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North West Leicestershire District Council and Leicestershire County Council will be given more power and bigger budgets if the Conservatives win the next election.
And local people will be given more power over the councils and more information about how they are spending taxpayers’ money.
That was the message of Andrew Bridgen, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, after his party launched a new blueprint for local democracy.
The plan will give people the power to demand local referndums, and councils will have to publish details about how taxpayers’ money is spent.
Under the proposals unveiled by David Cameron, East Midlands Development Agency will have to hand back all regional planning and housing powers to the local councils.
Andrew said: “These plans will return power to local communities. It will stop Whitehall and regional government forcing housing development on us. The next election won’t just be about whether to transfer power from Labour to Conservatives. It will also be about whether to transfer power from the central state to local people. But greater power for local government must also be accompanied by openness, accountability and measures to protect the pockets of local taxpayers.”
Instead of forcing housing levels on councils, the Conservative plans will encourage councils to allow development where it’s appropriate and to benefit from the increase in council tax that comes from new homes.
Councils will be encouraged to promote local economic growth, by allowing them to keep the rise in business rate revenues from growing businesses.
They will have the power to give discounts on business rates to help local shops, rural pubs and post offices
Councils will be allowed to set up their own local enterprise partnerships to take over the economic development functions and funding of East Midlands Development Agency, and to set up new economic development zones.
More direct democracy will allow local people to veto high council tax rises, and to instigate a council-wide referendum on any issue if five per cent of local residents give their backing.
Councils will have to publish detailed information online about spending – including the pay and perks of senior staff.
Conservatives will also scrap Labour’s new Infrastructure Planning Commission, which the Government intends to use to force through the environmentally damaging Heathrow expansion and other controversial projects.
Conservatives have hit out at new Government plans that would allow councillors to skip town hall meetings, and vote on issues from their sofa or even from the pub.
The unpopular remote voting proposal would mean councillors would not have to show up to meetings, and instead vote by phone or the internet.
Labour Ministers are to push ahead with changing the law despite overwhelming public opposition, and less than a quarter of town halls backing the plans.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, said: “North West Leicstershire’s councillors work really hard, and they have a vital role in standing up for local neighbourhoods. But that isn’t necessarily the case everywhere.
“At a time when council tax bills are hitting record levels across the country and people are working hard to make ends meet, it is incredible that Labour Ministers are pushing for some councillors to do less work for more money.
“When councillors vote on local issues, it’s important that they are seen to be taking part in the debate. I fear that Labour’s plans for armchair voting and voting from the pub will create real cynicism amongst hard-pressed taxpayers.”
• Councillors to stay put on their sofas: In July, as part of a widely-derided ‘Community Empowerment White Paper’, Labour Ministers announced plans to allow “remote” voting in town halls. North West Leicestershire’s councillors will not have to turn up at meetings. They will be able to vote by phone or internet, from their home, their place of work or the local pub. The White Paper also included plans to introduce free doughnuts and prize draws for voting in elections; to remove controls on town hall propaganda; and to undo anti-sleaze laws brought in to stop ‘jobs for the boys’ corruption.
• Anger at Labour Government plans: The small print of the responses to the Government’s consultation, published on 26 January, reveals widespread opposition to the changes. Less than a quarter of town halls backed the plans, warning that the move “erodes public confidence in democracy” and is “lacking transparency and accountability”. The responses note that “concerns were also raised about the practicality and cost of remote attendance and voting”, and stresses that “citizens want to be able to attend public meetings and see their councillors at work.” Alarm was also raised over the increased risk of expensive legal challenges to controversial decisions, such as planning applications. But the Government has simply ignored this opposition, and says it still plans to change the law, regardless.
• Green light to skip meetings as town hall salaries rocket: It thought that permission to skip meetings is being proposed by Labour Ministers to make it easier for Labour councillors to hold down multiple jobs, on top of raking in their councillor salaries. Yet in recent years, ever since Labour’s Local Government Act 2000 and the widespread abolition of the ‘Committee’ system, councillor salaries have soared. Labour Ministers’ plans come as council tax bills from April are due to hit record levels, with the average bill in England rising by £48 to reach £1,421 a year on a Band D home (equivalent to almost £120 a month).
Local Conservatives are calling for bin tax laws to be scrapped after councils across the country, including North West Leicestershire, unanimously rejected Gordon Brown’s pilot scheme to become the first to introduce them.
Conservatives say the plans would hit hard-pressed families with new taxes and increased fly tipping and backyard burning.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, said: “It’s clear that councils up and down the country see this as an unworkable and deeply unpopular idea, and we want the law retracted to kill off this stealth tax completely so that it never again rears its ugly head.”
