It’s tough to get a Mortgage these days!

Not so long ago the “Balance of Payments” figures used to make headline news. Nowadays they seem to hidden from public view, and for good reason.  

Month after month “Great Britain” gets further and further into debt. The last monthly figures show a deficit of £9 billion pounds. That is we are pulling in more goods than we export. They have to be paid for in one way or another. The financial institutions in the City of London used to cover some of the deficit – but – foreign traders have to be paid for the rest.

The result is that one third of the British national debt is now held by Middle Eastern investors. Our children and Grand children will pay taxes to pay interest on the debt, for generations to come. But that is not all. Whole swathes of British industry have been acquired by overseas interests. Utilities- water- electricity- followed by glass- plaster board- paints- iron and steel- airports- motor vehicles- and even a couple of leading banks. So the profits in these firms will be remitted overseas for years and years.

How did this come about ? Gordon Brown as Chancellor allowed the money supply to grow at a fast rate. 12% and sometimes 14% per annum. A tsunami of funds washed into the  housing and consumer markets, pulling in imports. We now have to contemplate having to pay for the Blair/Brown years, long after they will have departed. They have mortgaged our future.

Paul

Keep our Post Office open

Under Labour 4,875 post offices have already closed since 1997, almost ten a week. Wolverhampton MP, Pat Mcfadden has announced the future closure of 2,500 Post Offices which includes Upper Penn Post Office on Penn Road. Upper Penn post office is key part of the local community. It has numerous care homes, retirement flats and vulnerable people who rely on the service. It is disgraceful that a Wolverhampton Member of Parliament is responsible for the closure of a key service to Wolverhampton’s residents.

Local residents now have six weeks to have their say in a local public consultation on the closure of Post Offices in their area. I have been collecting signatures for a petition to fight the closure as the Post Office think that local people should travel over half a mile to the alternatives. Many local people who rely on the Post Office for paying their utilities, council tax, collecting their pensions, do not have access to a car. The Post Office has highlighted Jeffcock road as one alternative but in their own consultation literature admit that there is no direct bus service! The Government is again demonstrating its contempt for local people.

Paul

Wolverhampton Marathon – 2

Having had a break over the last few weeks it was time to get back on the political running track. I decided to ease myself gently back into things by running again in the Carver Wolverhampton City Marathon ! Still not brave enough to enter myself in the full marathon I opted to run the half marathon course.  I managed to complete the course in a time of one hour and fifty minutes which was half an hour quicker than last year. A big thank you to all the runners and helpers who helped create a wonderful and memorable day. Most importantly I’ve managed to raise money for a local football team again this year and burned off some calories in the process.

Paul