10p tax rate debated in Parliament

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Bravura performance by Jeremy Browne! The Finance Bill Second Reading in the Commons today was mainly of note because of the ruck over Gordon Brown’s abolition of the 10p rate of tax. Much predictable hand-wringing on the Labour benches by MPs who had not even noticed that the least able to afford it were going to be done over by last year’s Budget. But have to say that Jeremy just enjoyed himself rotten – and I would say that despite Labour and Tories being the butt of the majority of his speech. He was so funny and witty that all sides could not help but laugh – even at their own expense. You’ll have to read in Hansard if you’re keen when it’s up tomorrow.

UPDATE: You can read highlights of Jeremy’s speech here.

Local MP nominated for prestigious new media award

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Hornsey and Wood Green’s Liberal Democrat MP has been nominated for another media award this week. Lynne Featherstone is in the running for the New Statesman’s New Media Award ‘Democracy in Action’ for her commitment to keeping in touch with her constituents through her regular blog.

Lynne has been a regular blogger for several years, and runs a website packed with information about her work and local Liberal Democrat campaigns. More recently, Lynne has started ‘twittering’ – keeping in touch with her constituents through regular text messaging.

The prestigious New Media Awards, now in their tenth year, champion those individuals or organisations using the power of new media in fresh, creative and constructive ways. The Democracy in Action award recognises the use of new media technology to improve democracy, fostering better communications between the public and those they elect. The awards will be decided by a panel of judges and presented in July.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I love using my website to keep in touch with people locally, and I try and blog on a very regular basis. It’s great to have this recognised by being nominated. Fingers crossed for July!”

Local councillors join Wards Corner community fight

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Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate, joined local Liberal Democrat councillors last Friday to support the Wards Corner Community Coalition (WCCC) community alternative to Haringey Council’s controversial development plans for Wards Corner, Seven Sisters.

WCCC, consisting of local activists, traders and residents, has submitted a plan that aims to keep the historic nature of the old Wards Corner Department store and protect the existing market. Haringey Council, working through the New Deal for Communities partnership (NDC) with developer Grainger, plans to demolish the building.

Cllr Carolyn Baker and Brian Paddick met traders throughout the market.

Cllr Carolyn Baker (Harringay) comments:

“I am angry that Haringey Council will not listen properly to local people. It is their strength of commitment to the local area that persuaded them to pay £8,000 for their own development plans to be drawn up in opposition to the Grainger plans. If the plans go ahead as proposed it will destroy people’s lives and livelihoods as well as an important part of Haringey history.”

Cllr John Oakes, Lib Dem Community Involvement spokesperson, adds:

“Haringey Council has reneged on its own development brief promise to retain the original Wards landmark for environmental reasons.

“Its draconian plans for a gated flat development will destroy scores of local businesses. Construction is not the same thing as regeneration. Haringey Council and the NDC should honour its offer to get the WCCC alternative plan independently costed, and involve the community, instead of foisting an unwanted eyesore on an ailing area.”

Local councillor demands new conservation area in Muswell Hill

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Additional conservation areas are needed urgently to protect more of the distinctive and historical styles in Muswell Hill, says local Liberal Democrats, particularly now under the Government’s less rigorous planning guidelines and the pressures being put on councils to create more housing.

Concerned by the threat of inappropriate commercial developments, Liberal Democrat councillor Jonathan Bloch has joined with local residents to demand that a conservation area should be declared to cover an area attracting increasing attention from developers.This would cover Cranley Gardens (as far as its junction with Connaught Gardens), Connaught Gardens, Onslow Gardens, Woodland Gardens, Woodland Rise and Muswell Hill Road (from the top of Cranley Gardens as far as the woods on each side), to ensure that any new developments preserve and enhance the local area.

The area was developed mainly in the late 19th/earlier 20th century at the same time as most of Muswell Hill, and as such is part of a historically cohesive suburb. The substantial late Victorian and Edwardian houses are typical of the suburb as a whole, and retain their original character. All these roads are visually cohesive in terms of building design and materials, and are attractive streetscapes.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch (Muswell Hill) comments:

“Muswell Hill is a unique place and Haringey Council needs to do all in its power to preserve this area.

“I have been appalled at some of the developments that have taken place in recent years and these have detracted from the overall environment in Muswell Hill. New developments recently proposed, including the planned demolition of a period house in Connaught Gardens and its replacement with a totally alien modern structure. This matter needs new urgency.”

The real lesson of the 10p tax rate fiasco

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HM Treasury signIt’d be easy to simply point fingers at all those Labour MPs who cheered when Gordon Brown delivered his last budget (the one that scheduled the abolition of the 10p income tax rate for this year) and then stayed silent in the intervening year until finally, at the last gasp, speaking up on the issue.

But there’s a larger point underlying all this – beyond the failure of MPs to speak up for so long. It’s the whole way we do our budgets and our politics. Gordon Brown slipped out the announcement of the abolition of the 10p rate on the quiet, obscured – he hoped – by the fanfare he gave to a cut in the basic rate of income tax. He nearly got away with this sleight of hand at the time – David Cameron failed to spot it in his Budget debate response, though Ming Campbell did then pick up on the point.