Andrew congratulated North West Leicestershire District Council for taking a stand against Whitehall despite pressure from Labour Ministers who wanted councils to sign up to the scheme to charge households if they leave out too much non-recyclable waste.
Andrew said: “I am pleased that other councils have taken the same stand as North West Leicestershire in refusing to take part in the scheme. This would have been a completely unnecessary tax by a Government who seem intent on taxing people who are already facing huge financial pressures.
“North West Leicestershire District Council and other councils around the country are clearly in closer touch with the issues facing their local people than this failing Labour Government.”
A future Conservative Government has pledged to freeze council tax for two years nationwide, and have dismissed claims by Labour activists that they would increase council tax.
Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire Andrew Bridgen pointed out that Conservative-controlled North West Leicestershire District Council has seen the lowest rise in council tax in the county.
Council tax in the district rose by just 2 per cent, compared to 4.95 per cent in Leicester City, controlled by Labour Parliamentary Candidate Ross Willmott.
Andrew said: “Labour are making claims that are completely unsubstantiated and are causing unnecessary concern to local people. Under the Conservatives, the District Council has ensured that council tax increases have been kept to a minimum compared to when Labour were in power when council tax went up every year above the rate of inflation.
“Conservatives have no plans to increase council taxes as Labour are suggesting. We just plan to be much more efficient and stop wasting tax payers’ money on the obscene advertising budget, which is the largest of any organisation in the country.
“When the country is struggling, we need to do what we can to spend tax payers’ money in the correct way, and by cutting back on waste, there will be no need to raise council tax unnecessarily. That’s the Conservative approach, and it works, as North West Leicestershire District Council has shown.
“Labour is trying to hoodwink the electorate of North West Leicestershire once again. However the electorate has learnt from bitter experience that what Labour say and what they do are often very different things.”
says Shadow Minister on Coalville visit - 2/2/09
Conservatives will give power back to local health practitioners, allowing them to decide how best to provide for the needs of local people.
That was the message from Shadow Health Minister Andrew Lansley when he met with doctors and staff on a visit to Long Lane surgery in Coalville.
He said Conservatives would ensure a less centrally controlled NHS, and give more responsibility and authority to GP practices. This would give local GPs and hospitals the freedom to make decisions based on local knowledge.
Andrew Lansley, who was accompanied by Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bridgen, said: “We want to abolish targets which have stopped doctors and nurses taking the decisions which are right for patients, and we plan to give GPs control of NHS funds so that they can choose the best way for patients to be treated.”
Andrew Bridgen said: “Labour’s top down targets, red tape and bureaucracy have made the NHS accountable to central Government, not the people who actually use the service. Local heath practitioners know best what is right for their surgery or hospital, and they should be given the control to treat their patients in the way that is best for them.
“Local public services should be accountable to local people, not constrained by Government.”
Local Conservatives have slammed measures to expand the use of bail hostels in residential neighbourhoods, without consultation of local residents.
The hostels, used to house early release prisoners and criminal suspects, are being opened across the country by Labour Ministers because of insufficient prison places.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, says that the plans are irresponsible, and should be suspended.
Andrew said: “Today, bail is too easily granted, frequently breached and weakly enforced. Now, because Labour Ministers have failed to provide enough prison capacity, they have devised a covert plan to set up mini open-jails in residential areas, avoiding any consultation with the public.
“This is not a responsible way to assist offenders, who receive minimal supervision and support, when what they need is a long-term programme of resettlement.
“Conservatives will immediately suspend this programme. In place of these clumsy emergency measures, we need a proper programme of prison reform to focus on rehabilitation and ensure that public safety and confidence is maintained.”
• The bail hostels, funded by public money and run by a private company called ClearSprings, house offenders released before the end of their sentences, and people on bail awaiting trial for criminal offences who otherwise would be remanded in custody.
• A leaked memo reveals that hostels can be opened without public consultation and do not even require the consent of councils or the Probation Service. The hostels’ neighbours will only be informed about the plans by letter once the hostels have been given the go-ahead.
• Parliamentary Questions have forced Labour Ministers to reveal the locations of existing bail hostels, listing a partial postcode and the Parliamentary constituency. But Ministers have failed to reveal precise street names. The offenders or criminal suspects are free to come and go with only limited supervision.
• The Government is planning to expand these bail hostels across England and Wales – potentially including North West Leicestershire.
Local Conservatives have renewed their pledge to scrap plans for 12,200 new homes across the district, after a public meeting on the matter was cancelled due to the huge number of concerned residents attending.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, was due to speak at the meeting at Snibston Discovery Park, which will now be rescheduled.
The plans for 12,200 new houses and 73 traveller additional pitches in North West Leicestershire are being imposed on North West Leicestershire by Central Government.
