Goodbye to your Money

The one good thing that come out of the Council meeting on the Rose, was that the names of all the lib/Dems who voted for the use of out council tax to be spent this way, were recorded.
That means that when the next election comes they will have to explain why they closed down Hobkirk House, why there was no money to bring up-to-date
Cocks Crescent, why they cut £50.000 from local budgets for things like road and pavement repairs.
And many other questions, but one thing Cllr Osbourne got wrong, that is when he said it would take up a small piece on our leaflet, just wait and see if that’s correct.
The residents of Kingston (not just the Town centre) will have their say, and the lib/Dems will pay for not consulting fully with those who work hard to find the money to pay for the largest Council tax in London, and one of the largest in the country.
The Mayor of London have said that he will Freeze city taxes, when asked by the conservatives to do the same Cllr Osbourne said NO.
One thing for certain, things do not look all that rosy for him and his followers, one hardened supporter of the Lib/Dems have told me that they have gone to far, well we all now that.
The Kingston Guardian website reported that late last August Council leader Cllr Osbourne pledged to close the public purse after handing an extra £250,000 to the Rose fit out. But in May, the company set up by the Council to fit out the theatre was forced to ask for an extra £350,000 to pay for the cost of overruns on doors, wiring and footwells, taking the final price tag to £7.15m – more than £638,000 over the original budget.

Thats New Labour

Teachers have been told that they should no longer make their corrections to school homework in red ink, in case it both “demoralises” the pupils and stands out too much, in an oppressive manner, on the page. They should use a pencil, instead, so that the corrections can be rubbed out. Do you suppose there is any connection between the way children are treated while in school these days and the way some behave when they have left?

Getting Ready to take over

Gordon Brown yesterday finally gave his approval for David Cameron and the shadow cabinet to hold meetings with Britain's most senior civil servants to brief them on Tory plans for government

Cost of the Rose around £800.000 per year

Are you happy for this amount of your Council Tax to be devoted to this use for each of the next three years when we are short of money to pay for other services that cannot be funded any other way?

Support from on high

The Archbishop of Canterbury joined the Tories' criticism of Mr Brown's economic measures yesterday, saying a greed-filled consumer boom had caused the crisis while cutting the VAT risked repeating past mistakes. "It seems a little bit like the addict returning to the drug," Dr Rowan Williams said. People should not "spend to save the economy", but spend on things that provided for their needs.

UK Traders Win, thanks to conservatives MEPs

Under the measure, agreed without a vote at a second reading in the Strasbourg chamber, traders will also be able to display imperial and metric measurements side by side in shops and elsewhere.
"The Government may be eager to scrap the pound as our currency, but at least we can say we have saved it indefinitely - as a measurement at any rate," said Giles Chichester, a Conservative MEP.
"Under this law, shoppers will be able to continue using the measurement they prefer."
EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen called the parliamentary decision "good news for the people in the UK and Ireland who prefer to use pints and miles as current practices will remain in place."
"Today's agreement will also ensure that imperial measurements can be indicated alongside metric - a measure that will lower costs for industry by allowing them the same labelling for their exports, whether in the EU or elsewhere in the world."
The United States is the major imperial trading partner for Europe.
Under the previous scheme, by the end of 2009 Britain and Ireland would have had to give firm dates for scrapping the imperial measures.
The parliamentary vote assures that milk bottles and draught beer may be sold as pints and road signs marked in miles, under a special deal for Britain and Ireland.
For other goods "supplementary indications" may be retained by all EU nations, eurospeak for allowing imperial measurements - pounds, ounces, pints etc. - to be used alongside metric ones.
One imperial casualty, though, is the acre. The European Commission had said that this imperial measure is no longer used for land registration in either Britain or Ireland and would be "repealed".
Also, Ireland has already switched its road signs to kilometres and metres, leaving Britain as the only EU nation using miles for speed limits and distances.

Savers

It is the fable of the ant and the grasshopper reversed...the grasshopper gets rewarded, the diligent ant suffers.

All ones life one saves and sometimes goes without, in order to put a bit by for retirement or to enjoy the golden years, but Labours new policies makes you think of the above.
and the LIB/DEMS think you have a bottomless purse.

Success

SUCCESS AT LAST: NORTH KINGSTON PARENTS WIN CAMPAIGN FOR NEW SCHOOL
For more than two years, North Kingston Parents and local Conservatives have lobbied Kingston’s Lib Dem Council to provide a new secondary school. On November 17th, in a last ditch effort to be heard, a hundred and fifty parents gathered at the Hawker Centre for a public meeting organised by Conservative Parliamentary candidate, Zac Goldsmith. Now, finally, the Lib Dem council has announced plans to provide for a new 6 form entry secondary school and to expand neighbouring Greycourt school in Ham. Local parent, Angela Norton-Bilsby, who was responsible with local Conservatives for collecting 3,000 signatures calling for a new school welcomed the announcement. She said: "I am thrilled that at long last the council has acknowledged the need for a new school. I am also delighted that Grey Court is included in the BSF strategy. With the option of both of these schools, parents in the north of the borough will at last have a choice of secondary school. However, we won't be celebrating yet. We now need to work to ensure that the school is built as soon as possible.” In her speech to parents at the Hawker Centre on the 17th, Mrs Norton-Bilsby told residents; “The conservatives have helped to steer us through the processes, helped us to garner information and generally keep us informed where the current administration would have left us in the dark.” In November last year, Susan Kramer described the Conservative campaign for a new school as “deeply irresponsible”. Kingston’s Conservative Education spokesman, Cllr Nick Kilby, said “What a difference a year makes. Susan Kramer and Derek Osborne are both on the record for saying that the parents and Conservatives were wrong! We will now push the Council to agree a suitable location for this new school and to get it open as soon as possible. In the meantime we welcome the inclusion of Grey Court into the BSF programme. Without its expansion we cannot deal with the short term problem, and parental choice can only be achieved with both Grey Court and the new school. Well done to the parents of North Kingston! It has been a pleasure to support them.” Zac Goldsmith said, “Because of the recession, more and more people are going to have to think again about whether or not they can afford to send their children to private schools, and the pressure on existing state schools can only escalate. This is welcome news.”

