Another resignation?
David Laws has only just gone and now his successor Danny Alexander is facing questions about his finances! And with proposals to raise capital gains tax (CGT), it's perhaps pertinent that Mr Alexander has admitted avoiding the tax when he sold a property in London three years ago. This will do nothing for the standing of Parliament, nor will it please many of our supporters who are rightly up in arms about these proposals to raise CGT, which is a Lib Dem manifesto pledge, not a Conservative one.
Posted on 31 May 2010 by Richard Drax
From the jaws of defeat
I stared at the photograph of 90-year-old Dunkirk veteran George Kay for a long time. The picture in the Sunday Telegraph was outstandingly good and I'm sure caught the mood from the commemorations from the day before. Unbowed by time and age, Mr Kay stared out across the dunes where so many of his comrades died 70 years ago. We can never possibly understand what it must have been like for our soldiers as they were driven on to the beaches by a ruthless opponent who had only experienced victory after victory. Nor can we imagine the relief as hundreds of thousands of troops escaped those beaches to fight another day thanks to the courage of the Royal Navy and those who sailed the hundreds of little ships. Courage, friendship and discipline brought those men home and these characteristics are still evident in our armed services today. How lucky we are to have them and may we never forget the sacrifices that are still being made in our name today.
Posted on 30 May 2010 by Richard Drax
First scalp
Oh, dear, only a few days in and we have the first resignation. The curse of the expenses' scandal has claimed another victim, this time the Treasury Chief Secretary, David Laws. Funnily enough I watched the Lib Dem in the Chamber only the other day as he launched the Treasury elements of the Queen's Speech. Verbally assaulted from the opposite Benches because Mr Laws had advocated slower cuts in the public finances only days before, he actually coped rather well. A colleague beside me murmured, "Not bad for a Lib Dem," as we watched Mr Laws present the Coalition's case and attack Labour's appalling record. However, Mr Laws knows the rules, or at least he does now, and frankly he had no choice but to step down. Who's next?
Posted on 30 May 2010 by Richard Drax
Tax rises
There is no doubt that the coalition government's proposal to raise capital gains tax (CGT) has put the cat amongst the pigeons. This was not in our manifesto and has caused many of my constituents to question the wisdom of such a move. And, of course, they are not alone. The issue is now splashed across the national press, with many eminent politicians - not least John Redwood - calling for amendments. Let me make my position clear: I oppose any rise in CGT, but if it does go up then some some form of taper relief must be provided for middle to longer term investments. And it must be remembered that those who have invested in second homes or the stock market have already paid tax on their income, so to target them again is neither 'responsible' or 'fair', in my view. Furthermore, we are punishing savers and the prudent, the very people our Party purports to support and who are to a large degree our traditional supporters. As I understand it, this proposed rise was a compromise reached with the Lib Dems during the coalition's negotiations. And while I do not wish to knock the coalition off its delicate course, I was elected a Conservative MP to represent my constituents, and many of them are not happy, and understandably so.
Posted on 29 May 2010 by Richard Drax
NHS cuts
With a coalition government now in place, department heads are now preparing to tighten belts, as indeed we made clear in our manifesto. The NHS is no exception and the new Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has warned of efficiency savings ahead. What is clear is that frontline services must be protected, while the administrative burden - which grew under Labour - is reduced. This is common sense and I am sure this approach will be adopted as the inevitable spotlight searches for and settles on the NHS.
Posted on 14 May 2010 by Richard Drax
A new beginning
What an honour the people of South Dorset have bestowed on me. The memories of election night - or should I say morning - are still fresh in my mind and will probably stay there for the rest of my life. Despite a good majority, I am aware that thousands of people did not vote for me or my Party. I understand the agony of defeat, having seen the Conservative cause beaten here in 2001 and 2005. So, my sympathies go out to my opponents and their supporters. I can only say that I intend to represent everyone, whatever their political creed, without fear or favour. I will also remain close to my constituents via public meetings, surgeries, emails, phone and of course personal visits, as I have done consistently over the past three years. My first experience of Parliament begins next week when all the new boys and girls have to sign in. So, a new chapter begins in my life and I relish the many exciting and rewarding challenges ahead, representing all my constituents in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.
Posted on 8 May 2010 by Richard Drax
Evading the Question
As I listened to David Miliband - our Foreign Secretary - defending the Labour party's spending plans on the Today programme this week, I thought how well Blair and Mandelson's protege has learned his lessons. He wove a web of obfuscation, cited the wrong year's statistics (pointed out by BBC researchers the next day) and spoke so slowly, repeating himself frequently, that the presenter was unable to move the subject along during the very limited time available on air. It appeared quite deliberate and the listener was left completely uninformed - which of course was the intention. Truly, these are dark arts.
Posted on 1 May 2010 by Richard Drax
The 'I' word
Immigration - the issue that dared not speak it's name -has finally burst out into the light of day. This small island has been subjected to an average annual intake of 140,000 immigrants a year for the last 10 years - a deliberate Labour policy. Approximately 39% of these are EU citizens, about whom nothing can be done. Others are refugees, whom we have always welcomed. The concern is over the competition for jobs, housing, schools and welfare between those who live here and those who are arriving. Gordon Brown's 'British jobs for British people' was shown to be a sham when it was proved that 99% of the new jobs over the last 13 years went to immigrants. There is no doubt that an annual cap must be imposed on the numbers of people entering the country - and they must be the people we need to support our economy.
The Conservative proposals to vary the numbers admitted annually, depending upon what our businesses and industry need, seem sensible to me. Meanwhile, we must police our borders properly, cut spurious student visas to sham colleges and integrate new arrivals. Multiculturalism has ended up encouraging the intolerance it was supposed to stamp out. Even Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, has described it as misguided in that it recognises diversity without ensuring proper integration. By all means, maintain family, religious and cultural traditions but coming here must denote a desire to be British. It is a two-way process and can only enrich us all. The Americans have managed it somehow; with the exception of a the Native Americans, the country is entirely made up of immigrants. Wherever new citizens come from to the USA, they are all Americans first.
Posted on 1 May 2010 by Richard Drax
A crucial day
Today is a crucial day for the future of our beloved country. We are faced with having to negotiate with the Liberal Democrats - a party which actually lost seats, rather than gained any, at the General Election. The irony is not lost on anyone, I'm sure. There is no doubt in my mind that the nation must come before party politics. However, I believe we are a party of principles and I do not wish to see those sold down the river in order to gain power. I believe that Gordon Brown's behaviour has been totally dishonourable and only emphasises why politics in this country is in such a terrible mess. Without integrity, we are nothing - both as a party and as a country. If something can be cobbled together to ensure a coalition government can respond to our country's urgent needs - not least sorting out our enormous debt - I would be relieved in the short term. For the longer term, there is no doubt that another General Election is needed and I hope that at that point the country will give us the mandate we need.
Posted on 1 May 2010 by Richard Drax