Monthly Archives: August 2010

Australia – the government loses owing to tax

There is a three letter word the BBC and others does not wish to mention – tax. The main reason Mr Rudd, the previous Labour PM lost his job, was higher taxes. Parliament and people disliked his higher taxes and charges in the name of a climate change policy, and voted them down. Then he [...]

Posted in Blog | 20 Comments

Design your own budget

Each year the state spends on average £10,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. The idea of public accountability, democracy and more transparency over how public bodies spend your moeny is that you should be more involved in how this money is spent. I would like to hear from you on your [...]

Posted in Blog | 39 Comments

The timing of trains

Labour’s big change in transport policy was to increase the amount of subsidy going to the railways substantially, whilst cutting back the amount spent on roads. We received little by way of new railway line or roads during the last thirteen years, other than the completion of the Channel rail link initiated by the previous [...]

Posted in Blog | 55 Comments

Road works

I am taking up the matter of so many roadworks all at the same time which constituents are understandably raising with me. At last count Davis Street (Winnersh), Finchampstead Road, and Loddon Bridge Road are all closed. This means the B3030, the A 321 and the main Woodley spine road are all blocked, making north-south [...]

Posted in Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues | 3 Comments

US and UK Stock markets have different complaints

In the US the Stock market has been falling because many investors no longer believe printing more money and running up a collosal public deficit is the way to sustained recovery. Mr Obaama continues with more of the same in the hopeless belief this will save him in the mid term elections this autumn. Labour [...]

Posted in Blog | 25 Comments

More planning thoughts

We have been debating three proposals for better decisions on building and planning. The first is my proposal to pay compensation for loss of amenity, view, and worse quality of life to existing homeowners. This proposal has several advantages. It can be done under the current law. Where I have seen it used it works. [...]

Posted in Blog | 38 Comments

Mr Simon Hughes and arithmetic

Mr Hughes thinks Lib Dem backbenchers should have a veto on Coalition policies. Some would say only if Conservative backbenchers as well can have one, to be fair. The truth is simple. If all Lib Dem backbenchers vote against a Coaltion government proposal, even with Labour support, the government will still win the vote. If [...]

Posted in Blog | 23 Comments

Conservatives too, Mr Clegg, want a fair society with equal opportunity

Today we hear that Mr Clegg will set out his proposals and vision for a more equal and just society. Here are some of the things he could address. The main reason too many people are poor in the UK is they do not have jobs. During the long Labour years around 5 million people [...]

Posted in Blog | 20 Comments

A fairer system for planning gain?

One of the main issues which embitters many a planning dispute is who pockets the large windfall gains from the conversion of cheap land to dear land with building permission? There are three models on offer or regularly debated. The first is that the developer or land owner should claim the gain , because it [...]

Posted in Blog | 46 Comments

Earley Resource Centre

Last week I was invited to visit the Centre. I was most impressed. It is the Big Society in operation, long before it became a slogan for a party and a government. The Centre caters for people of all views and requirements. Charitable money has been well used to build a Centre which offers meeting [...]

Posted in Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues | 1 Comment
  • 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.
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