Older Peoples Day
Helen with day visitors
Cllr Ken Smith with Ada Hopin who was celebrating her 100th BirthdayHelen Whately, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, spent Thursday morning speaking to some of the older residents of the borough in preparation for Older Peoples' Day. Mrs Whately visited Cloyda care home and Age Concern's Raleigh Centre in New Malden. She was accompanied by Cllr Ken Smith. Wednesday 1 October is Older Peoples Day, an opportunity to celebrate the contribution older people make to families and communities.Helen Whately commented after her visit; "I really valued the chance to speak to some of the older people in the borough. They have wonderful stories to tell and so much experience of life. It reminded me that I don't spend enough time with my own grandparents. Older Peoples' Day can help us focus on what we're doing for older members of our community. Many people work incredibly hard to care for older relatives and friends, but as a society we don't do enough."

The Green Affair

The Ashford MP, the Tories' immigration spokesman since 2005, has denied any wrongdoing and said "opposition politicians have a duty to hold the government to account".
John O'Connor, former head of the London police unit, the flying squad, told BBC Radio 5Live he found it difficult to believe the government didn't know about the investigation.
He said: "If the prime minister and the home secretary were unaware of this police activity - then they must be utterly incompetent.
"And if they were aware of it then that makes them really quite dangerous. So I think whatever way, whatever path they choose it doesn't put them in a good light."

Your Money and the Theatre

Well now we know, can you trust the word of a lib/dem, remember the leader saying no more public money for the Rose, now he’s changed it to, We are not really giving money but buying services. What a play on words, what spin.
We will not have to fight hard to win the next election it is being given it to us on a plate.
For who will trust the word of the LIB/DEMS after this.
I wait to see who votes in favour of this when it comes before council, those who do will have to explain it on the doorstep.
Think what we could do with the millions spent on the Theatre.
Our membership is increasing week by week and that dose not surprise me, for Kingston residents have seen how wasteful and incompetent the Lib/Dems are at managing and keeping their word.
The good news is that they will only be there for just over a year, the bad news is that we have to wait that long.

Taking it out of our hand by stealth

Tory MP takes 'garden grabbing' debate to Commons
Government claims that councils have the power to turn down "garden grabbing" bids by developers will be challenged tomorrow by a Conservative MP.
Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, will tell the Commons that ministers have effectively changed the law to make it increasingly difficult for councils to stop developers buying up houses with big gardens, knocking them down and then building blocks of flats on the site.
At least 22,000 new homes every year are built on land previously used as a garden.
Mr Clark is demanding a revision of planning laws to give councils the right to reject "garden grabs".
He has received advice from the Commons Library that builders can now appeal against any refusal of planning permission for garden developments "with every chance of success".
Ministers may also face pressure from their own backbenchers, since the debate is on a Commons motion that has already been signed by nearly 40 Labour MPs.
It was previously tabled as an Early Day Motion and attracted more than 170 signatures from MPs on all sides of the House.
Mr Clark is promoting a Bill to protect gardens from developers and will tell the Commons that the problem has arisen from policy changes that require councils to concentrate housebuilding on "brownfield" sites and to increase housing density.
He added that, bizarrely, leafy gardens are officially designated as brownfield for planning purposes.
Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper has insisted that there has been no change of policy.
But her view has been challenged by the independent House of Commons Library.
It has told Mr Clark: "There is enough in the guidance to justify developers appealing any refusal of this type of application with every chance of success.
"In other words, I do think that the overall policy environment has changed in respect of developing on gardens."
Mr Clark will also accuse the Minister of trying to disguise the extent of garden grabbing by first denying that figures were available, then producing them under duress, but still resisting releasing regional breakdowns expected to show that the problem is far worse in the over-crowded south east of England.
Mr Clark is pressing for gardens to be removed from the definition of brownfield land.

Humiliation

Success for Post Office campaignersAlan Duncan has described the news that the Post Office has been re-awarded the contract for the Post Office Card Account as a “triumph” for campaigners.On Thursday, the Government caved into pressure and finally cancelled the procurement process they launched in 2006.Alan, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, said the process has been “a humiliation for the Government and a deeply destabilising waste of time for everyone else.”

What it will cost us

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, said a short-term spending increase of 1 per cent of gross domestic product would mean an increase in taxes in the medium term by the equivalent of almost 4p on income tax.
"That's not just a tax bombshell, it's a cruise missile aimed at the heart of recovery," Mr Osborne said in a speech to the London School of Economics.
The opposition party supported the "automatic stabilisers" of increased borrowing stemming directly from a recession. But Mr Osborne yesterday said monetary policy - lower interest rates - should be allowed to "do the heavy lifting in stimulating demand" rather than trying to boost it through the public purse. "Tackling recession with big spending does not work," he said.

SAS commander Quits

How much longer will this Government keep on making promise , our troops cannot survive on promises in to days war zones, yet hundreds of millions of pounds was spent on revamping the offices of the MOD worth chairs reputed to have cost thousands of pound each, on remberance Sunday, I hope the Govenment minister will think about this during the minutes silance.
the responcability is his

The SAS commander in Afghanistan has resigned amid fresh controversy over the standard of equipment available to British troops fighting the Taliban.

Reports claim Maj Sebastian Morley quit in disgust over the deaths of four of his soldiers when their lightly armoured Snatch Land Rover hit a mine.

In his resignation letter, Maj Morley was said to have blamed "chronic under-investment" in equipment by the MoD. .

Give with one hand, take with the other, so whats new

23 October 2008

British shipping holed with £33 million ‘ports tax’ from Gordon Brown
Retrospective taxes on British business undermines economy and confidence

Gordon Brown was attacked today for ‘blundering’ into a £33 million tax hike on British ports, forcing up the tax bills of struggling firms, undermining the economy and damaging British competitiveness. Local firms are now receiving massive backdated tax bills following changes to the way that ports are valued for business rates, with massive new bills being backdated to 2005. The higher bills are only now starting to hit the door mats of local firms in 55 ports across the country.

