Published by admin April 18th, 2007
in PMQs.
Sorry for the delay - laptop issues, haven’t missed anything yet!
- DC’s turn - pays tribute to those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since before Easter. First question on company pensions. Has a dig at Labour heckles, by asking those who will receive fat pensions to listen. Will he look at Tory proposals on pension
- TB - we have been, there was nothing under the Tories. Talk of what Labour has done, and what GB did in the last Budget, and what they are doing now
- DC - problem with the budget was that changed do not effect those who are already pensioners. Only 1000 people have been helped so far - this isn’t good enough. We need to act now to help others
- TB - it is to help people that we have introduced these things. We cannot do anything more until we are sure it is affordable.
- DC - we know how much it was cost in year one. This would help those who are already pensioners. Can we make sure that the review is cross-party.
- TB - we cannot make it cross-party but will listen to all people. We do not know how much it will cost after year one, so cannot make commitment, this is the greatest difference between being in Government compared to opposition
- Mings turn - joins the comments re. soldiers. Why are nurses not getting pay increase up front?
- TB - GB set it out- will be nearly 4%. Has been a huge increase in pay since 1997
- Ming -not just nurses. Many now cannot get jobs, and 10% income tax cut will hit many
- TB - blah blah blah, what have Labour done…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
- DC- Milliband has now ruled himself out, will TB now back Brown
- TB- No, but after yesterdays debate, DC should be more worried about his Shadow Cabiner
- DC - if he thought it was that good why didn’t he vote? You said something about it last year, why not now?
- TB - Labour are the only ones with serious policy
- DC - he will not endorse GB. DC lists why we don’t want him. What’s wrong with him?
- TB - list of what is right with GB. Reminds us that DC was there at Black Wednesday. Listsszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Those questions from DC didn’t work
Published by admin March 21st, 2007
in The Budget.
Here’s the new post!
BBC are saying that there will be a surprise somewhere in the Budget today
Nick Robinson says that there might be something to counter DC’s Married Couples Allowance plans
Right - here we go.
- Reports rising employment, low interest rate and inflation
- Longest period a economic stability
- Only time that someone has read an 11th then 12th Budget is Gladstone who then combined the role of Chancellor and Prime Minister - should never be done again!
- Joke re. Stalin
- We are doing better than any of the other G7 economies
I think we will hear a lot of how well we are doing before he tells us how I will receive less in my pay cheque!
- We wont return to the old boom and bust
- Taking credit for 59 quarters of continuous growth - however, many of these pre-date Labour’s coming to power
- Investment has risen by 47%
- because of the investment and higher productivity we have closed the gap with other countries
- 220,000 more people in work this year
- need to equip people for work in the next 10 years
- next year are growth will be highest in G7 (and we have moved up from 7th to 2nd - I thought he just said that we were top - I wish he’d make his mind up!)
- Brown has met lots of their fiscal rule whilst increasing investment in hospitals and schools
- Just seen this from ConservativeHome 12.37pm: Brown is claiming to have met the golden rule but this is the rewritten rule and how much is hidden off balance sheet in PFI.
- Borrowing is down, and will continue to fall
- He goes so fast I can’t get it down (or understand what he is talking about!) Is it good or bad news? He only seems to go slow when he is criticising the Tories and then telling us how well he has done!
- Budget for Secret Service and Armed Forces to be increased
- £8bn more for NHS - highest amount of money ever - I wonder how it will be wasted this time? More middle management, computer systems? Who knows!
- Three priorities - global competitiveness, savings and the family
- Changes to corporation tax - can’t get them all down, but he is making them sound like a tax cut - 30p down to 28p - he must be getting that all back somewhere
- Here it is tax rate on small companies to be raised in three stages from 20p this year to 22p in 2009.
- Lead the way with developing countries to address climate change £50m for a 10-country initiative across central Africa to prevent the destruction of the second largest rain forest in the world
- £800m to the Environmental Transformation Fund, jointly run by the international development and environment secretaries
- Grants to pensioners installing insulation
- Reduce VAT on energy saving products in the home
- Will all this be enough to keep the Greens happy?
- Wants UK to take the lead in developing low carbon vehicles
- Deferring petrol tax rise until October
- Steep rises in landfill, aggregates and climate change levy and “underused business property” to pay higher rates.
- VAT on flights he has looked at wouldn’t work (rubbishing Tory idea)
- All alcohol up bar spirits
- Price of cigarettes up
- Cutting VAT on products that help people give up cigarettes
- Proposals on the voluntary and charitable sectors - sound good but too complex for me!