Andrew said: “The strength of feeling in the audience and the anger at the Labour Governments top down housing targets for North West Leicestershire was palpable. The numbers wishing to attend the meeting clearly showed that people do not like targets being imposed on them by central Government who have no idea what the area needs.
“It was very clear that the attendees are increasingly aware that the only way to stop the houses being imposed on our district is to vote Conservative at local and general elections. Visiting the district earlier this month, Grant Shapps, Conservative Shadow Housing Minister, pledged to residents that a Conservative Government would scrap Gordon Brown's top down housing targets, abolish the regional planning quango's and return all power and responsibility for housing provision, numbers, types, densities and locations to NWL District Council. The District Council is elected by and accountable to the local people so they should be given the power to listen to local people and make decision accordingly.
“I was very disappointed not to see Ross Willmott or David Taylor MP at the meeting, but this is hardly surprising as their party are the ones that are imposing this on the district without any consultation of local residents.
“The plans will not be finalized until late 2010, which is after the next General Election. There is a simple solution if residents don't like Brown's plans for North West Leicestershire then they can vote them out at the next General election.”
The meeting will be rescheduled in the next couple of weeks at a venue that can hold larger numbers.
Pensioners in North West Leicestershire will be better off under the Conservatives.
That is the message of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bridgen who says Conservatives are committed to safeguarding public services and helping pensioners with new initiatives.
Dismissing criticism from local Labour activists as “silly”, he pointed out that, under newly-announced Conservative plans, the income tax allowance for pensioners will be increased, with age related personal allowances rising by £2,000, helping pensioners by up to £400 a year.
He said pensioners would also benefit from better management of public spending by Conservatives, preserving frontline public services and ensuring money was spent where it was needed.
Andrew said: “In the week that Conservatives have made a pledge to help pensioners by increasing their income tax allowance, Labour just look silly trying to claim we will do nothing to help pensioners. Despite Labour spin to the contrary, I can confirm that a future Conservative Government will continue with the Winter Fuel allowances for pensioners.
“Conservatives are committed to retaining our frontline public services, and to helping people with a range of well thought out initiatives and new policies, such as tax cuts for pensioners. Labour are tied to their failed policies of throwing money at problems without proper management.
“The pensioners I meet as I travel around North West Leicestershire can see just as clearly as the rest of us how this Labour Government has failed us all. They see Conservatives today as a party that cares for people, and which can deliver the change we all need, and they are not going to be fooled any more by Labour scaremongering and spin.”
Local Conservatives have been discussing ideas for improving the district’s housing with Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps.
The Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, Andrew Bridgen, and local councillors met the Shadow Minister on his recent visit to the district.
Conservatives oppose the Labour Government’s ‘negative subsidy’ on council house rents, which means a third of all rent received by the council goes to central Government for spending on improving council houses in other parts of the country.
Andrew Bridgen said: “With the inflation busting 6.57% rent increase forced on North West Leicestershire by the Government, this means an extra £4.4 million tax is being imposed on our council tenants by central Government. It is ludicrous that when almost a third of our council housing is not up to standard, North West Leicestershire council residents are having to send the money to central Government instead of being able to use it to fund vital improvements to homes in the district.
“Even worse, the Government has admitted that £200 million of this negative subsidy is not even spent on council housing but goes into Government coffers. This is clearly an unfair and inefficient arrangement and one that Grant Shapps MP ensured us that Conservatives would look to end.
“Conservatives would also let councils retain all the money raised by selling council properties so that it could be re-invested in building new council houses.”
Andrew continued: “There is a simple message for our council house residents that if you want more and better council housing in North West Leicestershire, vote Conservative at the next General Election and we will end Labour’s negative subsidy system and allow local councils to spend the money on where it belongs – on local housing.
“This policy on Council houses comes on top of the Conservatives recent pledge to ditch Gordon Brown’s top down housing target for North West Leicestershire of 12,200 new houses, scrap the regional planning quangos and to give responsibility back to North West Leicestershire District Councillors, who are accountable to local people.”
North West Leicestershire Conservatives have accused Labour Ministers of kicking local firms in the teeth, as it emerged that the Government is pushing ahead with plans to increase business rates.
It could mean the typical North West Leicestershire company see its rates bill soar from £13,600 to nearly £15,000 a year.
The Government’s new Business Rates Supplements Bill will allow town halls to levy a ‘supplementary’ rate on top of current bills. This comes at a time that business rates are already due to rise by five per cent in April.
As the co-owner and Managing Director of Measham-based AB Produce, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire Andrew Bridgen knows the real difficulties faced by local businesses during the recession. He says raising business rates now is crazy.