· Government changes to business rates: Up to this year, one combined business rate bill was paid by each port for all the firms within it. However, the Government’s Valuation Office Agency has decided, when Brown was Chancellor, that each individual firm is now a ‘separate occupation’ and must pay their own business rate bill. The Valuation Office Agency is an arm of HM Revenue & Customs and undertakes inspections for council tax and business rate revaluations. Yet rather than giving advance warning of future changes, it has retrospectively backdated the new tax bills for local firms to 2005. As a result, port businesses across the country have been hit with unexpected, massive bills, just as the economic downturn bites.

· £33 million ports tax: The Government has claimed that it has no idea of the additional tax that will be raised as a result, but has admitted that the changes have resulted in a £19 million net increase in rateable values. Conservatives have estimated this to be equivalent a £8 million a year increase on tax bills, and taking into account the backdating, represents a £33 million tax hit on British ports.

· No impact assessment, no consultation: Parliamentary Questions have revealed that that no impact assessment of the changes was undertaken by the Government, and no consultation of local firms took place. The Valuation Office Agency has arrogantly asserted that it is not their ‘job’ to make an assessment of the effect on the economy.

· Harmful effect on economy: It is feared that many shipping companies may switch their business to Zeebrugge or Rotterdam, finishing journeys by road or rail, and bypass British ports. Ken Kirk of port operations company Stanton Grove, has warned: “If no one actually takes a realistic view in government, they will see business being driven out of the country… We are heading into a recession in any case. This could see volumes collapse over the next few months.” This switching could lead to lower tax revenues across the economy.

· Unfair retrospective taxation: Being able to plan future cash flows is the key to the survival of firms. Yet this backdating contradicts the professed Government policy on retrospective taxation, which states that backdating should only take place where it is ‘fair’, ‘proportionate’, ‘necessary to protect revenue’ and ‘in the public interest’. Gordon Brown’s ports tax breaches each of these four tests.

In a speech today at the Northern Regeneration Summit, Shadow Minister for Local Government, Bob Neill MP, will attack the changes:
“At a time when small businesses are already struggling as a result of the economic downturn, the last thing they need is yet another unexpected tax increase from the Government. This is another Gordon Brown tax blunder, just like his 10p tax con.

“This ports tax will send an unwelcome shudder across the economy. The Government’s incompetent handling threatens to undermine confidence in the economy and damage British competitiveness.”

Our Party Policy on Collections

"We want to make it easier for families to go green. Conservatives believe that decent rubbish collections are a vital frontline council service to help protect the local environment and public health.
"We reject Labour's army of bin bullies and bin taxes. That is why David Cameron has pledged that we will provide funding to allow all councils to introduce proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of recycling."

From David Cameron

American soldiers start their rest and recuperation the day they arrive back home, our troops have to count the days they spend getting home.
We've got troops' families living in sub-standard homes; we've got soldiers going into harm's way without the equipment they need…
…we've got businesses in our country that instead of welcoming people in military uniform and honouring their service choose to turn them away and refuse them service.
That is all wrong and we are going to put it right.
We are going to stop sending young men to war without the equipment they need, we're going to stop treating our soldiers like second class citizens…
…we will do all it takes to keep our country safe and we will do all it takes to protect the heroes who risk everything for us.
And today there are a particular group of heroes that I have in mind.
They fought for us in the slit trenches of Burma…the jungles of Malaya…and the freezing cold of the Falklands.
Yesterday the courts ruled that gurkhas who want to come and live in Britain should be able to.
They risked their lives for us and now we must not turn our backs on them.

Help Line

If you need assistance with your bins, due to your age, Disability or sickness, contact
THE Environmental Services contact Centre on
0208 547 5560.
You can also use this number to report anything else such as fly tipping or graffiti, abandoned vehicles , dangerous pavements .

You can also contact me should you not get a speedy reply.

Tax Freeze

A Two-Year Council Tax Freeze
Today at Conference George Osborne announced a two-year council tax freeze to help millions of families with the rising cost of living.
The Shadow Chancellor stressed "Conservatives will not leave people to struggle with the credit crunch alone."
The freeze would be funded, in part, by a major reduction in Government spending on expensive private sector consultants and advertising.

Older Peoples Day

Helen with day visitors

Cllr Ken Smith with Ada Hopin who was celebrating her 100th Birthday

Helen Whately, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, spent Thursday morning speaking to some of the older residents of the borough in preparation for Older Peoples' Day. Mrs Whately visited Cloyda care home and Age Concern's Raleigh Centre in New Malden. She was accompanied by Cllr Ken Smith. Wednesday 1 October is Older Peoples Day, an opportunity to celebrate the contribution older people make to families and communities.
Helen Whately commented after her visit; "I really valued the chance to speak to some of the older people in the borough. They have wonderful stories to tell and so much experience of life. It reminded me that I don't spend enough time with my own grandparents. Older Peoples' Day can help us focus on what we're doing for older members of our community. Many people work incredibly hard to care for older relatives and friends, but as a society we don't do enough."

