My Constituency MP regularly sends me a newsletter by email.
I usually respond to the effect that whilst I am unconvinced by his politics I recognise that as a Constituency MP he is right to keep me, as a constituent, informed even if I didn't vote for him.
Usually however I have to make the point that nationally his party is working against my interests in regard to pensions, welfare, the NHS and Education.
His latest letter is sharing news about three projects that he is supporting concerned with broadband, housing and planning.
Essentially I am relieved that our MP appears to be just getting on with his job and is not fighting a permanent election campaign.
It is of course a significant issue in the current political climate, both in Europe, North America and here in the UK, that politics have become more political as the parties refuse, once the electorate pass their judgement, to co-operate across party lines in pursuit of what used to be called 'the common good'.
In America the Republicans refuse to co-operate with President Obama's 'socialist' policies despite his overwhelming victory in the recent election.
The fiscal cliff was narrowly averted but the current sequestration means that many budgets will be heavily constrained because of this confrontational approach to politics.
In Europe the recent proposed cap on Bankers bonuses has been rejected out of hand by the con-dem Government in the UK who have proposed their own cap on welfare benefits.
Despite having been in Government for over two years each day the political discourse is conducted as though we are in the middle of an election. Striver versus scrounger, the costs of welfare and the irresponsibility of the Labour Party are all part of a political narrative aimed at ensuring that the failure of capitalism is overlooked.
Within the coalition: the cons want to cap welfare and are actually cutting as a consequence of the 1% increase, whilst the dems are a tad unhappy.
The cons want Bankers to keep their bonuses whilst the dems appear to have a no view.
In fact the cap proposed by the EU will only limit a bonus to the value of the original salary i.e if you earn a £1M then your bonus is limited to a £1M unless the shareholders decide it can be increased further, whereas the cap on welfare is a definite limitation of £500 per week per family.
In Europe the recent elections in Italy have been a judgement not only on the state of politics and politicians but also on austerity.
Here in the UK, London is becoming a destination for millionaires, billionaires and zillionaires from around the world and all too soon we will be seeing the kind of shanty town encampments alongside the tracks that greet Eurostar passengers arriving in Paris.
Broadband, of course is crucial to communication, sadly for the cons and the dems the anticipated auction of the 4G Network did not realise the estimate, so I guess welfare will have to be reduced again?
But broadband is crucial not only for bankers who send enormous amounts of cash flying around the world at breakneck speed but it also means that you can watch dancing ponies in Shetland on your mobile phone (see Dance Pony Dance at www.youtube.com), priceless!
Housing is of course political. A previous Conservative administration put social housing on the market and then failed to support the successor agency to the Local Authority as a housing provider in the shape of Housing Associations who were forced to turn to the market and of course the banks for the capital they needed.
As a result of this house building, particularly in regard to social housing, is at an all time low in the UK. So housing is of crucial importance not only to those who need homes but to the wider economy as it brings jobs and wealth to a neighbourhood.
Local community initiatives are to be applauded, but a Government that fails to build houses is a Government without an economic policy.
Local planning has much to commend it an early exponent of local planning was Dr Tony Gibson of Nottingham Universities Education for Neighbourhood Change Unit.
When I was working I used his method to great effect and Planning for Real(R) continues as an agency based in the West Midland's.
But the politics of planning are far more complex, especially in an area such as the Lake District where there is always the potential for conflict over the desire to build and change against the perfectly proper desire to protect the environment.
A bonfire of planning restrictions will not necessarily bring about economic growth and prosperity, local interests have to be debated alongside broader national interests and there needs to be a strategic view taken.
Burying nuclear waste adjacent to an area where fracking for natural gas might be used in the future is just an obvious example of how the broader view is needed.
So I look forward to hearing how the next campaign to be supported by our MP goes and meanwhile I will continue to hope that my pension will allow me to make my mortgage payments on time and that the next time I have to attend my local surgery I won't be greeted by a picture of Richard Branson announcing that he has just become the new owner.
