Listening to Sir John Major speak recently about the current economic conditions has helped put things in perspective. I think the most important point he made was that Labour’s Pre-Budget Report was not about tax cuts, it wasn’t about helping the economy, it was about helping Gordon Brown cling on to power. Brown’s decade of economic mismanagement has doubled our national debt to over £1 trillion. As a result, everyone earning more than £20,000 a year will pay more tax. Put another way we have increased our level of debt more quickly than we did in the Second World War.
To be fair, Gordon Brown did start by sticking to strict prudent rules. However, it is the abandonment of those investment rules from about 2000 onwards which have placed UK Plc in the most vulnerable position compared to our competitors. Recently the German Chancellor said it would be folly to follow Gordon Brown to “join in a multi-billion race simply to create the impression we have done something”! We need do no more than look at the Japanese example where years of spending and tax cuts left nothing except a huge legacy of public debt. Spending money we haven’t got, and adding to the already record debt levels, will not only leave an unfair burden on our children for the long term it will actually make things worse now. It will hamper the recovery with higher taxes just as the economy gets going again. Where we urgently need action before Christmas is to get lending going and to protect jobs.
There is an economic alternative. We can get credit flowing and save jobs with a £50bn National Loan Guarantee Scheme, freeze council tax for two years by cutting wasteful Government spending and reduce employment costs for small businesses by cutting National Insurance and through a tax break for new job. We can also help small businesses with cash flow by delaying VAT bills for six months and over the long term get the public finances back under control with an Office for Budget Responsibility, so no Labour Government can ever bankrupt this country again.
Before I came into politics I spent nearly two decades in business. The Government has become obsessed with spending. They seem convinced that the UK can only grow by us all continually shopping (fuelled by more debt) which is why they turned a blind eye to what was going on in the city. We used to focus on making things in Britain and made money through our trading skills and ingenuity in providing niche marketing and business advice. The back drop for this environment should be sensible money management, which is at the core of any successful business. Be careful of grand announcements by this Government as they are often a smoke screen and a PR exercise in the race to be seen to be doing something. From my days in business my colleagues would often say to me that those who are anxious to appear busy often don’t know their brief or are busy running to stand still. The problem is as every day passes Labour are spending more and more of our money on keeping themselves in jobs.
Paul
Posted by pauluppal 
On Friday I received a visit from Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury. We met with the Street Pastors of Wolverhampton, who regularly patrol the streets of the city centre until the early morning. Their roles involve providing water for late night revellers, making sure that people get home safely and most importantly diffusing tension and potential trouble by calmly offering mediation when tempers can be running a little high.
Posted by pauluppal 
Posted by pauluppal 