Andrew said: “I fear that supplementary business rates will be yet another backdoor way for Gordon Brown to hike taxes by stealth. At a time when local firms are struggling for their very survival, even higher business rates are a kick in the teeth from this Labour Government.
“Labour don’t understand business and never will, which is why they keep piling the pressure on businesses that are already struggling in the most difficult trading conditions most of them have ever known.”
• There are 3,127 premises in North West Leicestershire that currently pay business rates. The average bill in North West Leicestershire in 2008-09 was £13,673, raising a total of £42.8 million a year in tax in total from local firms, which is handed over to Whitehall.
• Due to the impending 5% rise, business rate bills in North West Leicestershire will hit an average of £14,357 from April. If a supplementary business rate were imposed on top, this could push the average bill on local firms to a record £14,974 a year.
• Supplementary business rates are likely to be used to fund local authorities’ current expenditure, rather than new infrastructure. Councils will be pressured into levying supplementary business rates to make up for funding pressures. Firms will not be given a proper vote on whether or not they support the new charge. According to the Government, supplementary business rates could increase taxes by up to £600 million a year if levied by every local authority.
• There will also be a business rates revaluation in 2010, which may increase the bills even more for many firms – especially shops, since retail property rents have risen sharply in recent years. Higher rateable values will worsen the impact of supplementary rates.
Andrew added: “Labour are kicking the very people who have the ability to pull us out of recession and this ill timed tax rise will also put further private sector jobs at risk.”
Conservatives will put housing decisions back into the hands of local people and scrap top down planning bullying by central Government.
That was the message of Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps at a meeting with residents and local housing action groups at Thringstone Community Centre.
He said Conservatives will back residents’ views on where best to build houses, and will let local people decide the types and numbers of houses that should be built in their area. That would mean the district escaping the worst effects of the Government’s top down planning approach, which is forcing the council to plan for more than 12,000 homes, angering local people and action groups.
Mr Shapps said: “We want to get people more involved in what is happening in their local area. Local people are the best people to find solutions to local problems. Residents in North West Leicestershire know much better what level of development is appropriate than a Minister sitting in an office in Whitehall.
“If elected, we will scrap regional planning and the unelected regional assemblies, giving power back to the people.”
Gordon Brown’s decision to build 3 million new homes nationwide means that the District Council are being forced to make plans for 12,200 new homes in North West Leicestershire. These plans were supported by David Taylor MP, who voted for it in Parliament in six separate votes.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire said: “Our council is being bullied into planning for a level of housing development in the district that we do not want. I believe local communities should decide what level of development is acceptable for their area. Local people know how many new houses are really acceptable for an area.
“The good news here is that the plans for 12,000-plus houses in the district are contained in a Local Development Framework for North West Leicestershire that will not be fully adopted until the end of 2010, after the next General Election. This means voters will have a real choice - top down inappropriate development from Labour, or local, accountable, sustainable development with the Conservatives. By returning responsibility for housing to the local authority, the Conservatives will be giving power back to local people, something Labour will never do as they seem to think they know best what you want.”
Residents now have until February 13 to give their views on the Local Development Framework to North West Leicestershire District Council.
Leading local Conservative Andrew Bridgen has expressed alarm at news that Government tax inspectors have divided North West Leicestershire into 16 neighbourhoods ready for a council tax revaluation after the General Election.
Across England, 10,000 so-called ‘localities’ have been secrettly drawn up by government surveyors. After the revaluation, council tax bills will be based on the ‘niceness’ of the community and the character and lifestyles of the people who live in a neighbourhood.
Andrew Bridgen, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, said: “There is now cast-iron evidence that Gordon Brown’s tax inspectors are preparing for a council tax revaluation after the next General Election, and with Labour in charge, we know that when it comes to council tax, the only way is up.
“Labour Ministers have created a 21st Century Domesday Book – and have carved up North West Leicestershire into anonymous ‘localities’ for taxation. Family homes that enjoy lower rates of crime, less traffic or a friendlier community, compared to the national average, now face the prospect of higher taxes.
“Council tax is already at record levels because of Gordon Brown. A Conservative Government will scrap Labour’s plans for the council tax revaluation, and free up central funds to help local councils freeze council tax bills.”
• Valuing every neighbourhood for its niceness: Whitehall tax inspectors from the Valuation Office Agency have divided up England into 10,000 units in preparation for the council tax revaluation. Each neighbourhood has been given a ‘value significance’, which has been fed into the Government’s council tax revaluation database – the Automated Valuation Model. Using complex mathematical calculations, nice neighbourhoods will end up being hit with higher council tax bills. The council area of North West Leicestershure has been carved up into 16 such neighbourhoods.