Tory warning on Multiculturism

Tory warning on multiculturalism

Mr Grieve said Britain had failed in creating a cultural 'melting pot'
British multiculturalism has left a "terrible" legacy which has allowed extremists to flourish, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve has warned.
A type of "cultural despair" has led "long-term inhabitants" and newer arrivals to feel alienated and unsure of UK values, he told the Guardian.
Mr Grieve, speaking on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, argued this had led to support for extremism.
He also warned against downplaying Britain's Christian heritage.
Mr Grieve told the Guardian: "We've actually done something terrible to ourselves in Britain.
"In the name of trying to prepare people for some new multicultural society we've encouraged people, particularly the sort of long-term inhabitants, to say 'well your cultural background isn't really very important'."
'Huge damage'
The vacuum created by multiculturalism has encouraged support for extremists on both sides, he argues.
The shadow home secretary went on to say multiculturalism was inspired by the "understandable" desire to make people feel comfortable.
But he added: "The idea behind it was [to] create the melting pot. But the melting pot needs the ingredients of people's confidence in themselves as they come together. And if it isn't there I think we've done ourselves huge damage."
Mr Grieve also said the part played by Christianity in Britain should not be ignored.
"The role of Christianity is really rather important. It can't just be magicked out of the script. It colours many of the fundamental viewpoints of British people, including many who've never been in a church."
'Outdated' policy
It is not the first time a Tory home secretary has spoken out against multiculturalism.
In 2005, the then shadow home secretary David Davis called on the government to scrap the "outdated" policy, saying that allowing people of different cultures to settle without integrating let the "perverted values of suicide bombers" take root.
Mr Davis said he agreed with Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the then Commission for Racial Equality, who a year earlier argued multiculturalism belonged to a different era.
Mr Phillips said all citizens should "assert a core of Britishness".

My letter to the press

Cllr Ian McDonald is being either disengenuous or deliberately economical with the truth when he states that the Conservatives can allocate money to improve the Council housing stock in Maldens & Coombe.As a former Co-Chairman of the Neighbourhood he is fully aware that under the 1988 Local Government Finance Act the Neighbourhood Committee is not allowed to financially support either maintenance or the general housing fund of our Council stock.To suggest the Conservatives continually refuse to take responsibility for the decisions we make is risible and to further allege we are 'ashamed' of our record simply puts McDonald's posturing to shame.In the open way we run our committee, Cllr McDonald has every opportunity to influence decisions and I cannot recall him ever objecting to how the money is spent. Indeed we have included items suggested by himself.On the question of pride, we are proud that the residents of Maldens & Coombe have put their trust in us to try and sort out the shambles - New Malden High St and Manor Park - bequeathed us by his own incompetence.We will continue to repay their trust by our continuing battle to save Springboard. We will continue to fight the Lib Dem Administration of this Council in their contempuous disregard for the wishes of residents to keep weekly rubbish collections and to do everything in our power to help the elderly and most vulnerable members of our society who are in danger of being left behind.

X26 good news

Route X26, Croydon – Sutton – Worcester Park – New Malden – Kingston – Heathrow Central currently runs every hour stopping only in the town centres. It is proposed that the frequency be increased to half-hourly between approximately 7am and 7pm from 22nd November.

Post office closers and back grarden develoments

We give our support FULLY to saving the post offices, unlike the lib/dems who turned up had a photo shoot then went home, we sat outside the post offices for many hours collecting names for our petition, you would have sen us outside New Malden post offices week after week.

On back Garden, I said the following during the debate in full council.
Mr MAYOR
When asked, the general public would say that Brownfield sites are old gas works or disused factory sites, little realising that it also includes back garden’s,

Conservative MP Greg Clark is leading a campaign both inside the House of Commons and outside,

To draw attention to the Garden Grabbers, and in 2006 put the matter before the house with the backing of 170 MPs from all parties,

The latest information I can find suggests that of the of the 150.000 houses build each year, 30 000 are built in back gardens.

London in 1997 had a figure of 13% proportion of new building on previously residential land,

This had reached 29%. By 2006.

The consequence of this was that an area five times greater than Hyde Park was concreted over,

Gardens that were natural soak always for rainfall, contributed to flooding

Wild life lost their habitats and there was loss of matures trees, many felled without planning permission.

Yes there were objections from local people who saw their sunlight and views taken away
,
And had purchased their houses with thoughts have having space to get away from it all.

Now to be confronted by brick walls butting right up to their boundaries.

But because this was not a great block of flats or something that affected a community, objectors were on their own, with not much punch,

Yet street after street road after road have been affected.

If all the objectors could be joined together as a group, instead of having to fight individually then the story could have been different.

We as a council can, and must support our residents in this creeping concrete take over bid,

We can be their voice

I urge the executive of the council, To peruse with urgency a change in the UDP( LDF)In order to address this issue

Cllr Howard Jones

Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr Howard Jones
Madam Mayor,
I support the recommendation and am pleased to second the motion.
The Conservative Group and I urge this Council to cease all plans or consultations that may result in a closure of any day care centres in this Borough either Hobkirk House or Newent House.
This is not a political game that we are involved in - this action would dramatically affect the lives of old and vulnerable people who need these places to visit during the day to socialise and receive much needed care and companionship and in some cases to give respite to those who care for them..
In the past this Council has always prided itself on the care it provides older and more vulnerable people in the borough, and the Lib Dems – you - have been happy to accept the 4 stars that the audit commission gave this Council in its CPA review you have been happy to trumpet the successes of a very effective service – which you are now piece by piece slowly going to destroy.
Once again we are confronted with a policy of closure and cuts which did not appear in the Lib Dem manifesto and was not voted for by the residents. The way you are approaching this issue there is no doubt you would have lost the election had you been up front and honest with the electorate.
My Group promised that we would give priority to the elderly and the disabled over frivolous spending on mad traffic schemes on supporting the theatre with public money – public money that could have been spent on keeping these day centres and other facilities for the elderly, disadvantaged and disabled open and continuing resource - additionally we would scrap the Lib Dems means testing for this boroughs elderly and disabled.
We have seen the total disregard the Lib Dems show this boroughs old people with the spiteful domiciliary care charges a few years ago and now these cuts - and lets be totally frank - these are cuts. They are not reprovisioning or redistributing these services - they are Lib Dem cuts!
Where is the local MP or should I say where are the local Lib Dem MPs – what is their position on these cuts? What do they say about these issues? – very little – I suspect because they are as embarrassed - I guess – as much as many of you are embarrassed by the decisions made by your Executive on this.
We are told that this consultation is a proper consultation – the people will be listened to – how is it then that in the Budget voted through by you a few weeks ago these cuts are included – some consultation this is – it’s not a consultation it’s a fraud – it’s a sham and it is unworthy of people elected to public office.
The idea that there will be alternatives to the day centres is laughable – there are no alternative facilities identified through the consultation so far which would in any way replace these important day facilities.
We are told that people with a lower level of need will be able to access a range of services provided through local voluntary and private sector organisations – I must say that is extremely woolly and not good enough.
It is not good enough Cllr Shelton to say apologetically to the frightened people who have attended some of the Consultation sessions that they will be alright because their care is guaranteed – there will always be a place for them – what about the future – what about the increasingly aging population what sort of legacy are you leaving them?
I’ll tell you what - its not one to be proud of.
I urge this council to vote with me, and my group to help the people of this borough, and not just for the present population but for future generations who will need these services.

