Bedroom Tax Conference Saturday 29th June

There have been many comparisons made between the Bedroom Tax and the Poll Tax. Most of these are misplaced. The bedroom tax is much, much, worse than the Poll Tax.  Unlike the Poll Tax it only affects the poor  - and is specifically designed to drive them from their homes.

It is, as the STUC put it, “unfair, immoral and frankly absurd policy that will do nothing to improve the housing crisis that exists in this country”. There are there are steps that Councils and the Scottish Government can take but frankly we can’t rely on them. So the finale of the Austerity Uncovered tour the STUC are calling a Anti Bedroom Tax Conference in Edinburgh this Saturday. Try and be there.

The Spirit of 45'

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a  time when Britain responded to crippling debts and chronic daily hardship with a decisive move to the left: nationalising industry, building council houses and creating brand new public services from scratch.

The fact that it’s hard to imagine now is exactly why Ken Loach has made ‘The Spirit of ’45’.
The film is at its most emotionally powerful when talking about the foundation of the NHS.
Harry Keen tells of when, as a junior GP, he visited a family on the day the NHS came into being. He had previously left some medicine for a child with a cough. I said, “How’s little Johnny?” And Johnny’s mother said, “Oh he’s fine.”

And I heard a lot of coughing and spluttering at the top of the stairs. I said, “He doesn’t sound terribly good, would you like me to go up and see him?” She said, “No, I’m sorry doctor, we can’t afford it.” And I said “Today, July the fifth, it will cost you nothing.” And I was able to go up, and I’ve never forgotten that moment in my life.

Later we hear about how the NHS is now being privatised in England.

 Extract of an article at:
www.redpepper.org.uk/days-of-hope-the-spirit-of-45
Spirit of 45
Film 4 at 9pm Tonight
www.film4.com/reviews/2013/the-spirit-of-45

Queen’s Speech

The Queen’s Speech sets out the UK Government’s legislative programme for the coming session. Most Bills do not apply to Scotland to any significant degree. This briefing covers the main points of interest.

Immigration Bill: This bill is designed to make it easier to deport people who do not have the right to stay in the UK, and to prevent immigrants accessing services to which they are not entitled. It covers Scotland and in addition to directly impacting on overseas members it will impact on public service staff who have to make the additional checks. This is more about political positioning post the UKIP electoral success in England last week.

Pension Bill: This will introduce a single-tier state-pension system, replacing the current basic state pension and earnings-related top-up from April 2016. The bill will also bring forward the increase in the retirement age to 67 by eight years, between 2026 and 2028. We have covered these changes in the Scottish Pensions Bulletin and it will involve increases in NI contributions for members and employers.

National Insurance Bill: The cost to small businesses of employing people will be cut through a £2,000 employment allowance. This may also help small voluntary organisations. It also aims to stop the use of offshore companies that are sometimes used by companies to avoid paying their National Insurance contributions.

Consumer Rights Bill: Will update consumer-protection laws (including Scotland) so they cover digital purchases such as downloaded music and e-books. Trading Standards will be granted new powers, such as being able to get a court to order a trader to pay compensation when consumer law is breached.

De-regulation Bill: A further attack on workers rights under the guise of reducing the amount of regulation with which businesses, individuals and public bodies have to comply. Measures include exempting from health-and-safety legislation people who are self-employed and whose work poses no risk of harm to other people, and removing the ability of  employment tribunals to make wider recommendations in successful discrimination cases. A Scottish Bill on de-regulation in devolved areas has recently been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.

Overall there is little in this programme to tackle the big issues facing Scotland or the UK. UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “It’s a typical Tory tactic to distract attention from the real problems we face by fostering a ‘blame immigrants’ culture, instead of tackling the huge divide between the rich and the poor. This government should face facts and accept that its policies are not working for the majority of people.”

Behind the Mask of the Taxpayers Alliance

NIPSA has published a pam-phlet looking “Behind the Mask” of the Taxpayers Alliance. NIPSA is the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance. The Taxpayers Alliance claims to speak up for ordinary taxpayers who are worried that their money is being wasted. Even a brief look at their campaigns shows that what they really want is to cut back public spending and reduce taxes.

This is the organisation that loves to campaign against pub-lic sector “non jobs” and more recently facility time for union activists. They are currently campaigning to get rid of National Insurance, which no doubt suits their wealthy backers but may be a bit more tricky for the rest of us.

This pamphlet looks at who funds the alliance and how they get their message into the me-dia. Backers include: Tony Gallacher owner of Gallacher UK who has given £3million to the Conservatives since 2001; Christopher Kelly owner of Kel-truck : Sir Anthony Bamford, of JCB who has also donated £1million to the Conservatives. and Stuart Wheeler who having previously donated £5million to the Conservatives has now en-dorsed UKIP. Hardly ordinary taxpayers.

The pamphlet also gives an overview of recent research into the funding and transparency of a range of UK think tanks. The Taxpayers Alliance, Adam Smith Institute and ResPublica are given an E rating while IPPR Compass and the new Eco-nomics foundations gaining an A rating. A being the most open.