Jeremy Browne MP’s Monthly Update - January 2010
Posted by Jeremy Browne, MP for Taunton, at 14:09, Wed 3 February 2010:
Jeremy is supporting Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas campaign. He commented;
“It is important to have healthy seas around Britain which support our diverse marine life. We are an island nation and people feel a strong connection with our beautiful coastline and the sea around us.”
See the Early Day Motion Jeremy is supporting at; http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40224&SESSION=903
MUSGROVE PARK
Cancer care services at Musgrove Park have received national commendation. In January, Jeremy presented the Breakthrough Breast Cancer award to the Breast Care Centre. He also met up in Parliament with Musgrove’s own Nicky Forsyth, who has won the Carol Baillie award for her nursing. He said;
“The Beacon Centre at Musgrove Park means Taunton has some of the best cancer healthcare in Britain. I am delighted the staff have been recognised for their outstanding efforts both individually and collectively.”
Jeremy is campaigning for a new surgical centre at Musgrove Park Hospital. This month, he took Lord Ashdown to see the old building before they toured the new Beacon Centre. Jeremy said;
"The Old Building was built during the Second World War and it desperately needs replacing. That is why I will do everything possible to support the construction of a new surgical centre at Musgrove Park. The Beacon Centre is a wonderful development and a new surgical centre is the next big project that needs to happen at Musgrove Park."
SAVE SOMERSET'S PCSOs
Jeremy has handed his ‘Save Somerset’s PCSOs’ petition in to Downing Street. He commented;
"I have taken the campaign to the very top and handed the petition into 10 Downing Street. Hundreds of Taunton Deane residents signed the petition and many more have joined my internet campaign to save our community police.
"I am very supportive of the excellent work being done by neighbourhood police teams across Taunton Deane.”
TOUR OF THE MONTH
This month’s special mention is to Queen’s Junior School, who visited Parliament on 26 January.
COMMUNITY CARE
In January, Jeremy conducted a tour of care and residential homes in Taunton Deane to see how quality of life is improving for older people. He commented;
“Different people have varied preferences and requirements so it is important we expand the diverse range of provision for elderly people in Taunton Deane. Dementia care, for example, has improved, and better training opportunities for the caring sector are also contributing to local employment.”
Jeremy visited Cedar Lodge, Calway House, Abbeyfield, Frethey, The Firs and St Margaret’s Hospice.
SPOKESPERSON'S NEWS
Jeremy is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, focusing on issues such as accountability in public spending, personal debt, taxation and affordable housing.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY BILL
Jeremy has condemned the Government for their failure to tackle the country’s debt. During the debate on the Government’s Fiscal Responsibility Bill, he argued;
“We find before us this Fiscal Responsibility Bill - a pathetic and dangerous piece of legislation. It is pathetic, because we should not need a new law to make the Government do their job. We just need the Government to do their job.
“Having previously said that the deficit this year would be £175 billion, and after announcing a slew of supposedly tough choices in the pre-Budget report, the Chancellor was able to announce that the deficit would now be £178 billion, falling next year - during a period when the economy is forecast to grow in all four quarters - to £176 billion. That is why, speaking as a man still just in his 30s, I know that our national debt will not reach 40 per cent again until I am in my 60s. The Chancellor's legacy is a burden that blights an entire generation.
“The Bill is not only pathetic but dangerously wrong-headed. How can we know what the world will face in 2016? We may confront the scale of threat to our national security that demands the wholesale economic sacrifice that helped us to win the second world war, which we have discussed in this debate. What are we meant to say if that happens - "Sorry, we are not fighting. We can't due to our obligations under clause 1 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2010"? We may face another recession - it is entirely possible; the so-called double dip scenario. We all hope that it is unlikely, but it is entirely possible. What then? What are we meant to do? Are we meant to say, "Sorry, all the hospitals are going to have to close. That is our obligation under clause 1 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2010"? The Chancellor said today that that would not happen because the Chancellor of the day would come to the Dispatch Box, rip up the Act and say, "Don't worry, I never meant it in the first place." That raises the question why we are all here pretending that this is a serious piece of legislation.”
Read the rest of Jeremy’s speech at; http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm100105/debtext/100105-0014.htm
CUTTING TAXES
Jeremy wants to see tax abolished on the first £10,000 you earn. The policy would save each individual £700 a year. He commented;
“Not many people enjoy paying tax.
“Seeing the amount deducted at the bottom of the payslip is pretty depressing, while many people have wrestled with self-assessment forms before the deadline at the end of January. That makes it all the more important to achieve greater efficiency in Government. Money is certainly wasted on unnecessary initiatives and unproductive activity.
“But tax is also the price we all pay for living in a civilised society. Local schools, care for the elderly, doctors at Musgrove Park, police officers - these services all cost a lot of money.
“With the British Government borrowing an extra £500 million every single day, there is little immediate prospect of major tax cuts, whoever wins the forthcoming election. But where there is scope for reducing taxes, priority should be given to cutting income tax for people on low and middle incomes. That is why I have been arguing in the House of Commons that the first £10,000 that people earn each year should be tax free.
“Employees earning over £10,000 would be better off - by about £700 a year - and so would very low earners. The change could be funded by closing existing loopholes, including standardising the rate of pension tax relief and equalising capital gains tax with income tax. A £10,000 starting rate for income tax would reward hard work and reduce dependence on welfare payments. Most importantly, it would help those people who most need extra financial assistance.
“Paying tax will always be a fact of life, but we can make the tax system more simple, efficient and fair.”
Contact Jeremy at office@tauntonlibdems.org.uk , or write to him at: Masons House, Magdalene Street, Taunton, TA1 1SG
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