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.