LBC with Kevin Maguire

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Well – I had thought I was going to be on a panel – but found it was just me for the whole hour – which was great but a surprise. My fault for not making sure. Anyway – it was more of a paper review and less about the political issues of the year ahead or my predictions for 2010.

I chose an Andrew Gilligan article from the Sunday Telegraph where he has written a good piece on the business rate tax bombshell that will strike in April. I don’t know about your high street and local shops – but mine in Hornsey & Wood Green are fighting to stay afloat as it is. The doubling, for effectively for many shops this is what will happen, of their business rate is unfair and terrible timing.

I was in my local Highgate Butcher the other day and chatting to them – and Phyllis was telling me that they will face a hike of an extra £23,000 per year for the next five years. How on earth are businesses to magic an extra £500 per week of takings in this economic climate? And our shops are the heart of our local communities. This is just madness. Much better to ensure that businesses survive rather than spend money on benefits for all those who lose their jobs because shops or small businesses can’t pay these enormous hikes.

There was also Haringey’s record on employing illegal immigrants (according to the Mail on Sunday) the worst council at this. The point of the article was mainly that whereas private sector employers have been clamped down on and are prosecuted or fined if they hire illegal immigrants – state authorities are not being treated the same way – so double standards.

I also raised the issue of airport security – because I don’t know about you – but reading this morning’s papers I came to the conclusion that the authorities don’t really know what to do or what will be effective. The idea of banning people from going to the lavatory an hour before landing begets the question is it better to be blown up in mid-air – which would seem the logical alternative for a terrorist – or have I missed something. There were articles about the proposed new body scanners not being able to detect the sort of stuff that the Somalian bomber used. There was the Express managing to get on board with a similar syringe – undetected – and the usual calls for profiling. I think profiling may lead to a false sense of security as if only those that the authorities think are the ‘types’ to be potential terrorists are stopped – if I was a terrorist I would make sure whoever is carrying the bomb didn’t fit the stereotype. All in all – the knee jerk response was uninspiring.

One thing I didn’t get time for was one of the papers this morning it says something like ‘in an attempt to reposition his Party Cameron is going to target more NHS spending on areas of deprivation.’ That’s the truth – it’s about an attempt to be seen as not as anti public services it’s not about improving the health service – it’s about image. Leopard and spots are the words that spring to mind.

Would you leave this country?

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Firstly, obviously, Happy New Year to everyone.

I went to my hairdresser to have a hair cut (too short – hate it) and we were having a conversation about the new tax rate. Or rather, he was telling me of a client who is moving to Switzerland because of the 50% tax rate and the change to bankers’ bonuses etc. He said other clients were thinking of leaving the country (this is a little hairdressers in Finchley Central by the way – not a swish West End jobby)  because of this stuff.

I said (and please remember this is a hairdresser/client conversation and not a political debate) that going to live in Switzerland was a high price to pay to save a bit of tax (sorry Switzerland) as it was boring, made clocks and had nice mountains – but living in London – the most exciting, brilliant city in the world – had to be worth a slightly higher rate of tax particularly as it the new rate doesn’t kick in until you are already earning £150,000.

I then put the case that there comes a point in terms of earnings where the amount earned is enough for a really decent and even luxurious life – and that thereafter it is not such a terrible thing to pay 50% tax. (It was, after all, LibDem policy until we moved to a more progressive form of a tax switch – from income to pollution and taking low and middle income earners out of paying any tax up to the first £10,000 of earnings). Of course, business and profit are to be lauded and encouraged – that is how business works – and I come from a family who all had small businesses and know how tough it is to make a profit.

And we, my hairdresser and I, agree that it is great to want a decent life and be able to afford what you want – but that that there is a need for the common good and the narrowing of the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. We collectively shake our heads sagely in comfortable agreement about the greed that drives people to move their estates off-shore, to become non doms to avoid tax – and all such devious moves to deny the Treasury its tax take.

OK – so I read this morning in the Guardian that Angela Knight, Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association has issued a ‘stinging attack’ on the 50% supertax and bankers’ bonuses.  Well – that’s her job – so no surprise there.

But the point is that, even if there had been no economic crisis and no credit crunch – it seems to me to earn £36.8 million before bonus as the top earning Director of a FTSE 100 company did either last year or the year before – is obscenely more than you need to lead a decent or even an uber-luxurious life-style and a bit of extra tax is not only fair but also will make that Director feel better about his humongous earnings – having paid his dues.

Or am I wrong?

Expecting too much?

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The spirit of good will clearly did not extend to the man (or woman) who nicked my postie’s Christmas card and tip. I know – you are all going to say how naive I am to expect people to be honest – but I still do.

What happened? Hadn’t managed to catch my lovely postie, so a few days before Christmas I put his card and Christmas ‘thank you’  in an envelope and left it outside my front door for him to pick up when he brought the post. My door is completely screened from the street and my garden is between the front high hedges at the roadside and my front door – and you cannot see in. Only somone coming right to my door would have seen the envelope.

My daughter ran into my postie the day before Christmas and asked if he’d gotten the card etc – and he said no. I probably shouldn’t be surprised that someone other than my postie took the envelope – but I am. Most people would just say that I was naive and how stupid it was to leave it outside. Of course someone would nick it.

