Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

Yesterday the Conservative party announced that if elected to government it would freeze regulated train fares in real terms for the next Parliament.

Train fares have gone up a lot under both Labour and the Coalition in recent years. With current low rates of inflation the pledge is a helpful one to all who use the railways to get to and from work daily and who pay the peak regulated fares as a result. There are some very good value off peak fares available for occasional travel which are not regulated.

The sharp fall in real living standards which occurred in 2007-9 during the Great Recession has taken time to reverse. It is good news that now wages and salaries are on average going up by more than prices. Falling energy prices and a rail fare freeze in real terms for commuters and season ticket buyers will help in the months ahead if Conservatives are elected.

Published and promoted by Thomnas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

The world is a dangerous place. Russia is in dispute with the European Union to our east. The Middle East is gripped by a series of civil wars and by a more general regional conflict between Sunni and Shia forces. Islamic extremism and terrorism stalks many streets around the world, with enclaves of terrorist rule in Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Libya and elsewhere.

In the last Parliament I supported the UK maintaining its commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence, as we promised NATO we will do. This commitment enabled orders to be placed for new ships, planes and army equipment, where real increases in the budget have been promised for future years. I also supported the maintenance of a nuclear deterrent, which entails building new submarines to preserve our continuous at sea capability which is central to the style of nuclear deterrent we own. I did not support all of the planned missions for our forces, disagreeing with intervention in Syria and  speaking out for withdrawal from Afghanistan.

For the next five years I will want the government to keep to the NATO pledge. We need to spend more on ships and personnel for the navy, more on maintaining a slimmed down army following recent cuts, and more on airforce capability. As the economy grows, so if we keep to the 2% target so we can spend more on our forces. I will remain sceptical of the wisdom and need for us to send troops into difficult Middle Eastern civil wars.

I also think ordering four new submarines for our deterrent is essential. The Liberal democrats hope there is some cheaper means by owning cruise missiles or fewer boats. Experts agree there is no cheaper effective substitute for our current deterrent. Nor does Labour’s suggestion that we only need three submarines pass muster. Repairs, refits, resting crews all requires four boats to ensure and guarantee continuous at sea capability. The extra cost of the fourth boat is not great over the lifetime of deterrent, given the extra costs of adaptation and repair if relying on three boats. At least all three main parties of the last Parliament agree that the UK does need a deterrent, in an age when many more states and political movements gain access to nuclear weapons.

This is not a time to relax our guard or walk away from our NATO commitment.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

Over the last year inflation has fallen, with many shop prices going down. Petrol and diesel have dropped in price. Meanwhile many people have had some modest pay rise, so real incomes are rising again.

There has also been a large increase in employment, meaning more people are in receipt of a pay packet and have more money to spend as a result.

Too many people lost their job in the crash of 2007-9. Too many people were squeezed by lost bonuses, no pay rises, and inflation. It has taken time to get inflation back under control, and to restore sufficient confidence and activity so pay rises are possible again.

Wokingham has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. There is a range of jobs available for those seeking work or seeking a better job. We are short of some skills, especially in building where there is renewed activity.

The main thing I wish to see over the next five years is a sustained rise in living standards, as we used to experience before the Great Crash of 2007-9. This is possible if we continue with the current economic policy. We need to control future public debts, so we can keep interest rates low. We need tax cuts to boost people’s spending power, so they keep more of what they earn.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

There are three things the Council does that have a direct effect on every household. They send us a Council Tax bill. They collect the refuse and keep the public spaces clean. They provide the roads and pavements so we can get about.  I regularly remind Councillors that these three crucial items need constant attention and good management , though the large spending services like education and social services understandably attract a lot of time and debate.

The Wokingham constituency has faced substantial new development and an expanding population in recent decades. It is good that there are many more decent homes, and many people have settled well in them. The problem is that spending on roads and railways in the previous decade did not keep up, so it is now more difficult to get about. In recent years  a large programme of new investment has taken shape. There has been a big improvement and increased capacity at Reading Station. Wokingham now has its new station. Crossrail is nearing completion which will improve links from the Thames Valley into central London.

The Station link road in Wokingham will open soon and help provide more capacity for car travellers. Many people in the area have to get to work by car, and have to drop the children off by car at school. At peaks the roads are particularly congested. The east-west railway line provides a major barrier, with limited crossing points. The river is also a barrier for those wanting to get into Oxfordshire, with limited bridge capacity.