• Different bills for different neighbourhoods: ‘ACORN’ lifestyle data helps the tax inspectors differentiate between neighbourhoods with ‘student flats’ or ‘single parents’, and those with ‘retired home owners’ or ‘farming communities’. A leaked Powerpoint presentation delivered by the Government’s Deputy Director of Council Tax shows how the new revaluation database can distinguish a ‘local authority housing estate’ next to a ‘privately built housing estate’ – with the implication that the latter will pay more tax purely because of its different neighbourhood characteristics.
• ID number for every neighbourhood: Each neighbourhood has been given a six digit ID number – but no name. The historic character of North West Leicestershire will be ignored by the tax inspectors. The Government has refused to publish the maps and boundaries of the individual neighbourhoods on grounds the information is ‘commercially sensitive’, but has admitted that the maps and values are being updated and refined frequently.
This new technology has not previously been used in Britain. However, the Labour Government did undertake a council tax revaluation in Wales in 2005, where four times as many homes moved up a council tax band as moved down – showing how the revaluation will be used to increase the tax burden.
A leading local Conservative has congratulated North West Leicestershire District Council, for its refusal to introduce bin taxes for local residents.
Andrew Bridgen, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, says that a bin tax would pile more pressure on families hit by the credit crunch
He congratulated the Council for taking a stand against Whitehall despite pressure from Labour Ministers who want councils to sign up to the scheme and charge households if they leave out too much non-recyclable waste.
Andrew said: “The Government is encouraging councils to impose more taxes on hard pressed families which just isn’t fair in the current climate. I am pleased that the Conservative-controlled North West Leicestershire District Council is refusing to burden residents with this unnecessary tax.”
Matthew Blain, Deputy Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council, said: “We believe that waste collection is a fundamental part of the council services that residents receive in return for paying their council tax. To charge them extra for what is already theirs is not something we would introduce voluntarily.”
Andrew said: “I would like to congratulate the council for their stand on this issue, and for showing that they are in touch with issues facing local people. Gordon Brown seems intent on taxing people who are already facing enormous financial pressures due to the credit crunch. This is just another example of him being completely out of touch with real life issues.”
The Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire was speaking after the Combined Fire Authority of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland decided to delay a decision until June.
"The public have been magnificent in putting pressure on the council to keep this vital facility open, and it's really important that we all continue the fight over the next six months," said Andrew.
Andrew met with crew manager Martin Adams over the holidays and was delighted to learn that more than 2,000 letters of support for the fire station have been received from local people.
Local Conservatives have supported the campaign vigorously, delivering leaflets urging people to back the anti-closure cause.
Andrew pointed out that the council's delay on a decision means the future of the station will not be decided until after the County Council elections.
"The review of local fire cover will undoubtedly be a big issue in the County Council elections so it's important that people make their views known over the coming months," said Andrew.
After his meeting at the station, Andrew congratulated everyone involved in the campaign so far.
"The public response to the appeal for written objections to the closure has been magnificent," he said. "It's clear that residents want to protect this essential local emergency service for the thousands of households that depend on it. Local schools, shops and post offices have acted as collecting points for completed objection forms and letters. Volunteers and firemen have collected the letters, which were still arriving while I was at the station.
"Undoubtedly, the strength of local opposition has swayed the Fire Authority's decision, but we must remember that the decision has only been delayed and the station's future is still in question.
"Martin Adams told me that he felt that the response from the local community showed how much they valued and appreciated the dangerous work the firemen perform."
Andrew will be joining others involved in the campaign to present letters to representatives of the Fire service and Combined Fire Authority at Measham Village Hall on Monday January 5 at 7pm. He urged local people to attend and show their support for local firefighters.
"It is important that we maintain the momentum of the campaign and I would encourage once again any businesses and householders in the area covered by Moira fire station to write in with their concerns if they have not done so already," said Andrew. "This service is paid for by us all through our council tax and business rates, but if Moira fire station is closed we will not see a reduction in either of these local taxes despite a reduction in services."
New laws to impose regional government and slip in congestion taxes
New laws before Parliament will allow the imposition of congestion taxes, road pricing and workplace parking taxes on North West Leicestershire, Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Parliamentary candidate, warned this week. The small print of new legislation gives sweeping powers to new unelected bodies to control transport policy – including the power to levy new taxes. Unelected regional government will also be strengthened, giving them sweeping powers over housing and planning.
• Unelected economic and transport quangos: The Government’s so-called Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill gives Labour Ministers the power to create new ‘combined authorities’, made up or two or more local authority areas. This will mean that Leicestershire County Council will lose control of power over economic development, regeneration and transport policy. The new bodies will not be directly elected, and the rules on their appointments will be drawn up by the Government.
