Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

 

I support tax cuts. The UK is overtaxed. Too much tax holds back work and effort, restricts enterprise and puts off saving and investment.

In the last Parliament many MPs were looking for new ways to tax, or wanting to put up the rates of existing taxes. Today in the election the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties advance two dangerous arguments. They first reckon that the UK is still undertaxed, and want to see more tax on property, on incomes and on effort. The second is they think that higher rates of some taxes will raise more revenue, when experience shows it may well lead to a drop in revenue.

I argued against raising Capital Gains Tax to the 40% the Liberal Democrats wanted in 2010. I helped secure a compromise, at 28%. This was still well up on Labour’s very sensible 18% rate. As I feared, it was too high and it has led to a major loss of revenue compared to the money collected at 18% prior to the financial crisis. I want to see this tax rate back down to say 20%, just a little above Labour’s 18% rate. The state will raise  a lot more revenue from it at such a rate.

I argued against raising the top rate of Income Tax to 50%, as that was bound to lead to a loss of revenue. On this occasion the Liberal Democrats prevailed for a bit, and the state suffered as less  tax was collected from the highest earners. Once a Conservative Chancellor insisted on cutting the rate to 45%, tax revenue went up from top earners. I want to see this rate back down to the 40% Labour used to impose.

I do not wish to see any so called Mansion Tax imposed. Tax cuts for all will boost the economy and lead to an increase in revenue as the country gets richer on the back of lower tax rates.

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

Over the last five years the economy has added 1000 extra jobs a day, every day. There are now almost 2 million additional jobs created since 2010. The Wokingham constituency has been particularly successful, with unemployment well below 1%.

Getting more people into work was a central feature of the welfare reforms and economic policy of the last five years. Nationwide there is still more to do, to move us closer to full employment where everyone who needs and wants a job can get one or can get the help and training needed to assist them.

The present economic policy is delivering. People ask how will the welfare bills be cut in the next Parliament? The way I want to see them  go down is through helping more people into work off welfare, and helping more people into better paid jobs so they need less benefit top up.

Controlling public spending and borrowing has played a necessary part in encouraging economic recovery. If we stick with the policy, we should generate more jobs, and more better paid jobs. Lower taxes, better infrastructure and good value for money from the public sector are all part of what is needed to foster the jobs that are at the heart of our future prosperity.

 

 

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

JOHN REDWOOD       SPEAKING FOR WOKINGHAM   SPEAKING FOR ENGLAND

 

My campaign will centre on greater prosperity for all by promoting more economic recovery and by offering tax cuts for all.  I am supporting making it more worthwhile to work and save.

I will campaign for better transport and other public facilities as Wokingham grows in size. I want to see more people own their own home.

I want to be a voice for England, as we need a fair deal in an age of greater devolution to Scotland. I will speak for Wokingham, which needs local and national government support to ensure our quality of life and environment are not damaged by substantial new development.

TAX CUTS FOR  ALL

HOME OWNERSHIP FOR THE MANY

JUSTICE FOR ENGLAND   ENGLISH VOTES FOR ENGLISH NEEDS

 

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

 

I received no less than three letters from Transport Ministers this week as they cleared their desks ahead of the Election. They were writing in response to conversations I have had with them, and in response to formal submissions I have made, about motorway improvements and noise reduction.

The Minister of State, John  Hayes, wrote to confirm that the Highways Agency are submitting an application for development consent for the smart motorway M4 junctions 3 to 12  by 30 March. If the Planning Inspectorate accepts, individuals can register with the Planning Inspectorate as an interested party so they can engage with the rest of the planning process.

John Hayes also wrote about the Junction 10 M4 Pinchpoint improvement scheme, currently being paid for by central government. He said completion had been delayed until June 2015, owing to concerns to look after wildlife at the site.

The Secretary of State wrote to confirm that all M4  lanes, as requested, will be treated with the noise reducing surface, and to show  his personal interest in the discussions I and my office are currently having with Transport Department officials about additional noise barriers.

One of the important parts of an MP’s job is to act as advocate for his or her local area to government. It may necessary to take up financial issues like the level of Council grant or access to government programmes. It may require lobbying for some change in rules or regulation that are impeding progress. In Wokingham’s case it is often seeking to secure financial assistance with projects needed to  support Wokingham’s growth, as with new schools, roads, flood prevention  and health facilities.

In recent years Wokingham has done  better, with three new primary schools, a new station, a new doctors’ surgery and the start of the Shinfield and the Arborfield bypasses. Now we need to work on the northern and southern distributor roads for Wokingham, further flood prevention measures as more homes are built, and on secondary school provision. I also wish to see considerably more progress with fair funding between Wokingham schools and the schools elsewhere that receive considerably more per head.