Cllr Ken Smith

We will again be out delivering information on local issues during the next few weeks

Coombe Road

On the 1st August I wrote the Council the following .
Can any claims by local shop keepers be made against these private companys for losses already sustained ? and should not this be led by the council? who after all collects the business rates.

On the 6th August the following press statement was made by the Council.

There are clearly a large number of questions to be answered by Network Rail and Thames Water in relation to what has happened on this project. I am arranging a meeting with Network Rail when I will be seeking assurances about their future plans, about how and when they will be communicating these plans and specifically about the potential for compensation payments to be made to businesses in the immediate area. It is for Network Rail to manage their PR on this but I will leave them in no doubt as to our deep disappointment and dissatisfaction with the way they have managed this. For the longer term we will need substantial reassurance on behalf of our residents about the basis on which they return to site.

Nice to see such quick responce from the council to my request

Councillor Howard Jones says Lib Dem Executive is clearly in panic

The Lib Dem Executive is clearly in panic and avoiding the real issue. THEY WILL STOP WEEKLY COLLECTIONS OF RUBBISH from the majority of households in the Borough.
Everyone knows that and nearly everyone I have spoken to is against it. It would be interesting to know what the Lib Dems call the material that will now be collected fortnightly. We know it is what normal people call RUBBISH. Recyclate is not rubbish – it will be re-used – by definition.
We are happy that recyclate will be collected weekly and that more things will be recycled – bottles, plastics, papers, cardboard etc – we have always advocated that. We fought the last election on a proposal to extend the weekly recycling collections to weekly and have never deviated from that position.
But we have always believed that the remaining rubbish should be collected weekly and so do the people who signed our petition.
Nobody forced people to sign the petition; they did it of their own free will.
This issue is such an embarrassment for the Lib Dem Leadership – they know that 67% on their own MORI poll supported our policy and only 19% supported theirs. They are scared stiff of the possible electoral consequences and are trying to mislead people by saying that ‘weekly rubbish collections will continue.’
Councillor Howard Jones
Leader of the Conservative Opposition

David lays down the rules on MEPs Expenses

David Cameron yesterday set out proposals to "deep clean" the system of MEPs’ expenses.From September, all Conservative MEPs will follow a Code of Conduct similar to the one already in place for Conservative MPs: - Expenses must be published in 'Right to know' forms- The use of service companies will be outlawed- Details of any family members employed must be publishedDavid promised these measures would introduce "more detail, more transparency and more honesty" to the system of expenses, and urged other political parties to follow suit.

You pay more , thanks again Mr Brown

Road tax increase 'will hit 9m'

An estimated nine million motorists will have to pay more road tax under reforms aimed at punishing gas-guzzling vehicles, the government has admitted.
Official estimates say vehicle excise duty will rise for 44% of vehicles made since 2001 - by up to £245 for the most polluting ones - but will fall for 33%.
The AA said the figures "confirm our worst fears", while the Tories said the PM had misled parliament over the plan.

Now Thats a Diffrent approch

Tories unveil recycling pay plans
A Tory government would encourage schemes under which people would be paid to recycle, shadow chancellor George Osborne is due to announce.
Mr Osborne will argue that current government policies are unpopular and suggest that "instead of using sticks, we can use carrots" to boost recycling.
Firms in the US have shown how to "make it pay to go green", he will add.
In a speech to pressure group the Green Alliance, he will also say landfill tax rates would not fall under the Tories.
"This will send a powerful signal to businesses and councils that innovative approaches... are possible," he will say.
'US solution'
Environmental campaigners say British recycling rates are low compared with other European countries.
Mr Osborne will tell the Green Alliance that he has found his solution in the US, where, as in the UK, councils pay a tax on every tonne of rubbish they send to landfill.
He is expected to highlight some US companies which offer to cut the landfill tax bill by increasing recycling rates.
These firms use financial incentives to get the public on board - the more people recycle, the more they can earn - and then themselves earn a share of the savings in landfill tax payments to local authorities.
Mr Cameron will say: "Instead of being fined for not recycling, households are actually being paid for their recycling.
"Instead of using sticks, we can use carrots instead. Instead of punitive taxes, we can use financial incentives."
In some communities, such schemes have increased the amount of household waste being recycled by more than 200%, Mr Osborne will add.
"I want to see this innovative approach rolled out across the UK."
Work under way
He will say the Conservatives are working with the Local Government Association, the Mayor of London's office and Tory local authorities, such as Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, to explore how such schemes might be implemented.
Earlier this year, the government asked councils whether they were interested in running pilot projects which would reward recycling.
In 2004/5, the most recent year for which comparable figures are available across the EU, the UK dumped more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union - 22.6m tonnes.
In the same period, France sent around 12m tonnes to landfill, Poland about 8.6m and Germany about 7.3m.

Hitting the Low paid again with car tax

Justine Greening says The people who are being effected are people with older cars, they are people with family cars, they are people on low incomes and they are people who can't afford to upgrade to a less polluting car," she told MPs.
"What kind of policy creates a situation where the owner of a new Porsche will face a smaller tax increase than a family driving an older car?"

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Jeremy Browne said his party agreed with having variable car tax rates - and said they would make the differences greater to encourage consumers to buy more fuel efficient cars.