So – the point of writing this post is about the demise of conscience – of feeling bad if you do something wrong. Where has that gone? People know right from wrong – so what is it that makes the difference in terms of what people will or won’t do?

And in that lies an answer – it’s behaviour that really makes the difference. That’s the challenge of the next era – how to create a world where you can put your postie’s Christmas card outside and only the postie (and the regular postie) would dream of taking it.

Or is there mitigation – ie poverty, the widening divide between rich and poor or the recession – or is this never ‘acceptable’. I know my view – but what is yours?

A Happy Ending

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A facebook friend sent me this link which tells of authorities who wickedly remove wardens from sheltered housing schemes. Older and vulnerable people go into sheltered housing often exactly because they want to know there is someone on hand, particularly overnight, should they need help. If you follow the link – it tells two tales of successful action against authorities who removed the wardens from sheltered housing schemes or changed the scheme to a ‘mobile’ warden moving around from place to place. Now – that is a happy ending and hopefully a red flag to stop this diminution of service and safety.

Merry Christmas

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As well as wanting to wish you Happy Christmas and New Year, I just wanted to round off this year’s blog posts by saying thank you to all of you who respond to my emails, blog posts, facebook and tweets.

Many of you respond to each of these – and the feedback I get is hugely appreciated. It really helps me know and understand how any particular issue impacts on people living here – and informs my views. And you are a vocal group – let me tell you!

Many have been particularly vocal during the last few days about the gritting of roads in Haringey – or rather I should say, the non-gritting. I’m taking these issues up with the council along with my councillor colleagues, led by Cllr Robert Gorrie.

Specific reports of roads not gritted – with names and dates – would be very helpful, whether from yourself or from others (so do forward this message on – residents of Hornsey & Wood Green only).

Another frequent issue at this time of year is people not being sure when to put out the bins.

If your normal collection is on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays – then the day doesn’t change.

If your normal collection is on a Friday then the Friday 25 collection will be collected Sunday 27 December and the Friday 1 January collection will be collected on Saturday 2 January.

I think, however, that the main thought at this time of year is about the economy – and how tough it has been and still is for those who have lost their jobs, their businesses and their homes. Helping people through the tough times has to be the priority for the year ahead.

But I’ll save the political lecture for the New Year! Meanwhile, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.

Nightmare at Christmas

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Local traders and residents in this area of Highgate won a bid for funding for a Christmas tree to brighten up a little patch of land in this very heavily trafficky corner between Archway Road and Muswell Hill Road. You can read the sad tale here in the Evening Standard. The picture shows my Liberal Democrat colleagues standing by a very pathetic looking Christmas Tree – a tree that actually cost £150 but which, by the time Haringey Council had erected it, cost £1500. The local residents and my LibDem councillor colleagues are pretty cross – to put it mildly.

This tale of Christmas Tree woe stands as a metaphor for Haringey Council – they do things really badly and it costs the earth.

But as it’s the season of good will………………………

What about the side roads?

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Whilst Haringey Council has an understandable policy of main roads and hills being the number 1 priority for gritting in weather like this – and then secondary roads – what about the rest of us?

On their website, you can see the lists of roads in their number 1 and number 2 priority – then a notice saying something to the effect that the bad weather doesn’t usually last long enough to get any further than that.

Well – like lots of local people – my road is sheet ice and Haringey doesn’t come my way. It’s a cul-de-sac so obviously of no interest as no through traffic – but we still have older people who cannot get out of their house because of the danger of falling.

You can ring the Haringey switchboard on 0208 489 0000 and ask for road gritting and when they put you through they will promise to come in a few hours – according to posts here. You can ‘phone the direct number 0208 885 7700 and hang on forever (still trying) to see if you can get the gritters down your way. We just have to keep trying and trying and trying.

Everyone understands priority roads and how hard the gritters must have worked to keep the main roads free of ice – but for the rest of us poor sods – when the freeze lasts as this one has – our roads are lethal. This isn’t a matter of expecting small side roads to be done overnight – but come on Haringey – this was well-predicted and has been going on since Thursday night.

For anyone with mobility problems – who needs to go out of their house – this is urgent.

Day Off

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Well – it’s my birthday.  Not something I particularly would wish to advertise – but in this social networking age – and given my age is out there – am not able to hide the dreadful truth.

Forgot when I signed into facebook this morning – only to be greeted by loads of ‘happy birthday’ messages – which was really nice. Thank you everybody! I had just finished an hour of ironing (which I do every Sunday whilst watching Andy Marr) and was (and am still) waiting for my two daughters to arise and wish me Happy Birthday.

So – as I just hear now footsteps coming downstairs – I must go. Today I am not going to work – but am going out to lunch followed by a movie – St Trinian’s. I know – extremely lightweight – but it’s Christmas and I want to laugh and eat popcorn.

Then it will be tidy the house, write out the food shopping lists for Xmas key three days, more ironing and watch Christmas movies. My favourites are: Miracle on 34th Street (both versions), Scrooged, Love Actually, Prancer, It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone (shame on me)  and several others.

If anyone has any really great Christmas films that they can recommend – please do. I like ones that make me cry (with happiness) when it all comes right at the end!