• Quangos can impose new taxes via the back door: The small print – the obscure Schedule 6 of the Bill – allows the unelected combined authorities to impose ‘local charging schemes’, in the form of congestion taxes, road pricing and workplace parking taxes. Labour politicians could use these new unelected quangos to slip in the new taxes, and override public opposition.
• More powers to unelected housing and planning quangos: The Bill also gives housing and planning powers to the unelected appointees of the East Midlands Development Agency. Through binding new regional plans, buildings and development can be imposed on local communities, and environmental protection like the Green Belt can be ripped up. Labour Ministers will also have power to revise the regional plans as they see fit.
Andrew said:
“Gordon Brown’s new laws are the antithesis of local democracy. Yet more unelected quangos are taking power away from local people. It is clear that Labour politicians intend to use these new ‘combined authorities’ as a Trojan Horse to force through congestion taxes, road pricing and workplace parking taxes on North West Leicestershire by the back door, and sideline North West Leicestershire District Council.
“Rather than giving even more powers to unelected regional quangos, the Government should hand power back to local communities, starting off by abolishing the regional planning bodies which are currently forcing over 12 000 new houses on North West Leicestershire, riding roughshod over the local democratic process and the views of residents.”
The Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire has warned that local people trying to sell their homes could face higher costs, after the Government revealed tighter regulations on controversial Home Information Packs.
Andrew Bridgen hit out after the Government stepped up pressure on town halls to become more aggressive and issue more fines for breaching the burdensome rules. Home Information Packs became compulsory for all homes one year ago on 14 December.
Andrew said: “Home Information Packs have already harmed the market and discouraged sellers. The last thing people need at the moment is the prospect of heavy-handed fines.
“The housing market is on its knees, and Labour’s response is to make it more difficult and expensive to sell your home.
“Conservatives will scrap Home Information Packs. Instead of bullying homeowners, Ministers should be using their emergency powers to suspend HIPs and provide a shot in the arm to the ailing market.”
Recent Government research found there is little public knowledge or interest in HIPs, the property industry thinks they are a waste of time, they duplicate costs and buyers don’t bother to look at them.
The Government has announced the following changes:
• Heavy-handed fines: Town halls will be instructed to “identify specific cases of non-compliance and enforce the requirements”. This raises the prospect that Leicestershire County Council will be forced to start fining home owners £200 a time who do not follow the rules.
• Making it more difficult to advertise your home: From April 2009, the Government is cancelling the “first day marketing” provisions. These allow sellers to place their home on the market if a HIP has been ordered, but has not yet been completed. The cancellation means sellers will have to wait longer before they can put their home on the market. They will be fined if they advertise their property without a HIP.
• Gold-plating the Packs: The time to complete a Pack will increase, as sellers must personally fill out a detailed new ‘Property Information Questionnaire’ as part of the Home Information Pack. Yet this will be of little interest to buyers, who will instinctively treat information provided by the seller with scepticism.
in tax cover-up - 09/12/08
Pubs in North West Leicestershire are being denied business rate cuts by the Government, local Conservatives warned this week.
Landlords could be paying thousands of pounds over the odds in tax, but are being kept in the dark by Government tax inspectors who want to avoid paying out refunds, says Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire.
This follows a revelation earlier this year that tax inspectors were hiding the fact that hundreds of thousands of homes could be paying too much council tax. Tax officials kept quiet about that too, to save money.
Andrew Bridgen said: “Local pubs are a vital part of our community. While big pub chains may be making money out of Labour’s new drinking laws, small pubs are suffering from higher beer taxes, a weakening economy, supermarkets selling alcohol below cost price and the smoking ban.
“Whatever people’s views on the smoking ban, it has had a major impact on many pubs. The Government’s own tax inspectors have now admitted that pubs may be eligible for refunds on their business rates, but North West Leicestershire’s pub owners are being intentionally kept in the dark about this U-turn. This is yet another tax cover-up from the same inspectors who have conspired to hide council tax errors.
“Ministers are only interested in changing the tax system when it raises extra money for Gordon Brown’s coffers. Thanks to Whitehall secrecy and this stealth pub tax, local firms are going to the wall and everyday pub-goers are being hit in the wallet.”
• Five pubs closing every day: The British Beer & Pub Association has estimated that pubs are now closing at the rate of 36 a week - five a day. Many pubs in North West Leicestershire have already closed including The Fountain in Swannington, The Plough in Ravenstone, The Railway in Gelsmoor, The Forrester’s at Whitwick, The Fox at Whitwick, The Queens in Thringstone and The Pick and Shovel Coalville. The Greyhound Coalville. They are paying a heavy price for smoking ban, fragile consumer confidence, ruthless competition from supermarkets and – not least – higher beer taxes imposed by Gordon Brown.