The new plans for Wokingham include a Shinfield and Arborfield bypass to improve the A327 into Reading, and a northern and southern distributor road in Wokingham with a new bridge over the railway. I would like the Council to review the major junctions on the A 329 to see if they can be made safer and if their capacity can be improved. They are currently improving the Coppid Beech roundabout east of Wokingham.

In West Berkshire the main need is for improved maintenance of local roads, which the Council has promised to do.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

In 2015-16 Wokingham BoroughCouncil plans to spend £268 million on services. 30% of this will be paid for by Council taxpayers, and over half will be paid for out of national taxes through government grants. The remainder comes from rents, car park charges and other revenue. There will also be additional capital spending, paid for out of a mixture of loans, government grants and planning gains paid to the Council for new facilities.

Wokingham receives a relatively low level of grants compared to the local government average. I have been pursuing the question of the large gap between the best and worst funded schools nationally with Ministers. Wokingham along with similar authorities gets less grant per pupil, as the last two governments have wished to weight education grant more heavily in favour of places with a high incidence of poverty and special needs.

In recent years Wokingham has done better on the capital spending front, gaining more permissions to spend, and collecting substantial money from planning gains as well as some money  from government grants. Given the pace of development in Wokingham, it is a priority to get Wokingham a fair deal on access to cash and permissions,so the necessary roads, schools and other faciltiies can be put in to cater for the new homes, and to catch up on the backlog from the previous decade when Wokingham did badly on government support.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy on behalf of John Redwood, both of 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

The UK has fought too many wars in recent years. The UK has intervened too often in difficult conflicts in the Middle East.

I wrote to the Prime Minister with others urging him not to send military force into Syria, and declined to vote for war. I was unhappy about the UK’s involvement in Libya, and was a keen advocate of withdrawal from Afghanistan which has now been accomplished.

The tragic conflicts in the Middle East are engaging the regional powers in dispute and proxy wars. There is a continuing battle between Sunni and Shia groups. There are various terrorist and rebel groups who resort to extreme violence. The governments of Iraq, Yemen and Libya cannot secure the support and loyalty of parts of their own countries.

Sometimes the UK needs to accept that it cannot bring peace to places like Libya or Iraq by intervening with troops. The politics of these countries are complex. Our troops do not speak the local languages, and can be placed at risk with little chance of bringing about a political solution on the ground. Wars occur when politics and diplomacy fail. Wars end when people do decide to talk to each other about how they can live together.

I support maintaining sound UK defences. I support the UK as a leading member of NATO, dedicated to preserving the independence and self government of NATO members. As a member of the Security Council of the UN, a leading member of the Commonwealth, and a member of NATO, the UK has wider obligations. These also require care and wisdom in executing these roles. For the next few years I want us to talk more and fight less in the Middle East.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

I was pleased to secure a change of Conservative policy during the last Parliament with the help of some others. We persuaded David Cameron that the UK’s current relationship with the EU is not satisfactory, and should be improved. We also persuaded him that UK voters should have their say on the new relationship, as the EU can only work if it enjoys the consent of those in it.

We have no wish to damage or limit trade with the rest of the European Union. Nor, I am pleased to report, does the rest of the EU wish to reduce their trade with us. The UK has for many years run a large  balance of payments deficit with the rest of the EU, so they have more to lose than us. The German Finance Minister has confirmed that whilst he would like the UK to remain within the current EU, he would want a free trade arrangement with the UK if voters decide to leave in the referendum. Whatever happens, Germany will want to sell us her cars and France will want to sell us her wines and luxury goods, on the same terms as today. That means that UK exporters will also be able to enjoy the same terms for their sales.

So why do we need a new relationship with the EU? The UK joined the European Economic Community in 1972, and voted in a referendum to stay in in 1975, to secure better trade with our partners. We did not wish to join a United States of Europe, and did not seek the “ever closer union” of the Treaties. Since our entry the organisation has been transformed, with far more powers being exercised in Brussels, and with a huge law code extending into many areas of life that voters did not expect or want. Today people in the UK want the UK Parliament to be able to decide our borders and migration policy, our welfare policy, our energy policy and our tax policy. Increasingly the EU influences or dictates in these important areas.

