Budget Provides Relief for Workers, Savers, and Drinkers

Giles McNeill, Conservative West Lindsey District Councillor for the Nettleham Ward, has welcomed a the announcements in the 2014 budget statement today which will save money for local residents.

George Osbourne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Earners will find the personal tax allowance will rise to £10,500 from April 2015, cutting taxes for 25 million people and taking an additional 290,000 people out of paying income tax altogether. The rises in the personal allowance since 2010, implemented by the Coalition Government, mean that by April next year a typical, basic rate, taxpayer will be paying £805 less in tax than they would have been, with 3,200,000 people taken out of income tax altogether. The 2014 Budget measures do not result in any additional higher rate taxpayers. The full benefit will be passed on to higher rate taxpayers – everyone earning up to £100,000 will gain equally and will pay less tax because of this tax cut.

Meanwhile, savers will benefit from merging the cash ISA and stocks & shares ISA into a single New ISA with an annual limit of £15,000. Over 400,000 ISA holders in the East Midlands could benefit from the New ISA. Savers will also be glad to hear the ten pence starting rate of tax for savings income will be eliminated and, this zero rate will be extended to the first £5,000 of savings income, benefiting 1.5 million low-income savers.

In the biggest reform of pensions taxation in a century, the Chancellor announced that no one would be forced to buy an annuity if they don’t want to and there will be no punitive fifty per cent tax rate if you try and take more than your tax free lump sum.

Drinkers will find savings as the tax on beer will be cut by a penny a pint, helping local pubs. Duties on Scotch whisky and other spirits will be frozen, as will duty on ordinary cider. The duty escalator for wine, meanwhile, has been abolished. Cllr. McNeill said:

"The budget contains real measures that are designed to help people across the country with their cost of living. Those in work will take home more of their pay, with the increase in the personal allowance. Those who save will find their hard-erned savings will be taxed less. The duty paid on beer has been cut by a penny on the pint for the second year running.  

"Whilst the economic situation is beginning to show real signs of improvement, the parlous state of the nation's finances - the legacy of the last Labour Government - mean that the Chancellor has and will continue to make the difficult decisions which benefit hard-working people across Britain and contribute to the long-term economic viability."

Residents' Views Sought on £3,000,000 Cuts

West Lindsey District Council is preparing itself for continuing reductions to the central government grant, which is a significant portion of the authority's income, in the future.

Above: A consultation event is well attended at the Old
School, Mill Hill, Nettleham.

With a prolonged and difficult financial climate the government has announced further cuts to the Council’s grant over the next three financial years. It means the Council will need to find £3,000,000 of savings.

To do this the Council needs to understand what local residents think about current services provided by the Council and what should be the Council's priorities for the future. Local residents, across the district, have had the opportunity to attend workshops. For those residents that have not attended they are invited to complete an online questionnaire (click here) to ensure that their views are heard.

Cllr. Giles McNeill, Conservative (Nettleham Ward), said:

"I hope as many people as possible will take the survey. It is really important that we get a good sample of respondents as it will help us ensure that valued services are retained, whilst services that the vast majority of people don't support can be cut.

"I attended the event at the Old School in Nettleham and was very proud of the turnout from Nettleham, Greetwell and other neighbouring parishes." 

All responses must be submitted by Monday, 2nd September 2013. Residents with any questions should e-mail: engagement@west-lindsey.gov.uk.

Policing Minister and Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate Have Positive Meeting

Nick Herbert MP (Left) and Cllr. Richard Davies (right).

Nick Herbert MP, Minister for Policing has met with the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Cllr. Richard Davies on a recent visit to Lincolnshire. Richard Davies and the Minister talked over how to achieve real savings in Lincolnshire’s policing budget while at the same time protecting frontline policing.

Nick Herbert MP congratulated Cllr. Davies on securing the Conservative nomination for Lincolnshire and said that he was a strong candidate who was the natural choice for the voters of Lincolnshire.

Richard Davies priorities are to:

• Deliver visible policing for Lincolnshire 
• To prevent crime across Lincolnshire 
• To spend taxpayers money wisely 

Prospective Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner Candidate for Lincolnshire, Cllr. Richard Davies, said:

"If elected as the first Police and Crime Commissioner Lincolnshire I will take a no-nonsense approach to policing, for example making sure that the policing structure in place allow there to be more police at work on a Friday night than there are on a Monday morning."