And what sort of way of setting a major tax rate which affects millions is that? No prior public debate or discussion about the shape of the tax system. Instead try to slip it out in secret and hope people don’t notice. Why shouldn’t the creation or abolition of tax rates be discussed and debated fully in public?

Well, that’s not what you want if you’re a secretive control freak (surprise!) – but behaving like that’s the way you make mistakes, thinking that you and you alone have all the wisdom on a matter and unimpeachable judgement. Of course, if you’re flawless and always right – why would that matter? Let’s hope Gordon’s noticed by now that he and his government aren’t…

Things are changing for our Monarchy

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Buckingham PalaceLooks like the beginning of the end of male primogeniture – hurrah! The Sunday Times put the story on its front page and ran an editorial on the subject today.

So what’s the story all about? The rules about who becomes our Monarch discriminate against women – and skip over women to men. Now – that’s the sort of crude discrimination that we should have left behind years ago (as have many other monarchies, which have changed their rules to remove this old-fashioned sexism). So a little while back I referred to the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights the pushing back of Lady Louise (daughter of Prince Edward) from 8th to 9th in line to the Throne when her baby brother was born.

It took a while to get a reply – but when I did – it began to move things on. The letter agrees that this is discrimination (more or less) but that it has no powers under the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act. However, it also says that they are going to look at the Single Equalities Act as a vehicle for change and that we will meet and talk the way through.

In subsequent conversation with the Commission, I had said that I would table an amendment to the Act which I would expect to have cross party support – but that if the Commission could persuade the Government to bring it forward in the Act in the first place that would be even better. The Commission has now owned it and support it. As I said – how could the new equalities body do anything else?

So today I read in the Sunday Times that Vera Baird, the Solicitor General, agrees and it will (hopefully) happen – presumably in the Act. And so – if this ridiculous anachronism finally is buried – at least I will have done something for equality during my sojourn.

It’s not equal pay and it doesn’t address women’s pensions or carers’ allowances or improving rape convictions – all of which are desperately important and need priority. However, the screaming message of male primogeniture in accession to the throne has been that men are better than women. So good riddance to that!

UPDATES: Scotland on Sunday has also covered the story – as you can read here – whilst The Telegraph coverage is here.

Is a private US firm about to take over a key part of our health services?

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Sorry about the short notice but I’ve just discovered that our local Health Service is consulting about out-of-hours GP services – and we only have until Friday to respond.

Our out-of-hours services are the people who provide help when we are at our sickest. They are the doctors who come and look after us when we call them out in the dead of night or who we can go to – currently Camidoc. Without them, every time we got ill in the middle of the night we’d have to drag our sickly selves to A&E – which is not what A&E was intended for, waiting for hours before receiving treatment and wasting thousands of pounds in taxpayers money – or worse still – go without treatment and get really really sick.

So why are they consulting? Well that’s a very good question. Currently our out-of-hours service is provided by Camidoc, and most people agree they do a good job. I’ve met with them myself and that was certainly my impression. They are local and they know the area well. However Camden, Islington, Haringey and Hackney & City Primary Care Trusts (the people that run our NHS) have clubbed together to see if they can get a better deal by tendering the service again – and seeing if anyone else wants to bid for it.

Whilst it is right to try and get the best service for local people, the situation now is that literally anybody can apply to run the service. In Camden, United Health – the largest American for-profit healthcare provider – have just caused uproar by winning the contract to run three GPs surgeries and they may well bid to run our out-of-hours service.

Now I’ve always thought the NHS was my party’s greatest achievement (it was the brainchild of a Liberal – William Beveridge) and I’ve always thought it works best when it’s run for the greater good – not for profit.

But there are practical arguments against a private takeover as well. Camidoc is run by doctors who know the area well. Under Camidoc you may well know the doctor treating you – and even if you don’t you can certainly be sure that they know your area and how to find your house. When you’re at your illest and most vulnerable you’re probably not going to be best able to give directions over the phone to a faceless, nameless doctor who has never been to Haringey before.

So please respond to the consultation straight away – and certainly before Friday night. It is right to have an open tender – and you may not have the same view of Camidoc that I do – but if you are very worried about private American-style for-profit organisations taking over this important service then please take this opportunity to say so.

The easiest way to respond is to email PALS@camdenpct.nhs.uk and you can find out more about the consultation and read the documentation at http://doctorsinthenight.notlong.com

Wasteful Council turns a blind eye to £6.4 million

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Information revealing Haringey Council’s write-off of £6.4 million in Council Tax will hit local pockets hard, say local Liberal Democrats. Haringey easily tops the list of London councils, which was revealed in an answer to a Parliamentary Question last week.

Cllr Neil Williams, Liberal Democrat leader, comments:

“I am shocked that Haringey Council can just say goodbye to such a large amount of money. Local residents will find this hard to swallow. They have faced massive rises in their Council Tax bills under Labour, and pay some of the highest Council Taxes anywhere.

“Time after time, Haringey Council blames a tight budget for their swingeing increases in people’s Council Tax, rising charges, and cuts in services – but all along their failure to collect the taxes has hit those most in need.”

Cllr Richard Wilson, Lib Dem Deputy Leader, adds:

“Little over a month ago Haringey Council was robbing older people of their leisure facilities, increasing charges for cremations and raising Council Tax to a figure that is one of the highest in London – they should be ashamed of this and apologise to the people of Haringey.”