• Government guidance on taxing pubs: Parliamentary Questions have brought to light unpublished internal guidance by the Valuation Office Agency (an arm of HM Revenue & Customs) on how local firms should be charged business rates. It admits that they have been giving out the wrong advice to firms on the effect of the smoking ban. Until recently, tax inspectors refused to give any business rate reduction for the loss of custom due to the ban. Their latest guidance now admits – thanks to advice from top lawyers – that the smoking ban represents a ‘material change’. Pubs can use this to make a claim for a lower ‘rateable value’ and so cut their yearly rates bill. For example, a £5,000 reduction in rateable value would save publicans £2,300 a year in tax.
• Local firms kept in the dark: Pubs can only apply for this tax cut if they make an appeal and fill out complex paperwork. The Government has made no announcement about potential refunds to local pubs across England and Wales. The Government is happy to hike tax bills, but it will not tell people when their bills could fall. Business rates are the third biggest cost to local firms after rent and staff costs.
Local Conservatives have hit out after Labour MP David Taylor welcomed a so-called pensions bonus in the Government's pre budget report.
Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bridgen said the £50 a year "bonus" would be eaten up by tax for anyone on a modest occupational pension.
Andrew said: "This is a typical Labour giveaway, a cynical headline grabber concealing a stealthy takeaway in the small print.
"David Taylor applauded the "extra" cash for pensioners but he failed to mention that at the same time the Government cut the age allowance for pensioners on tax. That means anyone on a modest occupational pension will give up more than £100 in extra tax.
"Once again, Gordon Brown is using spin and stealth taxes. Labour are trying to buy the votes of struggling pensioners with the pensioners' own money."
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bridgen is urging local residents to show their support for local firemen by registering their objections to the proposed closure of Moira fire station.
Andrew said: “it is now time for local residents to take action to save the people who are there to save them. These retained firemen provide a vital local service and routinely risk their lives to save others. The need for a local station was highlighted again by last weeks Times which reported on two horrific pile-ups on the A42 which firemen from the Moira station were called out to attend”.
Given the number of extra houses being imposed on our District by the Labour Government it is ludicrous that our fire cover could even be considered for cuts. There is a massive flaw in the timing of the whole fire risk assessment process; consultation ends on the 9th of January and a decision on closure will be made in early February. Consultation on the Local development framework, which will decide where new houses can be built, will not be completed for months after that. This means that the Combined Fire Authority will make decisions on the level of fire cover our district will be provided with before anyone knows where any new houses might be built in the future.
Andrew urged concerned residents to fill in the protest form, cut it out and send it to Moira Fire station where all the objections will be collected for presentation to the Combined Fire authority.
Don’t delay do it today.
North West Leicestershire Conservatives have hit back at claims they have not been doing enough to publicise a consultation about how the district should cope with the Government imposing 12000 new homes on us.
The district’s Labour MP David Taylor and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Ross Wilmott have made claims that the Council have not gone far enough to publicise the consultation on future housing plans for the district. Central Labour Government have imposed 12000 houses on North West Leicestershire, a policy voted for in Parliament by David Taylor in 2004.
Leader of the Council Richard Blunt has dismissed the claims and says that public interest is so strong the deadline for comments from local people has been extended, to ensure everyone gets their voice heard.
Mr Blunt said: “We have already held a number of open days and public meetings and extended the deadline so that more people can have their say. Local people’s views are extremely important and we are interested in hearing from as many residents of North West Leicestershire as possible over the consultation period.”
Andrew Bridgen has welcomed the District Council’s extension of the consultation on future housing plans in the District. He said: “So many local residents are concerned about the Labour Government imposing 12,000 new houses on the District and it is only right that the Council should take their time to listen to all the views being expressed. Labour’s imposition is typical of the top down, target based national strategies that take so little account of what local people want. North West Leicestershire District Council has acted responsibly on this matter. New houses are essential if we are to bring about the regeneration that the Council have already indicated is needed and in line with what local people are asking for and voted for. Being bullied by apologists for the broken Labour national strategy wont cut any ice with the democratically elected Council, nor local electors.
“Labour proved they are unfit to govern the district when the electorate voted for change in 2007. The Government now believes they know better than electors in this District. They don’t and the Council recognizes that and will take their time to consult and to listen to local views.”
Conservatives have pledged to scrap regional planning and the unelected regional assemblies. This will include changing the law to scrap the Regional Spatial Strategies and Regional Planning Bodies and will return their powers to elected local councils. Councils will be able to revise their local plans (‘Local Development Frameworks’) to undo the changes that the Regional Spatial Strategy forced on them. This will allow local communities to protect their local environment, and decide themselves the most appropriate level of development for their area.
