Sunday 11 April 2010

Gordon Brown's Experience

I know that Gordon Brown keeps telling us how he has the experience of getting us out of the financial mess he created. He may be right.

But let us remind ourselves a little of just how much he has mismanaged the country's finances in the last 13 years.
  1. Removed £5bn tax incentives from pensions and at one stroke ruined our country's previously much admired pension system within a very short time scale

  2. Sold our GOLD reserves when prices were at rock bottom - STUBBORNLY going against the advice of the Treasury Dept. A financial loss to us of £7bn. "The loss to the Exchequer is now twice as high as the Conservatives’ decisions over the Exchange Rate Mechanism on black Wednesday".

  3. Frequently tells us the immigration enriches our economy with workers spending their earnings on the local economy. When in fact most of them claim maximum benefits (e.g. child benefit) which they then send home to the family to enrich their homelands economy.

Reading this you may think that it doesn't directly affect you - but it does and it will. You'll have less money in your pocket after the election which ever party gets in.

But remember you have Gordon Brown to thank for the mess we are in. He has sold off and squandered our country's assets. Rather than saving some of the £5bn from the pension tax raid, or the £xbn acquired from the sale of gold reserves - not to mention £22.5bn raised in 2000 when he sold off the airwave licences to the mobile phone companies and although he promised PRUDENCE and an end to BOOM and BUST - he failed to save any of this ill gotten gains for a rainy day. Well it's been raining for a while now and it will only get worse.

Remember who you have to thank for this.

Secret Ballot?

If - as we are always told - we have a secret ballot then why does the clerk cross reference our electoral roll number on the counterfoil of our numbered ballot paper?

I'm trying to make a one woman stand against this creepy version of a secret vote. I'm going to go in claim my ballot paper then persuade everyone else behind me in the queue that we should all swap papers around before we vote. Then our choice will be secret . .

Here is an 'official version' of why the electors registration number is noted on the counterfoil -
http://www.walsall.gov.uk/index/council_and_democracy/elections/voting_faq.htm#7347

Well - they would say that wouldn't they!

When The Earth Moved . . .

Look at that . . . it's still going .... WoW - look at this, , it's still going . . . look at this it's still going ... it's still moving . . .

A man of few words ..... when the earth moved in California

Friday 9 April 2010

Monster Raving Elections

One of our local councillors has re-released a recording he made, back in history, when he used to be an ordinary member of the tax paying public and a thorn in the b***side of the local council. He used to stand for election as a member of the Monster Raving Loony Party. The locals say that he once paid his local taxes by dumping a pile of horse manure at the front entrance to the council offices. He is no longer a rebel. He is one of them. Now he is just a plain old Con.

He appears to be a man of low ambition. His main focus during this latest election is that he would like to see his old record gain the number 10 slot in the hit parade. To this end there is a website with a link where you can listen to this re-issued offering here . . .

He does excite a lot of comment from the residents of Sidmouth - one of whom is SeeRed:
"However, in order to get councillors from the entrenched majority party to talk to him, he saw the light and was converted to Conservatism. He was (and still is) the County Councillor for the ward that includes Sidford and as such was responsible for highway matters, which are a County (DCC) not a District (EDDC) responsibility. During the entire 'long hot summer' of protest in the village of Sidford, Councillor Hughes was not seen once by any of the residents or shopkeepers who were protesting. He never even came to discuss the reasons for what was (by the standards of sleepy Sidmouth) a huge and unprecedented protest. This involved several village meetings in a packed hall, banners, placards, TV cameras and local radio. Councillor Hughes was invited to attend meetings of the Action Group, and did not appear. Hundreds of normally quiet residents, most of whom were near or over retirement age, attended protest marches".