Welfare reform and joblessness
It was striking to see all three leaders at the debate agree that if our country is to do anything at all about the financial crisis, tackling welfare reform comes high on the list. I have written before about the great Frank Field - asked by Tony Blair to 'think the unthinkable', then sacked. Now even the most committed socialists reallise that we cannot have five million adults of working age on benefits, 1.4m on long term incap[acity allowance and the highest number in Europe of young people without a job. One in six children is growing up in a family where no one has ever held a job.
The price we will pay as a nation is incalculable - and not just financially. Freud defined sanity as 'something to do and someone to love'. Something to do is good for your self respect and for your mental health. It is perhaps not surprising that depression and anxiety rates have soared in the population - learned helplessness is the psychological term and it's hard to cope with.
Helping the nation get back to work is a priority for all of us. We will support and encourage those who want to work - and provide opportunities for them. Those who don't want to to work will also be encouraged - first with a carrot and then with a stick. Certainly, we must make it worth working - the current system, where staying at home pays only £5-£10 a week less than working, makes no sense at all.
Posted on 30 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Black Holes
Interesting how the report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies on Monday - which identified black holes in all the parties' spending plans - has been used selectively by each party as a tool with which to bludgeon the others. The Lib Dem plans were described as showing 'greater uncertainty about the net fiscal impact' by the IFS. In truth, it's all speculative, although only the Conservative plans were seen as remotely realistic. No one can know the true extent of the black hole Mr Brown and his cohorts have dug for us until we see the books after May 6th.
Posted on 30 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Brown's hypocrisy
The mopping up operation around Gordon Brown's 'bigotgate' defies belief. Yes, it could have happened to anyone - microphones have famously been left switched on before - but I hope very few of us would be two-faced enough to smile and smile and then slate the person we had been speaking to as soon as their back was turned. Mrs Duffy made the dire mistake of mentioning the 'I' word - and Gordon didn't like it. Nor did he like her. 'Whose idea was that', were his first words as he got back into the car, having apparently parted as the best of friends with Mrs Duffy. Gross hypocrisy from the politician who said he wanted to meet 'ordinary people.'
Posted on 29 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Help for Heroes
I was touched by a conversation I had with a father I met out on the campaign trail the other day. He was collecting for 'Help for Heroes'. Three of his children were serving in the Armed Forces and this was the way he felt he could best contribute. One of his greatest concerns was the legacy of mental illness left by war. It is a well known phenomenon - you have only to think about 'shell shock' in the First World War and the condition of some of the Vietnam vets - yet after almost 10 years of constant fighting, we are still unprepared for the results. While soldiers can heal from their physical injuries, psychological wounds may linger like unexploded bombs.
This legacy of misery must be tackled. The statistics are grim; one in nine prisoners is an ex serviceman. The charity Comnbat Stress, founded 90 years ago to deal with psychological injuries, has experienced a 66% rise in referrals over the last five years. Of these, 82% suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and associated conditions, which include isolation, anxiety, depression, phobias and alcohol or drug abuse. Their new appeal, 'The Enemy Within,' is spearheaded by the Prince of Wales and supported by the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes. They aim to raise £30m and I wish them the very best of luck. The most sobering statistic is that on average, it takes an ex-serviceman 14 years to ask for help, which means that the true toll is still unknown.
I do believe that we need a dedicated veteran's hospital specialising in mental health facilities. I was very pleased to hear that the Conservatives are proposing to divert funding for an EU fighting force into just such a venture. The men and women who keep these shores safe deserve our unreserved support.
Posted on 29 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Stock market dives
The fall in the stock market caused by the financial chaos in Greece is only a reminder to me - and I hope to millions of others in the UK - about the folly of closer political and fiscal integration with Europe. With Portugal now on the brink as well, the message is clear; a single currency does not work. I hope this lesson unfurling before our very eyes will bring some sanity into debates about where our country must head. I leave you with this thought - both Labour and the Lib Dems want to get rid of the pound.
Posted on 28 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Marathon day
Watching the London Marathon brought back many memories. It seems like only yesterday that I took part, raising around £10,000 for the Rifles and a childrens' charity. I particularly admire all those enthusiasts who weigh themselves down with suits of armour, donkey outfits and myriad other additions to the basic running shorts and trainers. I am sure they have raised huge amounts for charities and I salute them - Britain at its best.
