allowing hares to be shot during breeding time, banning the use of snares and stepping up the fight against wildlife crime. It would be hugely popular with both first time voters and the wider electorate.
Read more about wildlife issues in Dominic`s article in the November issue of Labour`s "Progress" magazine

Dominic Dyer with members of Leicestershire and Rutland Badger Group

Talk about vested interests!

• HEDGE FUNDS GIVE CONSERVATIVES OVER £50 MILLION

  -       Latest figures from the Electoral Commission reveal that in the last quarter (Q3 2014) hedge funds gave the Tories £1.34 million in donations, which means donations from the hedge fund industry to the Conservative Party now total £51.1 million.
  -       Hedge funds were given a tax cut worth £145 million by George Osborne in 2013.
  -       Analysis of Conservative Party donations shows that almost £3 million of donations in the last quarter came from donors who have attended exclusive private dinners with David Cameron and other senior Ministers, taking the total to £7.7 million from dinner donors in 2014.
  Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Office Minister said:
  “David Cameron’s Tories are the party for a privileged few.
  “The Tory election campaign will be funded by those who dine exclusively at the Prime Minister’s top table and a select few in the hedge fund industry.
  “David Cameron’s hedge fund backers and millionaires have been given tax breaks while hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet.
  “The Tories are standing up for those at the top at the expense of working people across the country. Whether putting private profit before patient care in the NHS or siding with the energy industry over consumers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, David Cameron stands up for the wrong people.”
  Background on hedge fund donations
  

  • The Conservative Party relies heavily for its funding on individuals and companies associated with asset management and hedge funds.
  • According to Electoral Commission figures for the most recent quarter alone, Q3 2014, hedge fund donors have given £1.34 million either in their own names or through their companies.

JON ASHWORTH

Leicester South MP and Shadow Cabinet Minister