- Extensions to the Working Family Tax credit system
- Will be helping people get back to work by setting aside money and will get a training wage for those who want to learn
- Big boost to pensions protections payments - a big issue among Brown’s comrades
- Rubbishing Married Family Tax Credit idea - he has discovered a lot about it! Apparently wouldn’t reward marriage
- Apparently they are doing things to make first home more affordable - as someone looking for their first home, I’ll believe it when I see it!
- Just seen this on ConservativeHome’s comments The idea that the culture of spin will end when Brown takes over really is a nonsense. Most of this speech is the same as last year. Very true!
- Talking about how he will bring children out of poverty - increase in child benefit (outflanking DC?)
- Lifting 600,000 pensioners out of income tax
- Pension credit guarantee going up
- Gordon telling us what he has done for us - seems like everyone but me!
- Top rate income tax going up to £43,000 - can’t the lower band go up so I can have some more cash!
- Quite a complicated package - shifting between income tax and NIC - basic rate is widened but the lower rate of income tax was scrapped - unclear as to who is winning and losing.
- More investment in schools and education - in England - £60bn up to by 2010 £70bn with graduated i between - how will this be wasted?
- Try and make education a right for every child until 18?
- This is a budget for families, fairness and the future
- One more announcement - cutting basic rate of income tax from 22p t0 20p from next April 2008 - there was the shock - I’m sure that stealth tax will make up for this - he must be taking it back from somewhere! Why does it have to be nest April? What’s going on?
How does DC follow this? (just waiting for the BBC to start showing his speech!)
- Finally a tax cut - would usually do this before a general election, but now in such a dire position he has to do it before a leadership election
- Has taken one tax down, and 99 up
- We will what is really happening
- GB has wasted money - he is an out of date politician - where has the money gone?
- All he has done is re-announced this years money which he has all ready done - whole in the Budget is the failure of the NHS
- What is in the Budget but not in the speech? List of bad things!
- He has wasted billions of pounds
Big critique and jokes from DC - can’t get it all down so you’ll have to read a review! Here’s a link to an article on the BBC
Published by admin March 21st, 2007
in PMQs.
So, Brown’s final Budget is finally upon us, and I think this will be the longest I have blogged in one go!
I’ll try and keep you up to date with all the big developments as they come up, and then the Conservatives response.
Keep refreshing the page every couple of minutes to see updates.
- DC: Question on Zimbabwe, and making sure that EU sanctions are widened
- TB: says that we will try and expand them at much as possible and use UN as well
- DC and TB exchange on specifics, and make sure that the rest of Africa try to help - must make sure that we help those most in need in the country.
- TB nothing will happen unless every pulls together
Another good exchange between DC and TB on a very serious issue - this is very good to see
- Ming’s turn - first question on the gap between rich and poor being wider than under Maggie
- TB says that he is wrong - yes the rich have got richer but so have the poor - starts listing what
‘great’ things Labour have done
- Ming - how can he be proud when the poor pay a higher percentage of their income in tax than the rich
- TB - this is not true. List of what ‘
great’ things GB has done
Ming got nothing out of those two questions, but set TB up to list the amazing things Labour have done in ten years
- DC again - question of 200th anniversary of slavery - good time to recognise slavery still going on today, trafficking of women - does he agree with some stats that we are the most trafficked women?
- TB - signing the EU convention, and we are trying to root it out
- DC - we need to make sure that there are safe places for these women to go when they escape form their captors?
- TB - DC didn’t sign something. Need to make sure that they are not at a disadvantage if they give evidence.
2 very sensible groups of questions from DC today. Now on to the Budget. BBC is taking a break, so I will too until 12.30!
Interesting that for the first time in a while that DC hasn’t tried to embarrass Brown - I’m sure he will be saving them for later.
Because I’ve got time I’m going to start the budget in a new post.
Published by admin March 7th, 2007
in PMQs.
What will be the big issues of the day - House of Lords reform, immigration, cash for peerages, voting in the Irish elections, operations in Afghanistan?
Please hit the refresh button every couple of minutes to update the page
- Blair begins by paying tribute to the members of Armed Forces who have died in the last week before listing his engagements for the rest of the day.
- Cameron also pays tribute to the troops killed this week. Question on NATO’s offencive in Afghanistan - are we sufficiently backed by the other NATO forces?
- Contribution by all is immensely important - Sweden today taking decision on more troops. We still want our NATO partners to do more.
- DC - Britain has 5,500 troops in Afghan. Will there be more pressure for more, unless we get more troops and remove the caveats from the troops.
- TB - other countries are doing more (Australia). The extra troops will help to protect UK troops, and we must make sure that other countries do remove caveats. We must do our duty, this does not depend on other countries. Only Brit troops can do what they are doing
- DC- PM is right that UK troops are doing a fantastic job. How confident is the PM that we will see progress on all front. Also who will provide the second battlegroup that has been requested that we cannot provide
- TB = lots of improvements (can’t type quick enough for list!) We must push for someone else provide the second battlegroup. We are doing, along with others an excellent job.