Posted on 26 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Clegg calls Brown a 'desperate politician'
After Mr Clegg's so-called dazzling performance on TV, Mr Cameron and the press have rightly been tearing him and his party's policies to pieces. Mr Clegg is reported in the Telegraph today accusing Gordon Brown of being 'a desperate politician.' This only reveals how ludicrous any coalition between the Lib Dems and Labour would be. And while Mr Clegg dances up and down accusing Mr Cameron and Mr Brown of leading the same old parties, the truth is that Mr Clegg and Mr Brown lead the same old parties of high taxation, state intervention and red tape - plus a willingness to sell our country to this Orwellian nightmare of an EU. I am delighted that the Lib Dem's shallowness, lack of principle and disingenuousness are being exposed. Only one man and one party have any integrity in this election and they are David Cameron and the Conservatives.
Posted on 21 April 2010 by Richard Drax
19th April 2010
I was surprised today to read that 75% of those polled about the war in Afghanistan want the troops home. As a former soldier myself, I know how hard it is for those left behind to understand what the troops are doing at any one time. Having spoken to serving soldiers, former soldiers and politicians about this, I do believe that the role we are playing is necessary for our future safety. If the void in places like Afghanistan were not filled by us, it is a fact that it would be filled by those who wish to do us harm. The point I would most like to make is that our armed services have been out there since 2001 and we more than do our share as part of NATO. I would argue that it is time to give our troops a rest and to encourage our NATO partners - other than the USA - to fulfil their roles.
Posted on 19 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Grounded
Mother Nature reminds us yet again that she and not we is in charge. The implications of this flying ban though are serious for business interests, not least our national carrier's. And, of course, there are hundreds of thousands of people stuck around the world in places they do not want to be. This is when human ingenuity takes over and I would not be surprised if in the days ahead we hear about some remarkable adventures as passengers resort to all kinds of tricks to get home.
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Richard Drax
We've lost touch
Last night's television debate between the three main party leaders only reinforces my view on why politics has become so detached from those it's meant to represent. Why? Because the Lib Dems allegedly came out on top, at least according to one poll taken minutes after the debate ended. The Lib Dems stand for nothing except higher taxes on hard working families to fund handouts to virtually anyone who wants them, to get rid of our nuclear deterrent and to jump into bed with the EU, thereby losing our very democracy to a bunch of overpaid, undemocratic bureaucrats. But Clegg's glossy performance highlights an ugly truth that the political class has forgotten how to serve, or even what to serve actually means. Clearly, all the electorate have left is a television show where real debate was stifled by the rules agreed between the participants and the television companies. Clegg's 'win' needs to be taken on board by any aspiring politician that the future means hard work on the ground and not cosy lunches in Westminster. Sadly, both Labour and the Lib Dems are using this gaping hole in political integrity to demand more changes to our tried and tested constitution. It's not the system which is broke, only some of those who inhabit it. I trust the people of this great country of ours will see through Labour's and the Lib Dem's smoke and mirrors' campaign and understand that a hung Parliament will see the country's future being sacrificed, yet again, for the future of ambitious politicians, who would do and say anything to get their hands on our battered country.
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Richard Drax
A poor investment
After watching the BBC programme The Apprentice on several occasions, I was impressed by Lord Sugar's business sense and his ability to sum up people. However, his decision to invest £400,000 with Labour baffles me because he's accustomed to getting a return for his money.
Posted on 14 April 2010 by Richard Drax
A man of integrity
A politician of integrity is easy to spot today as they are few and far between. The man I am referring to is Labour's Frank Field. Again, in today's Telegraph he talks honestly and interestingly about the problem of uncontrolled immigration, claiming that no party has an appropriate answer to this growing problem. I agree, although the Conservatives have gone further by talking about a cap. As I have said on endless occasions, we are a tiny island which is full. In addition, a lack of cohesion and integration is worrying many. Labour has behaved treasonably, in my view, by presiding over this open door policy, which we the nation were not asked about. There is some evidence to suggest Labour did this to water down conservatism, with a small 'c' in this country, which was Tony Blair's stated aim after he was elected in 1997. Whatever the reason, Labour has a lot to answer for. If elected, we have to be pragamatic and firm on immigration, also taking into account this free movement policy among the EU's 27 countries. I'm all for allowing people to work in EU countries, but there is no reason why this cannot be monitored via a visa system, for example, so at least we know who is here and when they've gone.