Cllr. Davies was born and raised in Lincolnshire, is a local businessman and a County Councillor representing Grantham North West. If you want to learn more about what policies Richard would like to see implemented in Lincolnshire visit his website www.votedavies.co.uk.

Eric Pickles Brings Westminster Magic to West Lindsey

As exclusively revealed on here at the start of July the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Her Majesty's Principle Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, visited West Lindsey, Lincolnshire yesterday.

Arriving at Retford Station Mr. Pickles was greeted by Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr. Burt Keimach, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward) and Chairman of West Lindsey Distirct Council, Cllr. William Parry, Conservative (Scotter Ward).

Eric Pickles and Liam Smith, lock wands at the opening of the
Room of Requirement at Hemswell Cliff Primary School
(c) John Jenkins/Lincolnshire Echo

Mr. Pickles was speeded away to Hemswell Cliff Primary School yesterday to open a new £10,000 community facility, their 'Room of Requirement'. Named after a secret room within Hogwarts Castle, the library will be open to residents inside and outside of school hours. The Secretary of state even engaged in a wand duel with one pupil to celebrate the opening of a Harry Potter-inspired library.

Mr Pickles praised villagers for their 'heart' in trying to improve the community. Mr Pickles. told pupils:

"If I had known this was being named after Harry Potter I would have wanted a wand.

"I am not from the Ministry of Magic but times are hard."

Speaking of Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Mr Pickles said:

"He said for complete contentment that what you need is a garden and a library. Today he would have said what you need is a garden and a Room of Requirement."

The ninety-one pupils from the school sang two songs which Mr. Pickles praised. Head teacher Mrs. Suzanne Scott said:

"It's a great honour to welcome the secretary of state to our school.

"We are looking forward to using this facility along with our community."

After touring the school, Mr Pickles was briefed on West Lindsey District Council's plans to revitalise ex-RAF bases at Hemswell Cliff, Brookenby and Newtoft, plus RAF Scampton by Cllr. Paul Howitt-Cowan, Conservative (Hemswell Ward), who said the aim was to create more community spaces.

Having seen some of the dilapidated buildings, Mr Pickles said:

"I will rattle the MoD's cage on this as this is a place we should celebrate. What you do have should be a joyous occasion. It shouldn't be like visiting the Bronx. In fact, the Bronx is better."

Mr Pickles later visited Gainsborough to hear about the work of West Lindsey District Council and the way an 'entrepurnurial council' is being delivered.

In the evening Mr. Pickles was guest of honour at a Gala Dinner held at the Gainsborough Golf Glub, Belt Road, Thonock.

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Pickles Set To Visit County



Above:  During the 2010 General Election campaign in
Lincoln's Castle Square Eric Pickles with Karl McCartney

This blog can exclusively reveal the the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, will be visiting Lincolnshire in the coming months.
Whilst details of the visit are understood to still be being finalised it is expected that Mr. Pickles will be in the here this autumn and will tour a number of projects in the county before being the guest of honor at a Gala Dinner in the evening.

Benedict Brogan, of the Daily Mail, says of the popular grass-roots politician:

"If you ever start to worry that Dave's Conservatives are all soft-cheeked trendy toffs, take a moment to admire the girth, the stout cloth, dammit, even the tie-clip of this briny, plain-speaking, subtle, human politician."

Giles McNeill: Labour’s Two Trillion Pound Debt

Today official figures have revealed that the national debt has risen above £2 trillion for the first time in our history.

According to the Office for National Statistics the national debt, including the cost of bailing out the banks, now stands at £2,323,000,000,000. That works out at over £37,600 for every man, woman and child in the country.

This terrible debt is Labour’s legacy. They thought that they had abolished boom and bust and so ran large deficits even before the financial crisis.

Because of this, we are currently paying £43 billion per year, over £120 million per day, in debt interest. This is money that could otherwise be spent on frontline services like schools and hospitals. The average earner in Gainsborough has to work for 152 days just to pay the interest on Labour’s debts.