Andrew concluded: “I can see why the local Labour party are trying to distract residents from their top down, Whitehall knows best plans, and distance themselves from this unpopular Labour Government policy. At the next election voters will have a real choice. Top down inappropriate development from Labour, or local accountable sustainable development with the Conservatives.
Residents now have until 13th February to give their views on the plans.
Fears of housing blight in Ibstock are the fault of Labour’s top down approach to Government, a leading local Conservative says.
Andrew Bridgen was speaking after a local Liberal Democrat raised fears of plans for more than 1,300 houses around the village.
The Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire said the district council was forced by the Government’s “Clore Strategy” to earmark potential sites for development. He said Conservatives would turn the tables and put local people back in charge of where development took place instead of Whitehall quangos.
Andrew said: “We are now seeing a situation in North West Leicestershire where the densest building developments will be on the periphery of small towns and villages, which is completely inappropriate and, understandably, very unpopular with local residents. An area should only have as much housing as it can sustain, not as many houses as someone sitting in Whitehall decides.”
Andrew has also spoken out against Government plans for new quangos that could mean local people losing their say on planning issues, and to more unsuitable developments being given planning permission.
Andrew said: “This top down approach, taking power away from local people and councils is a great concern. I believe decisions should be made as near to the people as possible, not by central Government. Conservatives will ensure that the people of North West Leicestershire will be given their voice back, and give the power to make these decisions to the people who are actually affected by them.”
Andrew is a long time campaigner against the Government’s top down approach to planning and has opposed housing developments on Leicester Road, Ashby, and in Castle Donington, that were forced on the area by the Government’s “minimum build densities”.
Earlier in the year, Andrew met with Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps on the issue. Mr Shapps said: “We must reject the Government’s mistaken belief that the way to build more homes is to decree them from above. Promising thee million homes by 2020 might make a good headline, but the reality is that the Government doesn’t construct houses and its centrally-driven, top-down approach will always fail."
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bridgen and his supporters have been campaigning since the summer against the plans, which would have hit low-income families in the district hard.
Now Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a U turn and delayed introduction of the Vehicle Excise Duty changes for a year.
Andrew said: “Conservatives locally and nationally have been demanding a U turn on car tax, and now we have got one. It is a shame it took an economic crisis for the Chancellor to reconsider what was a deeply unfair plan. Now, instead of putting it off to next year, he should scrap it altogether.”
Conservatives were angry because the proposal would mean motorists paying more and more tax depending on the size of their cars, even if they had bought them years ago. The new tax rates were supposed to put people off buying gas-guzzlers but because they were to be applied not just to new cars but to any car bought after 2001, hard-pressed families would be hit hardest, having to pay more to keep their cars on the road while seeing the value of their car fall even further.
For example, the tax bill for a typical Ford Mondeo would have shot up from £210 to £310 a year.
Andrew said: “We need to tackle global warming, and the UK must make its contribution, but even the Government’s own estimates show that carbon dioxide emissions from motoring would hardly be cut at all by these plans. They are the worst kind of stealth tax, dressed up as a green tax but actually an unfair burden on people who can ill afford to pay.”
A leading local Conservative has described the Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report as a failure of Government policy on a monumental scale and said that the country has been left so unprepared that we are now facing the worst recession of any country in the developed world.
Andrew Bridgen, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Leicestershire, says that the Labour Party is more concerned with its own short term prospects in the next election than the long term future of the economy, and that borrowing now will lead to huge rises in taxes when the money has to be paid back.
The Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report announced that total Government borrowing would reach its highest ever level of £118 billion in 2009/10, a whopping £38 billion more than forecast in the last budget. Borrowing is set to continue until 2016, by which time the country will be 1 trillion pounds in debt.
Alistair Darling’s plans also include a temporary reduction in VAT by 2.5 per cent, an increase in National Insurance and a new top band of income tax from 2011.
Andrew said: “This pre budget report represents a failure of Government policy on a monumental scale. Action needs to be taken, but the problem is that Gordon Brown made no provision for economic downturn during the boom years when he was Chancellor so now Alistair Darling is having to borrow when the country can least afford it. The Government should have been running a budget surplus in the boom years to safeguard them having to borrow in lean times. Now we are facing problems. Instead of saving during the good times, Gordon Brown borrowed to pay for wasteful Government programmes, and now Labour is going to borrow even more in the hard times when we can least afford to get more in debt.
“There is no such thing as Government debt. It is our debt, and we will all pay the price for Gordon Brown’s mistakes. His short-sighted approach to the public finances means that we will be carrying the legacy of debt for decades.
“I believe that only a Conservative Government operating with good sense and forethought can get the public accounts back in shape and the country back on track.”
Local Conservatives have slammed a new proposal to close Moira fire station, saying it would put lives at risk.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative Prospective