Posted on 14 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Open all hours
According to the papers today, our manifesto will include a pledge that patients would be able to see their GP every day of the week. It's a step in the right direction after Labour reforms saw the out-of-hours service that GPs used to deliver disappear in many parts of the country, including Swanage. And, while GP pay rose, the service they provided was reduced. This is not an assault on the GPs themselves, many of whom are uncomfortable with the present system. Let's face it, their job is a calling and they train to care for the sick, not to look at their watches. However, and certainly in Swanage, people want their doctor back, not some detached voice at a call centre.
Posted on 12 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Home no longer his castle
For those of you who read the Sunday Telegraph, you may have missed a tiny article entitled, 'Tories to curb officials' rights to raid homes'. We claim there are '1,242 pieces of legislation that public servants can use to enter homes'. We shall put an end to this State-led invasion of our privacy and once more ensure that an Englishman's home IS his castle.
Posted on 12 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Not a fair fight
I was delighted to see our shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt reminding voters in today's Telegraph just how unfair the electoral system is at the moment. The main reason is that the constituencies are not all the same size. So, while Labour needs fewer votes to secure urban seats, the Conservatives expend more in the larger, rural constituencies. Add to this the fact the Boundary Commission has failed to take population movement into account and you have a skewed system which favours Labour. To form a government, therefore, we need a 10 per cent lead, which is a massive undertaking and one we are all pursuing with vigour.
Posted on 12 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Council cuts
Cuts are on the horizon, whoever wins this general election. A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests they could be as much as 30 per cent. I know that Dorset County Council is looking in the area of 15 per cent. But, our cuts will be exacerbated by chronic underfunding by Labour over these past 13 years, and this really concerns me. Services are already stretched and our opponents will seek to make cheap political points out of this economic mess that this government has places us all in. Labour's recklessness is almost treasonable. A totally irresponsible government, wed to the idea that you can go on spending taxpayer's money forever. We must learn, once again, to live within our means.
Posted on 12 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Sidelined and out
A rather sad and self indulgent note scribbled by Yvette Cooper to Liam Bryne during a recent press conference sums up the dying embers of this Labour government. She wrote: "It's clearly second division today - presumably that's why we're allowed to do this." She was, of course, referring to the congregation of journalists. Again, Labour has simply not got it. The party's over and I'm surprised that even the second division - as Ms Cooper sees it - bothered to attend.
Posted on 11 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Public sector cuts
There's no doubt that public sector cuts of one sort or another will follow the general election, whoever wins. The fact is that Gordon Brown, in his Socialist rush for full employment, has piled on the bureaucracy and with it jobs. In fact the public sector is so big, he can't afford their salaries or pensions, nor can the country. To try and guess how many jobs will go is, in my view, not very sensible or realistic. Whoever wins power - and we hope it is the Conservatives - will have to look at all the factors before making a decision, and that can only be done by us if we win. Clearly, no one wants to make anyone redundant. Quite apart from the financial cost, we are talking about real people, families and their aspirations. However, the country simply cannot afford to go on paying an increasingly bloated public sector. The consequences of Mr Brown's actions are all too obvious. We are virtually broke. This is Mr Brown's mess, his total recklessness and his wanton destruction of the private sector in order to raise the billions he needed to pump into the public one. But the latter produces nothing. Yes, it must exist, of course, but not to the extent it does. Wherever you go, you will hear desperate Labour politicians warning doctors, nurses, teachers, et al, that jobs will go. This is totally disingenuous. Frontline services are those we want to safeguard. It's the huge and costly administrative bodies behind them which we need to look at, sadly. I say, sadly, because Mr Brown is responsible for building a false economy, on false policies which in the end lead to this.