 

The biggest category of incoming emails from constituents other than lobby based campaign emails concerns poor performance by various parts of the public sector. The MP is the person individuals turn to if their benefit is wrongly calculated, if their tax demand is too high, if their passport or visa is causing problems  and if the government is being unfair on their business. The MP is also often the person they come to when the mistake is made by the local Council. MPs get a lot of work about social housing, planning, social care and local licencing, where Councillors are in some ways better placed to take the matter up and demand improvement or apology.

One of the features I like about the UK system is the local MP, with one member for each place. He or she has every reason to want to help a constituent, and the role of the MP is understood by most people in the public sector who will wish to co-operate with his enquiry. The simple rule all MPs follow is we only take up the cases of our own constituents. Chaos would result if MPs started picking and choosing which cases they took up from a variety of different constituencies. We are motivated to help our own constituents, and the system understands the MP’s right to make demands on behalf of those he or she represents.

There is always a difficult question over how much an MP should get involved with Council matters. Take no interest and some will allege you are  not doing the job. Take too much interest and you make yourself a nuisance to elected Councillors who have powers from their office  to demand papers and require answers from local officials which  MPs do not have. It is always a good idea  to find a working balance. I wish to see stronger local democracy, so it is important not to try to swamp it by too constant a presence and too much attempted interference.

Some people also wish MPs to help them sort out complaints with private sector companies. MPs have no special powers to do so and no privileged position, in the way we do with national government through our right to question and demand of Ministers. Parliament can fire the Minister if all else fails. However, Parliament does have some powers to summon and expose wrongdoing or bad practice  by large companies through its Committees, so there may be occasions when an MP letter can help.

 

Parliament is first and foremost the greatest official platform in the country to advance a good cause and to condemn a bad one. Parliament on good days leads the national debate and figures strongly in the national news. On a bad day Parliament may still be in the news for the wrong reasons.

Each MP has to help Parliament stay fresh and topical, in touch with public opinion, but also capable of leading the national debate in a positive way. Each MP can make a difference, and many do. Each MP does the job somewhat differently. It is not a  nine to five office or factory. It is a way of life, where an MP is on call every day of the week, where work comes in every day of the week, and where each day an MP has to judge how he or she might advance his constituents’ interests and the related national causes he or she stands for.

The national debate can be altered by an individual MP through articles, pamphlets. speeches and his work. It can be altered by groups of MPs using Parliamentary opportunities to advance their ideas.It can be changed by political parties, operating within the Commons and outside.

I have received the following letter from the Transport Secretary about improvements now planned for Great Western train services, summarising the arrangements for the new train franchise following consultation and negotiation;

23rd March 2015

we are grateful to all those who took part. A summary of the responses

received, and how they have been incorporated into the new Franchise, is

now available on the Department’s website at Gov.UK.

The franchise overall will see an increase in capacity of around 25 percent,

or 3 million seats per year as well as significant increases in service

frequency and journey time savings. This will include a 2 trains per hour

service to the South West of England, an earlier arrival into Plymouth, and

double the number of trains to Cornwall. My Department will also work with

FGW to improve the performance and quality of the rolling stock serving

the south west of England, particularly for intercity services, during this

Direct Award; to complement the introduction of the IEP trains.

Other benefits secured by the Direct Award include investment of £30m to

create 2,000 more car park spaces, additional customer information

systems, CCTV, ticket gatelines, and fund of £2.5m for station access

improvements a £3.5m station development match fund, as well as

extension of Station Travel Plans at a further 20 main interchange stations.

The operator will also support the government’s commitment to get more

people into work by providing an annual fund and training opportunities for

young and unemployed people, as well as providing 85 modern

apprenticeships by the franchise end.

New passenger satisfaction, punctuality and cleanliness targets will be

introduced on the franchise. We expect FGW to continue to provide

improving standards for its 99 million annual passengers including the

provision of free Wi-Fi on all train fleets. In addition the company will

deepen its engagement with communities and stakeholders so that all the

users of the franchise can continue to have a real influence over how

services can be improved. This includes a £2.2m Customer and

Communities Improvement Fund to help areas of real social need.

