Views
Country has an important choice - for the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald
THE party conference season – now drawing to its close – has brought into focus the choice which we all face, most likely eight months from now on Thursday May 6, 2010.
At the Liberal Democrats' gathering in Bournemouth a couple of weeks ago, the focus was firmly on the choices we have to make ourselves before the election, recognising the reality of the recession's impact on overall public spending in the coming years. These are not easy discussions for any political party to have.
A century on from Lloyd George's People's Budget, there is a lot which the Liberal Democrats are hungry to do.
The onus – for us and for others – is to be brutally honest about the changes that need to be made both to put the country's finances onto a more solid footing and to release the resources for the urgent changes the country needs.
I am determined to make sure that we can make our tax system fairer for the least well off, and the hardest hit by recession.
We must take people – among them pensioners, carers and young people taking their first steps into work – who earn less than £10,000 out of the income tax system for good.
That reform will mean £700 more each year for every low and middle earner, and ensure that 4 million people on low incomes pay no tax at all.
By abandoning Trident replacement, scrapping ID cards and addressing the unsustainable and unfunded pensions currently enjoyed by the highest paid we have found more savings than some.
Gordon Brown seems to want to do the opposite and overlook the huge and growing hole now left in the public finances.
His speech in Brighton looked like a desperate final throw of the dice from a lame duck Prime Minister, whose promises now point easily and emptily into the twilight zone after the next election.
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ROADS and railways, not to mention airports and harbours, have an undeniable importance in the Highlands.
But where the railway brought economic revolution in the past, today's potential revolution is in the speed and reliability of broadband connections, allowing instantaneous exchange of information and work worldwide.
Big technological change is coming with the next generation of broadband. The gradual replacement of copper wire by fibre optic cables will multiply connection speeds considerably.
The concern for the Highlands is the Government's habit of referring to us as 'the final third' in this process – the portion of the country which BT say will not be upgraded by commercial investment alone.
Our opportunity is that Government support in this area could make a truly transformational difference. We need to make the case for 'the final third' to be first.
It is to Ofcom's credit that they came to the Highlands two weeks ago and listened.
We will judge them by what happens next, and we locally have a lot more to do if we are to force the Highlands to the front of the queue for next generation broadband.
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WHEN MPs returned to the Commons this week, the expenses scandal reared its head again in the form of the audit of claims carried out by Sir Thomas Legg.
This process is a vital part of clearing out the mess of the old lax rules and the poor administration of them, and it should be fully supported by all MPs.
Sir Thomas has asked me to resupply copies of old gas and electricity bills for my small London flat which had obviously been lost in the system along the way.
He identified one bill, for the £125 cost of financial advice (to help keep costs to the taxpayer down), which I have immediately repaid.
This latest episode has simply reinforced the case for fundamental change in our politics. After the scandal died down earlier in the year, it seemed that too many Labour and Tory MPs were happy to slip back to business as usual, without making the radical changes that are needed.
It is very disappointing that we are still waiting for the Kelly report that will give new rules on expenses.
But the expenses scandal is a symptom of a much deeper arrogance and complacency that affects Westminster.
When so many Labour and Tory MPs have safe seats for life, and both party expects to get a turn at power every few years without ever winning a majority of votes, it is no wonder they feel they can ignore voters.
If we can change the system so that Parliament is elected fairly, with every vote counting, it would kick start the culture change we desperately need.
Posted on: 14/10/2009
