Party political posturing and no substance

A FEW weeks ago, I thought that the Government was on the right lines when it questioned the number of union officials paid for by the taxpayer.

Now the party political season has come around again and I detect a definite case of “pot calling kettle black” or, to put it another way, rank hypocrisy.

Parliament is effectively shut down for over three weeks so that honourable members and peers can go off (in the firm’s time) to their own annual union jamborees!

Politicians get more than enough holidays to go to party political conferences in their own time and not at our expense, thank you very much.

From: David Marshall, Park Drive, Mirfield.

WHY is it that whenever I see a picture of Chris Huhne I want to slap him with a wet fish (Yorkshire Post, September 20)? I’ll tell you why.

The latest nonsense from this short-sighted minister is to pretend to be concerned and sympathise with the electorate about increases in gas and electricity when he is the prime mover in the promotion of “wind power” one of the most costly and inefficient ways of power generation. Billions are being blown (no pun intended) on these costly monstrosities pretending that they are 100 per cent efficient. Get real and get cracking on building some gas, coal and nuclear power stations and forget about the UK being 40 per cent in renewable energy by 2020.

If, by some miracle the UK was 100 per cent renewable, it would hardly make any difference on global pollution. Why should we be following this “pied piper” into some green and unpleasant land of energy bankruptcy?

From: Robert Bottamley, Thorn Road, Hedon, East Yorkshire.

UNSCRUPULOUS utility companies wishing to divert attention from the simple reality that they overcharge are fond of advising the public to, “shop around”.

When the Energy Secretary borrowed this idiotic mantra at the Liberal Democrat conference, he received a standing ovation.

So far as I can make out, Chris Huhne promises two concessions from companies that supply us with gas and electricity.

The first is that it will become easier to change from one energy company that exploits us, to another that will exploit us.

And the second is that these companies will be required to make it clearer on their invoices precisely how they are exploiting us.

Thank you, Mr Huhne; my heart soars like an eagle.

From: David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable now tells us that the financial state of Britain is as bad and as harmful to this country as if we were at war (Yorkshire Post, September 20).

In that case, why doesn’t our Government do the obvious – and end all foreign aid with immediate effect? I would guess that 75 per cent of the country would support such a policy decision.

From: Martin Smith, Main Street, Elvington, York.

AT the Liberal Democrat (a misnomer if ever there was one) Conference, Vince Cable declares that the current economic strife is the equivalent of being at war.

The facts are that anyone trying to run a business in the private sector during the last two decades have been at war, fighting a tidal wave of regulation introduced by politicians with no inkling of what it takes to run a profitable enterprise.

The accumulation of expensive social policies, and the accompanying penal taxation regime, had already placed British industry at a competitive disadvantage.

The banking crisis together with the freefall in commercial property values has produced an environment where many businesses can neither borrow sufficiently or have the comfort of a significant commercial freehold asset on their balance sheet.

What we need is a radical programme of real job creation accompanied by a low tax enterprise environment – something which seems beyond the vision of any current mainstream political party.

The Liberal Democrats blind adherence to all things EU, their obsession with wind farms and green taxes,and their belief in penal taxation are basically a socialist recipe for further economic woe – one that is currently being visited on the country aided by an apologist Prime Minister who is clearly a disciple of the Blair principles of spin over substance.

Let’s start to tax the rich

From: N Bywater, Airedale Terrace, Morley.

THE Chancellor, George Osborne, has indicated that he sees the 50 per cent income tax rate as temporary.

The super rich that contribute to the Conservative Party are feeling the pinch and want George to lower taxes for the rich. But do these rich people really pay a high percentage of their money to the tax man?

In the United States, Barack Obama has said that many high-income Americans benefit from tax loopholes that see earnings on investment taxed at lower rates than wages.

Warren Buffett, the billionaire financier, has complained that he and his wealthy peers pay relatively less tax than the people who work for them.

The UK has its share of tax avoidance too. Why, therefore, is the Tory media machine getting behind this political stunt to lower the 50 per cent tax rate for the super rich?

From: Malcolm Naylor, Grange View, Otley.

WHILE the courts are busy filling the jails with civil disobedience offenders, the British capitalist Establishment has given tax evaders using Swiss banks the concessions of anonymity and immunity from prosecution.

Chancellor George Osborne has also given them the concession of paying of a fraction of what should be paid in return for openness on their accounts.

But since he has also given them 20 months window before it takes effect, they are still free to move their wealth to other tax havens without paying a single penny to the UK Treasury. So again this is another meaningless gesture to fool the public.