Posted on 10 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Medical cover
According to today's Telegraph, the armed services are short of 700 medical staff. This is nearly ten per cent of the full quota expected. And as a consequence civilian doctors are having to go out to Helmand province to cover. With more than 280 soldiers killed since 2001, and over 1,000 seriously wounded, our military needs to have the appropriate number of medical personnel to meet these testing times. Our defence spokesman, Dr Liam Fox, reassures me by saying that we will, if elected, respect the military covenant and ensure this medical hole is filled.
Posted on 10 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Between hope and fear
It's a good headline in today's Telegraph - Battle between hope and fear - as I believe that's exactly what this election is about. On the one hand a Conservative government, bent on removing the heavy hand of the state with a light touch on the tiller, versus an intolerant 'clunking fist', which believes in micro managing our lives and aspirations. The two styles could not be more different. Our great country and people need to breathe free air again and that's why this election is so, so important.
Posted on 7 April 2010 by Richard Drax
A sigh of relief
In the dying minutes of this incompetent government, the good ship Conservative fired a broadside and sank three of Labour's planned tax rises. In exchange for allowing legislation through to enact other parts of the Budget, the Conservatives forced Gordon Brown to drop a new tax on phone lines, 'increased taxes on cider and the scrapping of tax relief on holiday homes'. There is no doubt that if Labour wins the election, these taxes will re-emerge. In the meantime, business and all of you who use a phone can breathe a sigh of relief as another raft of punitive tax rises disappear beneath the waves.
Posted on 7 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Bang ... we're off!
At last, the gun's gone and we can get on with removing one of the most incompetent governments of all times. This is the most important general election, I feel, in my lifetime. This great country of ours is already on her knees, and another five years of Labour will finish her off. We need hope and aspiration like never before and I believe a new generation of MPs - for many will have retired or been booted out - can and will face the challenges ahead. There is much to do and it will take far longer than five years to sort out the mess Labour has made. But, I believe, if we are honest and courageous, the electorate will back us, despite the pain we are all going to have to experience in one way or another. Labour has ruined this country, but it is not too late to save her.
Posted on 6 April 2010 by Richard Drax
War in the classroom
After 13 years of Labour rule, the Schools Secretary now condones the use of force in the classroom to deal with unruly students. This when many teachers I've spoken to say they daren't lift a finger in case they face one allegation or another. People will not be fooled by this apparent shift in government thinking only days before a general election. Labour knows education and in particular discipline in school will feature prominently in our manifesto and this is a cheap stunt to appear tough on a problem which has been allowed to run riot for 13 long years. It's too late Balls to do what you should have done at the start of your disastrous rule.
Posted on 6 April 2010 by Richard Drax
More time with the family
An interesting article in today's Telegraph on MPs still deciding whether to cut and run caught my eye. Apparently, up to 20 Labour MPs are thinking about it and several are hoping for posts outside the Commons, like the House of Lords or the EU. The article says that 150 MPs are now standing down this time, which must be one of the largest exoduses in recent history. It is of course the expenses' scandal which is sweeping the hall clean, and not before time. Those without a conscience are staying on, but I suspect they will get a nasty shock come 7 May, if indeed Polling Day is on the 6th. I am finding the electorate have had enough of lies, spin and sleaze, and just long for honesty and representation.
Posted on 3 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Where's our money?
"Tory shires 'get less cash than Labour towns'", screams the headline. Of course we have known this as a matter of fact for years, but the Conservatives are accusing Labour of starving rural areas of cash in favour of Labour towns. "Far from being the result of local spending decisions, it's the result of Labour fiddling the complex system of local government grants for partisan advantage. This deliberate sleight of hand undermines both local democracy and trust in government," said our shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, Caroline Spelman MP. Yet despite this, South Dorset's current MP has consistently attacked Dorset County Council - one of the lowest funded in England - because it's political expedient to do so. Why let the truth get in the way of some adverse and inaccurate publicity?!
Posted on 3 April 2010 by Richard Drax
High noon for the NHS
Poor morale, threats to jobs, wards and services, freeze on recruiting and higher car parking charges. This is sadly today's NHS as yet another hospital in our area announces it's facing large debts. This time it's Poole Hospital Trust, which provides vital services for many people from South Dorset. And with cuts of £20 billion forecast in the NHS, more hospitals will inevitably follow. What's gone wrong when so much money has been pumped into the NHS? It's very simple, the NHS has become one of the most bureaucratic and unwieldy organisations in Europe, let alone the UK. Over the past 13 years more and more administrators have been employed to run a hopelessly complicated system, which swallows literally billions of pounds whole. The money is not getting to the frontline, or by the time it does there's precious little left. This problem can be resolved, but it will take determined and courageous effort, and it will not be painless, sadly.