Whilst a question is being asked about the PM celebrating NationalWomen’s Day, I would like to say that it was nice to hear a decent exchange with proper info in PMQs
- Ming joins the PM (big cheers) with the comments on death of soldier
- Is Attorney General’s role still applicable?
- TB - Yes
- Ming - should it not be separate?
- TB - no he doesn’t
- DC - the BBC last night published his political obituary. Someone in Downing Street (senior foreign policy adviser) said the TB couldn’t govern without Brown, but couldn’t really govern with him
- TB - lists the successes of Brown
- DC - quotes a damming quote on Brown - will we return to rule by cabinet with Gordon.
- DC - PM is good at praising Brown but Brown is bad at praising Blair
- TB - having a strong economy allows us to pay for policy. What is yours?
- DC - we are ahead in polls in economy. TB want answer question. Asks front bench to put up hands on who thinks they will have more say in a Brown government - only Prezza obliges
- Blair - we know about being ahead of polls in 80s and not winning elections. Criticises DC on speech yesterday.
- TB gets a question on football and congratulates all teams from yesterday and wishes good luck to all for tonight - he gave that more time than Ming!
Published by admin February 28th, 2007
in PMQs.
Live text from today’s PMQs coming at 12pm
Please refresh the page every few minutes to update the page.
- TB plays tribute to a soldier killed in Afghanistan and one killed in Iraq
- DC joins the tribute
- Questionon NHS beds - DC says that people are saying that there are too few in English hospitals where as Health Sec says that fewer is better
- TB says it depends what they are used for
- DC - NHS Planhe launched in 2000 promised 7,000 extra beds, the relaity is a cut of 9,000 beds
- TB tells us what Labour has done…blah blah blah
I’m getting bored of this from Tony - you’ve had 10 years and not done very much!
- Ming’s turn - joins condolences and asks question on discussion with US re. Son of Star Wars
- TB says that they are at a very early stage
- Ming says that the system being discussed is untested. Should the discussion be in the House?
- TB says that at present it is untested but we should look at the options and when we have it will be discussed in the House
- DC agian - asks a question on his engagements - did he go to the dicussions with Charles Clake and Alan Milburn?
- TB - No but at least the Labour Party is - it will be policy that decides the future of this country - we have it and you don’t
Published by admin February 21st, 2007
in PMQs.
What will be the big issues of today?
Road pricing, timetable for withdrawl from Iraq (def one for Ming!), Brown bashing from Cameron?
Please refresh the page every few minutes to update the page.
- TB begins by paying tribute to a soldier (Luke Simpson) killed in Iraq
- DC does the same. First question on pensions crisis. Will TB work on a cross party basis to find a solution
- TB agress he will to providde for pensioners. For the first time we have a compensation scheme for pensioners
- DC - isn’t clear that the scheme isn’t working and it is inadequate
- TB - £1.8bn in the scheme now - nothing was in place previously.
- DC - money not getting through to those who need it. Need to look at ideas which wouldn’t cost tax payers money (mentions lots of schemes) TB now has time to do something about it. GB pensions raids. He can grandstand or do something about it!
- TB - pensions misselling under Tories is legendary. We are preparecd to sit down and do something about it. Says that George Osborne said that Tories need to resist demand to put more money into pensions
- MPs want more Cameron but don’t get him. They get Labour MP Stephen Pound and a question on the train bomb in India
- Mings turn - pays tribute to bomb victims. Question on increased waiting lists for social housing.
- TB can’t give precise figure but tells us he has spent more
- Ming - when can those in horrible houses on waiting lists get the houses they deserve
- TB - we need to build more houses!
- Question on knives and banning sale of bladed weapons
- We need to be tougher agianst those who use knives
- DC again - question on city bonuses and Labour MPs saying they should be scrapped along with some TU ballots etc.
- TB - blah blah blah - what a record we have
- DC - then why do all Deputy Leader candidates have to criticise him and move to the left.
- TB - well lets see how your MPs critise you. Quote for press!
- DC - David Miliband quote - in 6 months time we’ll be saying lets have Blair back and get rid of Brown.
- TB - what has Labour done……..same old same old
- End of DC
- Question on London gun crime and applauding Mayor Ken for putting more police on streets. More needs to be done to rid gun crime
Published by admin February 20th, 2007
in PMQs.
Log on tomorrow from 11.50 (GMT) for live text coverage from the weeks PMQs and discussion on the main questions and talking points from 3.00 tomorrow afternoon.
Published by admin February 1st, 2007
in PMQs.
Log on every Wednesday from 11.50 (GMT) for live text coverage from the weeks PMQs and discussion on the main questions and talking points from 3.00 the same afternoon.
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