Monthly Archives: May 2010

Apologies to Mr R Hood?

Some of you took exception to hearing the late Mr Hood described as an armed robber. I did so, as in the accounts and films of Robin Hood that I have seen, taking money off successful local entrepreneurs at arrow point was an important part of what he did. I freely accept that he might [...]

Posted in Blog | 11 Comments

Correcting the Evening Standard

Today I made a proposal for the form of CGT changes the Coalition government might introduce. As yet there are no government proposals, as I imagine they are thinking through how best to change it. The Evening Standard expressed interest in the scheme I had outlined. I explained it to them and explained it was [...]

Posted in Blog | 15 Comments

Letter to new Communities and Local Government Secretary

Dear Eric Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of State. It is good to have someone who knows about local government in the role. In our Manifesto we were proud to include the abolition of regional planning quangos and the top down housing targets. This proposal was one of the most popular parts of the [...]

Posted in Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues | 3 Comments

Letter to Leader of West Berkshire Council

Dear Graham, I am writing on behalf of constituents who live in the Crescent, and along the A4 from Lower Padworth to Aldermaston. The residents are concerned about the impact of the tip on their amenity and on the highways in the area. You have set up a liaison group for them, but they feel [...]

Posted in Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues | Leave a comment

Letter to the new Defence Secretary

Dear Liam Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of State for Defence. It is good to know our country’s security is now in safe hands. I am writing to you concerning the Defence Review and the future of Arborfield Garrison. The Garrison was scheduled for closure by the previous government, though the date has been [...]

Posted in Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues | Leave a comment

Tax cuts and Robin Hood

Let me offer a little marriage guidance to the new Coalition. Tax is something Conservatives and Lib Dems could fall out over. It is, however, an accident that need not happen. Deep in Lib Dem DNA is the Robin Hood principle – tax the rich and give to the poor. It is superfically popular, and [...]

Posted in Blog | 70 Comments

$1.43 = £1 £6 billion in 40 days time is not enough

I had composed this headline in my mind when I heard on the radio that the government will announce its first cuts next week, following urgent review of the projects and plans the last government approved for spending in the first four months of this year. They are right to do so. Sterling has devalued [...]

Posted in Blog | 36 Comments

Mr Hammond and ACAS

Mr Hammond Transport Secretary) promised to end the war on motorists. That is a great idea for the day job. He should leave the BA dispute to the management and Unions, and to ACAS when they need professional arbitration or neutral chairmanship. If he wants something else to do he could see how his Regulator [...]

Posted in Blog | 14 Comments

Black holes

The “black holes” now being revealed should come as no surprise to readers of this site. I have set out many times how the true indebtedness of the Uk state is between £3 trillion and £4.5 trillion depending on how you account for bank liabilities, on normal company accounting. (PPP,PFI, unfunded public sector employee pensions, [...]

Posted in Blog | 38 Comments

The mood towards the government

I went out on the doorsteps yesterday, resuming my Saturday morning roving doorstep surgeries. I was pleasantly surprised by the mood. Most who said they were Conservatives were pleased the Labour government had gone. They ranged from disappointed that we had to be in alliance with Lib Dems to quite positive about it, but all [...]

Posted in Blog | 25 Comments
  • About John Redwood

    John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College, and has a DPhil from All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has been a director of NM Rothschild merchant bank and chairman of a quoted industrial PLC.
  • John’s Books

  • Email Alerts

    You can sign up to receive John's blog posts by e-mail by entering your e-mail address in the box below.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    The e-mail service is powered by Google's FeedBurner service. Your information is not shared.

  • Map of Visitors

    Locations of visitors to this page