Posted on 3 April 2010 by Richard Drax
HAPPY EASTER
I'd like to put politics to one side for a moment and wish you all a very Happy Easter. I'm sorry the weather is so appalling, but at least we all have some time to spend with our families, unlike the thousands of men and women who are serving our country in far-flung parts of the world like Afghanistan. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. So, to you all, of whatever political persuasion, a very Happy Easter.
Posted on 3 April 2010 by Richard Drax
I didn't think I'd ever say this
I'm actually feeling a little sorry for Heather Mills. There, I've said it. She is involved in a particularly nasty employment tribunal, which of course is being reported in the Press. I don't want to delve any further into this specific case, other than to say that all too often very personal matters between employer and those who in effect live in your home become public knowledge, and I don't think this is right. To add insult to injury the system itself is open to abuse and that's before you even get to the Tribunal itself. The complainant can virtually claim anything in order to get the employer to offer more money to settle out of the Tribunal and the resulting publicity, which is often embarrassing, unbalanced and adverse. Many employers pay way over the odds, knowing that the last thing that will ever be exposed in the Tribunal is the truth. I can only suggest that Tribunals dealing with such intimate cases should be private, thereby reducing this very confrontational process which is open to abuse.
Posted on 2 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Home grown law is best
We all knew that the Human Rights Act was a charter for lawyers, who would spend their time earning millions of pounds contesting English common law, which is based on common sense learnt over hundreds of years. So I welcome whole-heartedly comments from the country's most senior judge that the courts here are all too often leaning to Strasbourg. Lord Judge is quoted as saying: "We are allowing the convention to assume an unspoken priority over the common law. We must beware. It would be a sad day if the home of common law lost its standing as a common law authority." In my view, not only would this be 'sad' but it would signal the end of our democracy as we know it. We do not need a plethora of rules and regulations made in Europe. We have our own and should nurture that and continue to pass our own law, albeit far less frequently. Socialists love passing laws. It's in their blood. Anything to control people, give the State more power and remove hope and aspiration.
Posted on 2 April 2010 by Richard Drax
The subject no one dares talk about
Gordon Brown had the effront to patronise us all about immigration in a recent speech on the subject. It is his government that has left our borders naked and defenceless, allowing about three million immigrants to settle here over the past 13 years. There is no doubt that wherever I go, people are uncomfortable at this huge, uncontrolled increase. We hear from some sources that Labour did this intentionally 'to rub the Right's nose in it'. If this is true, and many think it is, Labour has betrayed the very nation it has a duty to protect. As I have said consistently, we are a small and over populated island. Britain, with all its welfare benefits, is number one destination for those trying to find a new life. And while I have sympathy with these people, charity must start at home. I trust a Conservative government will come down hard on immigration and protect our nation from this uncontrolled flood.
Posted on 1 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Health and safety
Believe me when I say I know all about health and safety. Running an agricultural business, we are inundated by one regulation after another. So, I was not surprised to read in today's press that a committee of MPs has concluded that school trips have 'halved in a generation'. There was a time when a child climbed a tree, fell out and learnt not to climb quite so high next time. There was a time when children could play conkers without wearing protective glasses. There was a time when children could use their school playing fields before they were sold off. I don't know where common sense has gone in today's mad world, but there's no doubt the nanny State is partly responsible for its disappearance. Freedom, please!
Posted on 1 April 2010 by Richard Drax
Bosses arise
It is most heartening to see at last the bosses of some very large companies supporting David Cameron's pledge to reverse part of Labour's planned rise in National Insurance. Business in this country has been attacked for too long. Socialists, unable to understand the complexities of running an economy, see these big, successful companies as cows to milk, to help pay for the 'unproductive sector', as I call it. So, it comes as no surprise that Gordon Brown, having gone on this reckless spending spree for 13 years, once again wants to milk the cow to pay back his debt. But business leaders have had enough and are at last saying so.
Posted on 1 April 2010 by Richard Drax