Tax and Bins

ERIC PICKLES MP
SHADOW SECRETARY OF STATE FOR COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT


HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA

27 June 2008

Dear Councillor Smith,

GOVERNMENT PLANS FOR BIN TAXES & THE 2009 ELECTIONS

I wanted to provide you with an update on the Labour Government’s plans to levy new bin taxes on family homes. Despite repeated briefings by Downing Street that Gordon Brown is scared that bin taxes will be unpopular, the Government is moving ahead with legislation to introduce new charges for the collection of household rubbish.

Initially, five pilot schemes will adopt these new taxes; the Government’s own predictions then forecast that the taxes will be extended to two out of three homes. Ministers have written this week to every local authority chief executive, to try to invite councils to take part in such schemes. This is a trap to attempt to entice Conservatives councils into supporting the Government’s deeply unpopular plans. I believe that every Conservative councillor has a key role to play in defending families from these taxes.

The key arguments against participating in such pilots are as follows:

· Higher taxes on families: Families across the country are suffering from a soaring cost of living. Bin taxes will punish families for having children. Even the Government’s own optimistic Impact Assessment admits that families will pay £72.31 a year more. The Treasury has openly admitted the new ‘waste incentives’ are officially a tax.

· Increasing the tax burden: Labour Ministers claim that such schemes could be revenue neutral. They made the same empty promises about the council tax revaluation in Wales. Representations from councils across the country have warned that the Government’s sums do not add up due to the set-up, administration, collection and enforcement costs of a brand new tax, as well as the need for new lockable bins. As the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management have warned:

“Costs will be incurred to councils for administration and enforcement. This means that in terms of value added such initiatives would therefore do nothing to assist councils manage their waste budget in the face of rising costs. If the costs for administration are expected to increase substantially in order for householders to be monitored and billed accordingly, but with overall council tax remain bill remaining the same, then either householders who are recycling will pay a proportionately larger slice (this may be significant sums per annum, as has occurred in Ireland, where costs of 300-400 Euros are not uncommon for waste collection), or other council services might have to be reduced in order for revenue to be redirected to cover waste administration.”

· Harmful to the environment: Bin taxes will lead to a surge in fly-tipping and backyard burning. Fly-tipping has already soared in the last three years due to higher landfill taxes. Bin taxes will give perverse incentives to households to dump their rubbish, stuff it in bins other than their own, or contaminate recycling collections. In the Republic of Ireland, bin taxes have led to 4 in 10 households now burning their rubbish, and such burning of now causes 73% of all dioxin emissions. Under the Government’s proposals, civil amenity sites will have to remain free for household waste. Many residents will therefore drive to the local dump to avoid bin taxes – increasing carbon emissions and congestion.

· Electorally unpopular: The politics of rubbish is very high on media’s agenda and a great cause of public concern. Councils which introduce bin taxes will be vilified in the popular press and punished at the polls. I am sure that Liberal Democrats will happily be two-faced in opposing them locally, even though they support the taxes in Cowley Street. Nationally, we will not hesitate to criticise any supposedly-Conservative council which collaborates with the Labour Ministers and props up Gordon Brown’s discredited stealth tax regime.

In short, bin taxes will harm the local environment and increase the cost of living. This is just another cynical Labour attempt to tax families more by stealth, but with a thick coat of greenwash. The Government should be working instead with councils to extend recycling collections, and make it easier for all households to go green. There is certainly a role for incentives, but not for taxes or charges.

There is great concern in local government about the growing cost of waste. The Government is imposing massive regulatory costs on local councils through LATS and landfill tax. But the answer is not to increase taxes on families, but for the Government to compensate councils for those costs.

With a significant set of local and European elections in 2009, Conservatives need a unified front in opposing these new taxes. We intend to provide a campaign pack against bin taxes in due course, which will provide you with ammunition to take on our opponents in the run up to the elections. We can take the fight to Labour on an issue which will resonate with every household in the land.

I want every Conservative councillor to show how people can vote blue, go green and keep the cost of living down.

Yours truly,




Eric Pickles MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities & Local Governmen

Boris at least tried

Post office legal bid rejected

The final list of post offices to close in London was published in May
The Mayor of London's legal bid to save 155 post offices in the city has failed at the High Court.
Judges rejected Boris Johnson's application for a judicial review into the closures, forcing the mayor to call on the government to intervene.
The ex-MP has written to ministers calling on them to take "immediate action" on the issue.
The Post Office has said about 90% of Londoners would see no change to their nearest branch under the proposals.
"I am deeply disappointed that the review has not been successful and have written to the Secretary of State, John Hutton to express my feelings," said Mr Johnson.
"I have also called on him to persuade the government, as the only shareholder in the Post Office, to reconsider the current closure programme and take urgent action to save London's post offices."
The final list of post offices to be closed in London was published in May after a six-week public consultation.

Your Money again

Once again we see the Lib/Dems go back on their word and give more money to the Rose, despite saying that they would not put more money into the Theatre, having put millions of council tax payers money in already, We Conservatives have always been in favour on a Theatre, but not in favour of using our tax money to pay for it.
Road and pavement repair is one area that we are trying to address, but the Lib/Dems cut around £65000 form our budget, and that meant we had to draw up a list of priorities and cut back on others, but will try and use any under spend from last year to address those issues.
New Malden High Street is an ongoing Problem; we are trying to put right the previous administration of MCNC mistakes, and of course we have no control over the utilities, like Water and Gas Electricity, who seems for ever trying to fine a reason for digging it up.
Our support in the St James Ward is continuing to grow, and new members are coming on board, if you would like to join our ever-expanding membership, please let us know and we will send you the information.
It also nice to see our neighbours in Beverly Ward go from strength to strength, im sure we will hear a lot more about their activities, but note they will be running a stall during the New Malden fortnight, so give them your support

Operation Varsity

I had much pleasure in joining ex members of the crossing of the Rhine

during the laying of a wraith in remembrance of those who made the ultimate

sacrifice during operation varsity

Charities and VAT

Reduced VAT on fuel for charities: you could qualify for a reduced rate of 5% - less than a third of the standard rate!

The standard business rate of VAT on electricity and gas bills is 17.5% (£17.50 for every £100). But did you know that charities can apply to get a lower rate of 5% (£5 for every £100)?