I will support a renegotiation which seeks to restore UK democratic control over borders, tax, welfare and energy. The UK accepts that the Euro area members need to complete a political union. They will want a banking union, common taxes, common welfare and the free movement of people throughout the currency zone. As a non Euro member the UK neither wants nor needs these extensive extra powers for the European institutions.

It may be possible to do a deal based on the UK offering consent to political union for Euro members in return for restoring to us the democratic powers we need over important areas of public policy. If it proves impossible, as some think, then  UK voters will have the chance to vote to leave. Exit would trigger the need to secure a trading based relationship, and to sort out the many links and issues between the UK and the rest of the EU.

Only the Conservative party in this election offers a renegotiation of our relationship to one based on trade and co-operation, followed by a referendum. Anyone who cares about UK democracy should want this. Anyone who understands the way the EU is going should see that we do need to sort out a new relationship now, as the EU rushes towards political and monetary union.

Published and promoted by Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

I have been urging my party to do more to help people become home owners. Most people want to own their own home. People relish the freedom it brings to decide how to decorate and improve their own home. It also brings financial stability once you  get over the first shock of a large mortgage. Over time the mortgage payments become more affordable as your pay goes up. By the time you retire you can live rent and mortgage free, which brings a sense of security.

The Conservative party has come up with three main ways of assisting. The first is the Help to Buy ISA. If someone saves up to £12000 in one of these to provide a deposit for a first home, the state will contribute an additional £3000. A  couple buying a home together are eligible for £3000 each on £12000 each of savings. That’s a big boost to the deposit.

The second is a Help to Buy mortgage, where someone without the required deposit is allowed to borrow extra to make up for the shortfall of the deposit to allow them to get on with home purchase.

The third is a scheme to make more new  affordable homes to buy available. These homes will come at a discount to the usual  market price. The developer will be able to sell them more cheaply, as the state will waive the development tax on that part of the development to enable the home to be offered more cheaply.

There is also a  fourth as  the Right to Buy will be extended to more social housing. Tenants with a good record of looking after the property and paying the rent will be able  to buy their home from the Housing Association at a discount.

JOHN REDWOOD    SPEAKING FOR WOKINGHAM   SPEAKING FOR ENGLAND

Published and promoted by  Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both of 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

In the last parliament I ran a campaign with Ann  Main to get Stamp Duty down. I was strongly against the slab system, which meant that once your home went over a specified sum you had to pay Stamp Duty at a higher rate on the whole value. I was pleased when the Chancellor accepted much of what we said. He has now changed the system so higher rates only apply above the relevant thresholds, and has cut Stamp Duty substantially for most properties.

I wish to see further cuts in the rates of Stamp Duty, as they are still high.

I am a strong supporter of keeping the Council Tax down. In the last Parliament the government offered incentives to Councils to avoid Council tax rises. These helped, and many Councils did a good job in controlling tax increases. I will wish to see further moves in the next Parliament to help Councils provide good value and keep their tax demands under control.

I will continue to work with Wokingham and West Berkshire Councils to urge them to offer good value for money and prudent finances.

I am against any suggestion of a new Mansion Tax on dearer homes, or an enhanced Council Tax. We pay more than enough to live in our homes as it is. It would not be fair to make it even dearer for home owners.

JOHN REDWOOD   SPEAKING FOR WOKINGHAM   SPEAKING FOR ENGLAND

Published and promoted by  Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both of 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU

I made the case for tax cuts for all in the work I did for the Conservative Manifesto. We already know that tax cuts will figure prominently in that Manifesto. They will include

Raising the tax threshold before you pay any income tax to £12,500. This will take more people out of tax, and cut the tax bills of most people.

Raising the threshold before you have to pay 40% tax, taking it up from £42,000 to £50,000. This will help a lot of Wokingham voters, who are over or near to the current 40% threshold.

Ruling out any new Mansion tax on more valuable homes.

I also wish to see the Chancellor cut the top rate of Income tax from 45% to 40%, and remove the anomaly that puts some higher paid people onto a marginal tax rate of 60%.

I support hard work and effort, and want people to earn their rewards for what they do. I am glad the Conservatives have adopted my proposal on the 40% tax threshold, and am happy with further increases in the Standard rate threshold as a means of making work more worthwhile.

Tax cuts for all are what we need.

JOHN REDWOOD    SPEAKING FOR WOKINGHAM    SPEAKING FOR ENGLAND

Published and promoted by  Thomas Puddy for John Redwood, both of 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG40 1XU