I thought it would be useful to highlight some specific benefits from this

award that may affect you and your constituents more directly. The busy

commuting routes into London will see a significant increase in capacity

and better journey times from Thames Valley stations into London

Paddington with seats for over 29,500 passengers arriving into Paddington

across the morning peak in December 2018, operated by a fleet of modern

Class 387 electric trains, supplemented by a fleet of Class 365 trains. The

number of services along the North Downs route from Reading will increase

from 2 trains per hour to 3, with through trains to Gatwick increased to 2

per hour, providing much needed additional capacity and improved

frequency on the line. There will also be additional trains from Oxford to

London and fast trains will operate to and from Didcot during the morning

and evening peak hours from December 2018. From December 2017 there

will be electrified services operating on the Windsor branch and Henley

branch. Improvements on routes in the region will see the line speed

increase to 110mph from December 2018, when 12 car trains will provide

further capacity and faster journeys to Oxford, Newbury, Swindon and

Didcot.

In addition to these service and rolling stock enhancements, a number of

stations in the Thames Valley region will benefit from improvements. A new

multi-story car park is planned at Didcot for delivery in 2016/17 and FGW

are working with partners on further improvements to the station. Goring &

Streatley will also benefit from improvements to the car park from 2016 and

CCTV will be installed at Windsor and Eton station. Stations on the Marlow

line will see a package of improvements that FGW plan to deliver in

partnership with Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley Local Enterprise

Partnership and will also see new Ticket Vending Machines installed at

Cookham and Marlow stations. The new franchise will also provide

improved passenger information and retail/ ticketing systems. I’m very

pleased too that FGW will work in partnership with Network Rail and

Reading Borough Council to see the aim of a new station at Reading Green

Park realised by December 2018. FGW has committed to working closely

with TfL and the new Crossrail train operator to ensure seamless transfer

of stations and introduction of the new train services.

Reaching this agreement with FGW marks a new chapter for the Great

Western railway and a step change in capacity, frequency, and the quality

of service.

At this time of heightened interest in the work of MPs I thought it might be helpful to write a few pieces on what an MP can do, and how MPs typically go about their jobs. One week remains before we all cease to be MPs at the end of this Parliament, and the public chooses who they wish to do the work after May 8th.

One of the central roles of any MP is to be the constituency’s main voice to Ministers. We are there to lobby Ministers to improve or amend national policies, to change laws, to deal with  mistakes made by government with our constituents’ cases and to seek better treatment for our constituency within any agreed national policy. We are the voices of individuals, groups, and of the whole community where it has a common or strong majority view.

Much of this work takes place through emails, letters and  case work exchanges on behalf of constituents. Many cases can be dealt with between the MP’s office and the office of the relevant department or Minister.

Intractable issues, issues of general concern to more constituents, and issues where it is clear the constituency is getting a bad deal from national policy usually warrant a direct exchange between MP and  Minister. This can be done in a number of ways. Sometimes I am asked if I know a particular Minister, or if I have ever had a meeting with them. Parliament is a continuous series of meetings between individual MPs, groups of MPs and Ministers. Some happen in public in the Commons itself or in public committee. Many more happen in a variety of MP only meetings. We have backbench committee meetings with Ministers, cross party groups who meet Ministers, special issue meetings with Ministers when there is a general problem, consultation meetings when Ministers are considering changing the law or policy, and party group meetings.

I chair a  group of MPs who often meet a Cabinet Minister for a 1 hour working lunch on alternate months when Parliament is in session, and 2 hour working dinners the other months. I chair the Conservative Economic affairs committee which can always invite any Minister from Treasury, Business, Transport, Work and Pensions and Energy to meet us. A Cabinet Minister often attends the 1922 Conservative backbench Committee to answer questions and hear opinions. Most  Ministers  are available for discussions  when you need to make your case.

The present group of Ministers are on the whole very accessible to MPs. They are often about the Commons, providing opportunity to have a working meal with them or an informal meeting. We also have regular contact with Whips, who are there to send back messages to government on what MPs do not like or wish to see changed, as much as to advise us on how the government would like us to vote.

Dr Lee and I met with a representative of NATs management on 18 March to discuss the changes they made without consultation to routes of planes on easterly operations.

NATs stated clearly that they had the power to make the changes they made. They did so to improve safety, seeking to segregate planes flying into and out of the airport to and from the west. They also claimed that it allowed planes to climb higher sooner, which should reduce the noise from any individual plane. I explained that we had not felt the benefit, with the numbers of planes adding to perceptions of noise.

They agreed that the adverse reaction of the public had not been properly anticipated, but seemed unwilling to go back to previous procedures. I told them that what we wish to see is proper collaboration between NATs, the airport and its users, to tackle the problem of noise more positively. I repeated the agenda I had outlined to Heathrow in the meeting I held with them.