The lower rate isn’t a secret – but few voluntary organisations seem to know about it!

You need to apply to get the reduced rate – your electricity and gas company won't give it to you automatically.

How to apply
• Contact the company (or companies) that provide your electricity and gas;
• explain that you’re a charity, and want to apply for the charity rate of VAT on fuel;
• ask them to send you a Certificate of VAT Declaration;
• fill in the VAT declaration, and send it back to your electricity/gas company.

Boris

Borough Visits
• This week, Boris Johnson is again out on the road, meeting Londoners and talking about his plans to crackdown on crime, provide value for money and protect and preserve open spaces. He is announcing his local plans for; Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Wandsworth, Barnet, Camden, Havering, Redbridge, Richmond, Kingston, Hounslow, Brent, Harrow, Southwark, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets. Last week, he was out and about in; Edmonton, Westminster, Bexley, Bromley, Ealing and Hillingdon.

• This is in stark contrast to Ken Livingstone, who has visited Cuba and Venezuela more times than he has visited some London Boroughs.

Letter to the Press

Friday 4th April, 2008



Dear Editor,

Last week Cllr Osbourne accused a resident, who wrote in claiming Kingston had the highest Council tax increase in London, of getting his facts wrong. I accuse Cllr Osbourne of spinning statistics to show his conceited Executive in light much brighter than they deserve.

Lambeth Council, which Cllr Osborune claimed to be highest council tax increase in percentage, increased council tax by £52.12 in cash terms for a Band D home while Kingston Council increased council tax by £57.57; putting Kingston in front by £5.45.

Cllr Osbourne knows he is in the wrong from the shear fact that he has searched to find the indicator that could possibly show Kingston in a better light. He used the wholly inappropriate RPI index to suggest that Kingston’s Council tax rise was below inflation (the wrong inflation, Mr Osbourne) when it was in fact above the Government official inflation of 2.2 per cent - which Kingston is higher than. And he has now chosen to use percentage increase to twist the reality of the figures on the highest increase.

If Cllr Osbourne took away all his game playing he would see that there is no getting away from the fact that Kingston is the HIGHEST council tax in London and has the HIGHEST cash increase in London. Now the question is, what is he going to do about it?

Yours,




Cllr Ken Smith

Conservative Councillor for St James Ward

Vice Chairman for Maldens and Coombe Neighbourhood

Full Council March 26th

I put this question to The executive member , housing and adult services.

Please confirm how many homes from the RBK,s housing stock fall below the decent standard home criteria, and how dose this compare year on year over the pass four years,
The question was put to see if the governments target would be met, the answer shows that it would not be,
27% in 2003
26% in 2004
20% in 2005/6
20% in 2007
I take this to mean there are about 1000 homes that do not come up to a decent home standard.

As a supplementary question I then asked given that at the MCNC we were told that there were 11 property's that would cost £50.000 each to bring up to the standard, and given that we were also told that new front doors had been fitted to some property's at a cost of about £1200 each, would she ensure that costing of maintenance work is vigorously vetted.

I believe that property's that are so expensive to be put right, will be handed over to an housing association, the danger with that is the fine line the council will have to follow, if it is not to be accused of deliberately running down the stock in order to move it onto housing associations

Lies afoot

There is someone spreading rumours, that are completely untrue (me thinks dirty trick are afoot) it is said that Old Malden Library is to Close, The Chairman of Malden and Coombe , Cllr Patrick Codd as stated that as long as the Conservatives control the Committee this will not take place, unless the Lib/Dem executive over rule them.

No way will the Conservative allow it to be closed

Save our Post office St James Ward

We are again the front runners in the campaine to save the local small post offices, the photo was taken on the day of the annoncement listing the closers, we will be out with our Petitions on Satuday, and every day we will be pushing for this silly idea to be overturned

The Post Office's consultation opened on the 19th February 2008 and will close on the 2nd April 2008, just six weeks. We believe that it should be extended to at least 12 weeks. Cabinet Office guidance state those 12 weeks minimum is good practice for public consultations.

Mayor’s aide avoids scrutiny

BORIS JOHNSON: JASPER SUSPENSION A COMPLETE COVER UP

Mayor’s aide avoids scrutiny

Commenting today on the news that the Mayor’s chief advisor, Lee Jasper, has been suspended from City Hall, Conservative Candidate for Mayor, Boris Johnson said:

“This is an outrageous attempt to avoid scrutiny. It was only 12 hours ago that the Mayor informed us that he had full confidence in Mr Jasper. What has changed his mind?

“Mr Jasper has been suspended – presumably on full pay – until after the election, in the hope that the full facts will not come out.

“It is clear that the Mayor’s handling of City Hall is descending into sleaze, chaos, and now cover-up.

“Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted or trousered by cronies of the Mayor.

“And we now have the police called in to investigate the Mayor’s chief police adviser.

“It is time to clean up City Hall, and time London had a change from this tired, stale, incompetent and increasingly decadent regime.

“How can the Mayor possibly focus on crime, housing and transport when he is mired in maladministration?”

THATS HOW YOU DO IT.

It can be done: South Norfolk Council freezes council tax

South Norfolk Council joins Westminster and East Hampshire as the three local authorities in the country that are freezing council tax. Hammersmith & Fulham, as we reported at the end of last year, are in a league of their own with a second successive 3% reduction in their levy.

South Norfolk switched from LibDem to Tory control at last year's elections with twenty council seats won by the Conservatives. During 12 years in charge the LibDems had increased council tax by 285%.

Council Leader John Fuller issued the following statement:

"We approach running the Council by applying Conservative values of thrift & enterprise whilst making sure that the state is there to help those who cannot help themselves. We are a Council that has now got a grip on its projects and is putting resources into its priority areas, whilst freezing council tax. But that hasn’t meant cuts. Quite the reverse. We’ve improved services by spending more on recycling, tackling anti-social behaviour whilst helping the old and infirm remain in their homes with extra resources for aids-and-adaptation & expanding the handy-man service amongst many other improvements. We are not a business, but being more business-like has meant that we have been able to get a firmer grip on the public finances to providing better value for money for residents whilst delivering much more. And that’s what Local Government should be all about."