Commenting, Giles McNeill said:

"These are shocking figures. Labour maxed out the nation's credit card with over £1 trillion of government debt. The longer it is left the worse it will get. If we don’t take steps now to live within our means we’ll end up paying higher taxes and face deeper cuts just to pay off our debt"

East Midlands MEP Does Not Support Creation of European Diplomatic Service, Whilst Colleagues Vote For It.

Mr. Roger Helmer MEP, Conservative (East Midlands), today commented on recent activites of the European Parliament saying:

"Not me, Guv. I voted 'NO'."

Rt. Hon. William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary gave instructions to the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, in which the Conservatives' MEPs sit, were decisive in securing a crucial positive vote on the European External Action Service (EEAS).

Without a decisive call by United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon. William Hague MP, to his fellow party members in the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR), whose members were elected on an anti-federalist ticket, the EEAS would probably not have got off the ground.

The Parliament voted on Thursday, 8th July on a decision to establish the European External Action Service, a new European Union's diplomatic corps that will be led by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton.

To the surprise of many observers – including some ECR group members – the EEAS proposal was approved, in part thanks to the support of MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists group.

Mr. Charles Tannock MEP, foreign affairs spokesman for the ECR group, said:

"We were opposed to the creation of the EEAS but we are now reconciled to engaging constructively within the new architecture in the best interests of our countries."

He argued that some changes introduced to the proposal had made it acceptable to the Conservatives.

"I welcome that Mr [Elmar] Brok, [a German centre-right MEP] as rapporteur, has included my amendment in his text, which supports national parliamentary involvement. This is crucial to ensuring that the new service is subject to proper democratic scrutiny."

Ms Ulrike Lunacek MEP, an Austrian Green, said that without the ECR group's support, the decision would have been postponed until the autumn, allowing EU member states more time to bargain for amendments to dilute the text, or fight for positions of influence in the future EU organisation.

"Without the ECR we wouldn't have achieved it."

Lunacek explained how some MEPs from the ECR group had seemed confused following the vote after being told to vote in favour of a text which they had previously attacked.

Until days ago, leading MEPs were saying that more time would be needed for the political groups to digest a compromise deal on the proposal reached in Madrid. They were categorical in saying that the vote on approving Ashton's proposals would take place after the summer recess.

However, on Thursday, 8th July, European parliamentarians overwhelmingly voted to set up the EEAS, by 549 votes to 78. Only MEPs from the left-wing Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) and the right-wing, Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group (EFD) voted against the proposal.

Asked to comment on the political importance of William Hague's move, Lunacek said:

"This is something I wouldn't have expected from Mr. Hague, so I really appreciate that. I hope this augurs for a more pro-European stance, in the Council especially. Being in government together with the Lib Dems hopefully helps somewhat. That's a positive sign."

Mr. Guillaume McLaughlin, a policy adviser from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group, said a few more obstacles had to be overcome before the vote could be held. The first was an internal division within the centre-right European People's Party group, with Polish Conservative MEP Jacek Sariusz-Wolski pushing for more 'geographical balance,' meaning fairer representation of Eastern Europeans in the future diplomatic service.

This view was opposed by leading European People's Party (EPP) member Mr. Elmar Brok MEP, who stood against the concept.

As discussions developed, Sariusz-Wolski apparently backed down after it had been agreed internally that Polish European Affairs Minister Mikołaj Dowgielewicz would get the job of deputy secretary-general of the EEAS. Instead of a tougher text on geographical balance, an agreement was reached that possible 'imbalances' would be taken into account during the 2013 review of the service.

Another aspect, Mr. McLaughlin explained, was the position of the Partido Popular, the Spanish centre-right opposition party, which was 'playing Spanish politics' and 'didn't want the Spanish Socialists to achieve anything during their presidency'.

During the conference of political group presidents, held before the Strasbourg plenary, all group leaders were in favour of holding the vote during the July session, except the EPP, which insisted on postponing the vote until autumn.

In this context, the votes by the ECR group proved decisive.

"The Tories, for God's sake, saved this,"

 McLaughlin fretted, adding that the coalition with the Liberal democrats had

"delivered some positive things already at European level".

He also said that a major factor in the vote's success was the absence of Mr. Brok from the conference of presidents, held on Thursday, 1st July. On that day, Mr. Brok was in Berlin on the occasion of the vote to appoint the new German President, Christian Wulff.