I usually respond to the effect that whilst I am unconvinced by his politics I recognise that as a Constituency MP he is right to keep me, as a constituent, informed even if I didn't vote for him.
Usually however I have to make the point that nationally his party is working against my interests in regard to pensions, welfare, the NHS and Education.
His latest letter is sharing news about three projects that he is supporting concerned with broadband, housing and planning.
Essentially I am relieved that our MP appears to be just getting on with his job and is not fighting a permanent election campaign.
It is of course a significant issue in the current political climate, both in Europe, North America and here in the UK, that politics have become more political as the parties refuse, once the electorate pass their judgement, to co-operate across party lines in pursuit of what used to be called 'the common good'.
In America the Republicans refuse to co-operate with President Obama's 'socialist' policies despite his overwhelming victory in the recent election.
The fiscal cliff was narrowly averted but the current sequestration means that many budgets will be heavily constrained because of this confrontational approach to politics.
In Europe the recent proposed cap on Bankers bonuses has been rejected out of hand by the con-dem Government in the UK who have proposed their own cap on welfare benefits.
Despite having been in Government for over two years each day the political discourse is conducted as though we are in the middle of an election. Striver versus scrounger, the costs of welfare and the irresponsibility of the Labour Party are all part of a political narrative aimed at ensuring that the failure of capitalism is overlooked.
Within the coalition: the cons want to cap welfare and are actually cutting as a consequence of the 1% increase, whilst the dems are a tad unhappy.
The cons want Bankers to keep their bonuses whilst the dems appear to have a no view.
In fact the cap proposed by the EU will only limit a bonus to the value of the original salary i.e if you earn a £1M then your bonus is limited to a £1M unless the shareholders decide it can be increased further, whereas the cap on welfare is a definite limitation of £500 per week per family.
In Europe the recent elections in Italy have been a judgement not only on the state of politics and politicians but also on austerity.
Here in the UK, London is becoming a destination for millionaires, billionaires and zillionaires from around the world and all too soon we will be seeing the kind of shanty town encampments alongside the tracks that greet Eurostar passengers arriving in Paris.
Broadband, of course is crucial to communication, sadly for the cons and the dems the anticipated auction of the 4G Network did not realise the estimate, so I guess welfare will have to be reduced again?
But broadband is crucial not only for bankers who send enormous amounts of cash flying around the world at breakneck speed but it also means that you can watch dancing ponies in Shetland on your mobile phone (see Dance Pony Dance at www.youtube.com), priceless!
Housing is of course political. A previous Conservative administration put social housing on the market and then failed to support the successor agency to the Local Authority as a housing provider in the shape of Housing Associations who were forced to turn to the market and of course the banks for the capital they needed.
As a result of this house building, particularly in regard to social housing, is at an all time low in the UK. So housing is of crucial importance not only to those who need homes but to the wider economy as it brings jobs and wealth to a neighbourhood.
Local community initiatives are to be applauded, but a Government that fails to build houses is a Government without an economic policy.
Local planning has much to commend it an early exponent of local planning was Dr Tony Gibson of Nottingham Universities Education for Neighbourhood Change Unit.
When I was working I used his method to great effect and Planning for Real(R) continues as an agency based in the West Midland's.
But the politics of planning are far more complex, especially in an area such as the Lake District where there is always the potential for conflict over the desire to build and change against the perfectly proper desire to protect the environment.
A bonfire of planning restrictions will not necessarily bring about economic growth and prosperity, local interests have to be debated alongside broader national interests and there needs to be a strategic view taken.
Burying nuclear waste adjacent to an area where fracking for natural gas might be used in the future is just an obvious example of how the broader view is needed.
So I look forward to hearing how the next campaign to be supported by our MP goes and meanwhile I will continue to hope that my pension will allow me to make my mortgage payments on time and that the next time I have to attend my local surgery I won't be greeted by a picture of Richard Branson announcing that he has just become the new owner.
No comments:
Post a Comment