Health facts

Health and social care facts

07/01/2007

• 13 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women in London admit to �binge� drinking; this is the lowest level of binge drinking of any region in England, apart from the south east (1)
  
  
• the conception rate for girls aged 15 to 17 was 4.5 per cent in London in 2005, and 5.3 per cent in inner London, above the England average of 4.1 per cent. (2)
  
  
• the total number of �problematic drug users� in London is estimated to be between 71,400 and 81,300 (3)
  
  
• London councils support more than 30,400 residents in local authority, voluntary and private residential care homes; the majority (60 per cent) live in outer London (4)
  
  
• boys born in London in 2005 have a life expectancy of 76.9 years, while girls can expect to live until they are 81.4 years old. Both these figures are slightly above the UK average of 76.6 and 80.9 years respectively (5)
  
  
• life expectancy varies considerably within short distances in London; travelling east from Westminster to Canning Town for example, each stop on the Jubilee Line correlates to approximately one year�s reduction in life expectancy (6)
  
  
• London�s ambulance service responds to an average of almost 2,600 emergency and urgent incidents a day (7)
  
  
• at 22 per cent, London has the lowest proportion of adult smokers of any region in England. The English region with the highest proportion is the north west, where 29 per cent of adults smoke (8)

London Poverty

Poverty facts

07/01/2007

• 51 per cent of children in inner London live in income poverty, compared with 29 per cent in England (1)
  
  
• a quarter of all children in London live in workless households, the highest proportion of any of the English regions. In inner London, one in three children lives in a workless household, compared with one in six nationally (2)
  
  
• in London, seven out of 10 workless households with children are lone parent households (3)
  
  
• there are 244,000 unemployed people in London, more than in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland put together (130,000, 76,000 and 30,000 respectively) (4)
  
  
• one in four children in inner London nursery and primary schools is entitled to free school meals, compared with fewer than one in five nationally (5)
  
  
• more than one in three (35 per cent) children in inner London live in families with at least one adult claiming a key benefit, compared with an average of 18 per cent nationally (6)
  
  
• the proportion of children living in workless households in London has fallen by just one percentage point in the last 10 years, compared with a 4 per cent fall in the UK as a whole (7)
  
  
• 22 per cent of pensioners in London live in income poverty, compared with 17 per cent in the UK as a whole (8)

London crime latest

Crime facts

07/01/2007

• of all the regions in England and Wales, London has the highest level of recorded crime at 124 offences per 1,000 population (1)
  
  
• between 1999 and 2007, overall (police recorded) crime in London fell by 12 per cent, although violent crime increased by 17 per cent over the same period (2)
  
  
• the most commonly reported hate crime in London in 2006/07 was racist crime (9,976 reports), followed by homophobic crime (1,184 incidents) and faith crime (696 incidents) (3)
  
  
• the Metropolitan Police Service employs 30,871 police officers, 13,769 police staff, 400 traffic wardens, 2,308 police community support officers and 1,070 �specials� (4)
  
  
• there are 4.6 uniformed police officers per 1,000 Londoners (5)
  
  
• 54 per cent of Londoners say that crime is one of their top three personal concerns, this rises to 61 per cent for 18-34 year-olds (6)
  
  
• 45 per cent of all recorded robberies in England and Wales in 2006/07 occurred in London (7)
  
  
• the Metropolitan Police Service�s Operation Trident, set up to combat black on black gun crime, seized a total of 917 firearms in 2006/07 (8)

Press release

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg MP announced his Party’s new elderly health care policy on a visit to Age Concern in Kingston upon Thames. He pledged to be the first party to propose an end to the “punishing poverty” that results in the elderly paying for care out of their own pockets. He said increased funding for elderly care would end the "scandalous injustice" of older people using their savings to pay for necessary care.

His choice of location, though, seemed to be a cruel joke. In 2007 Lib Dem led Kingston upon Thames Borough Council slashed their eligibility criteria for adult social care services by half, leaving many elderly to have to fund essential basic care through other means. In the same year, they closed Hobkirk House elderly day care centre despite months of pleas, protests and a petition of thousands of signatures from the Conservative Councillors and elderly users of the centre. Last year they also allowed Kingston Primary Care Trust to cut Fuchsias dementia care ward and Springboard - a unique learning centre for adults with learning disabilities. The same Lib Dem Administration also increased charges and introduced means testing for elderly and disabled domiciliary care in 2005.

The Leader of the Opposition on the Royal Borough of Kingston Council, Conservative Councilor Howard Jones said: “This is just another tiresome example of the Liberal Democrats being all bark and no bite. For their Leader to come to our Borough and lecture us on healthcare when their own Liberal Democrat Administration have been the epitome of showing the elderly in our community the ‘scandalous neglect’ that Nick Clegg is preaching about, it is ignorant and irresponsible. A refreshing idea for the Liberal Democrats would be for them to know what is going on within their own Party.”

At It again

Ministers accused over 'bin tax' exemption

By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
Last Updated: 2:47am GMT 11/01/2008

MPs will not have to pay controversial new "bin taxes" to be introduced later this year, prompting accusations that Government ministers are guilty of double standards.

The deputy leader of the Commons, Helen Goodman, yesterday revealed that MPs would be able to claim the bin taxes as part of their taxpayer-funded system of perks.

Over the next few months, local authorities will be able to begin charging residents for removing waste.

The scheme has been advocated as a way of boosting recycling rates and environment ministers have repeatedly denied the charges were simply a new stealth tax.

However, the Treasury confirmed that the new charges - which could add £100 to a family's annual outgoings - were technically considered to be a "tax".

Eric Pickles, the Conservative shadow local government minister, said: "Even the Treasury now admits that the new charges are nothing less than a new tax.

"Ministers are looking to impose a tax on hard-working families that they themselves won't have to pay."