"There was in fact nobody from the EPP to defend Brok's position,"

The fact that the EPP was opposed to holding the vote at the July session, however, did not prevent the Parliament's biggest group from massively voting in favour of the EEAS blueprint, he added.

Lincoln's Liberal Democrat Confirms Conservative Rule of City Council

Cllr. Mrs. Helen Heath

Cllr. Mrs. Helen Heath, Liberal Democrat (Carholme Ward) has decided to support the incumbent administration on Lincoln City Council, which means the authority remaining under Conservative Control, mirroring events nationally and the the formation of the Coalition Government. The Lincolnshire Echo reports her decision was based on a 'dissatisfaction' with Labour's previous reign of power.

Cllr. Mrs. Heath's announcement came at a meeting yesterday and prompted an outraged reply from Labour's Group Leader Cllr. Ric Metcalfe, Labour (Glebe Ward). He talked of Cllr. Mrs Heath now being the 'seventeenth member' of the Conservative Group, although Cllr. Mrs. Heath sits as a Liberal Democrat.

Cllr. Ric Metcalfe

The leader of the opposition at the City of Lincoln Council attacked the lone Liberal Democrat for showing 'breathtaking arrogance' after she backed the Conservatives at City Hall. Cllr.Metcalfe said:

"I have to say it's done nothing to enhance her claim of independence and to hear her trotting out nonsense on independence is laughable.

"She didn't come to the council until 2007, but claims we made mistakes which has led her to back the Tories. It speaks of breathtaking arrogance from her. Labour ran the council extremely competently for years and you can see the incompetence in the Conservatives.

"She is saying she will keep the Conservative administration at arm's length, however she seems to warmly embrace it."

The decision on the ruling administration had been left uncertain for nearly three weeks after the council had no overall control following the elections on Thursday, 6th May 2010. The public vote saw Conservative and Labour holding 16 seats apeice, after Labour gained two from the Conservatives.

Cllr. Metcalfe's anger may be a result that he did, in fact, win the election. The Labour Party gained two seats from the Conservatives and polled more votes. The Conservative recieved 14,277 which was almost a thousand votes less than Labour who recieved 15,220. The Liberal Democrats came third with 9,482.

Cllr. Mrs. Heath is reported to have said:

"My decision has been reached after consideration of local needs and has not been dictated by colleagues at Westminster.

"I am not satisfied that the previous Labour administration's management of the city's budget was robust enough during their time in office, nor am I satisfied they would be prepared to make the tough and even unpopular decisions that the current financial climate requires.

"I remain unconvinced the Labour group is sufficiently flexible or pragmatic enough to work effectively with either the new MP, or a Tory dominated county council."

The Lincolnshire Echo summerise her as saying that the Conservatives were 'more flexible' and that there is a better chance of getting her party's 'key priorities' delivered by supporting a Conservative-led authority.

Lib Dem Councillor is Kingmaker on Lincoln City Council

A single councillor holds the balance of power on the City of Lincoln Council, but a week after local elections Cllr. Mrs. Helen Heath, Liberal Democrat (Carholme Ward) is yet to decide how to use it.

The City of Lincoln Council poll last Thursday resulted in Conservatives and Labour having 16 seats each.

Despite the cordial relations developing in Westminster between Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg amd Prime Minister David Cameron with thier coalition government, Cllr. Mrs. Heath has told the Lincolnshire Echo that no-one was dictating her decision.

A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats told the paper that the party believes in 'localism and the right of locally elected representatives to make decisions'.

Cllr. Mrs. Heath is understood to be in talks with both Conservative and Labour groups. Whichever side she backs will in theory have the majority of the votes.

If she backs nobody, the Conservatives may still lead the next council as the new mayor, who is a Conservative Councillor, will have a casting vote.

The current deputy mayor, Cllr. Geoff Kirby, Conservative (Hartsholme Ward)  is set to be made mayor on Tuesday, 25th May 2010.

Cllr. Mrs. Heath told the Lincolnshire Echo:

"I am not looking for concessions and I won't be taking anyone's whip. I will essentially be taking an item by item approach. I am not prepared to make a decision at the moment."