The Liberal Democrats believe you should keep more money that you earn. That is why we believe the tax-free threshold should raise to £10,000, saving working people £700 a year and making sure millions of the lowest paid workers don’t have to pay any income tax at all.

Between now and the Budget, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats in Government will be arguing for faster tax cuts for hard-working families, promoting work and growth, and rewarding innovation, paid for by increasing the amount paid by the richest.

Every politician has a simple choice: do you support a tax system that rewards the hard-working many? Or do you back taxes that favour the wealthy few?

And the Liberal Democrats in Coalition are already making the difference:

More than 800,000 working people no longer paying income tax
23 million working people have been given a £200 tax cut
In April this year every worker will be given a further income tax cut of £130
And by the local elections in May this year, 1.1 million of the lowest paid workers, will no longer be burdened by income tax
The Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering a fairer economy, turning our tax promise into cash in your pocket. It was on the front page of our manifesto and is being implemented because of Liberal Democrats in Government.

As part of this Coalition, Liberal Democrats are calling time on our unfair and out-of-whack tax system.

We’ve clamped down on tax avoiders – targeting an extra £7bn every year
We’re taxing the banks by an extra £2.5bn every year
We’ve stopped inheritance tax cuts for millionaires
We’ve put up Capital Gains Tax, raising £925m a year by 2015
We’re ending the scandal, under Labour, of a hedge-fund manager paying less tax on their shares than their cleaner paid on their wages
We’ve reduced tax breaks on pension funds for the super-rich, raising £4.4bn a year by 2015
We have retained the 50p rate
And our overall priority is freeing the lowest-paid from income tax altogether and cutting income tax for millions of ordinary workers
You can read Nick’s speech to the resolution Foundation here: http://www.libdems.org.uk

After month’s of sniping Britain’s newspapers are finally acknowledging that Lib Dem cabinet memebrs are punching above their weight and delivering on our election promises. Over the last week they have published several examples of how Lib Dems in government are pushing for a fairer tax system anf holding the fat-cats to account.

The Independent reports on how Nick Clegg is pushing for a budget to target the rich who so far have avoided the full effects of thegovernemnt’s defciit reduction plans.

Business secretary Vince Cable’s work to rein in bankers and control their unacceptable and self indulgent bonuses is reported in The Guardian.

Even the Tory Daily Telegraph is getting in on the act by reporting how David Cameron’s U-turn on the 50p tax rate for those earning over £150,000 a year is a victory for the Lib Dems (and for common sense).

Nick Clegg’s speech on a “John Lewis economy” can be found on the BBC website.

Residents of Roman Way and Swallowfields are urging Test Valley Borough Council to reject plans for new houses at Shepherds Spring School. The plans, drawn up by Hampshire County Council, are for fifty new homes on the school playing fields with access between the existing school buildings.

A number of residents have submitted written objections highlighting landscaping, noise, loss of a green field site, and poor access and traffic congestion as reasons for refusal. Objections have also been lodged by Andover Town Council, Sport England. As a former member of the borough’s planning control committee I fully understand their concerns and support their objections.

A petition of over 150 names opposing the development has also been delivered to the council. This describes the plan as overdevelopment, which will waste an important local facility. “The new development will generate unacceptable levels of additional traffic which will harm the local environment” they say. “It fails to address important issues such as adequate screening to prevent overlooking, sufficient measures to control noise pollution and most importantly a proper traffic management program.”

Andover Town Councillor Barbara Carpenter, who is leading the no campaign, said “Our most serious concerns are about the extra traffic. This plan will mean an extra 50+ cars entering and leaving the site between school buildings and onto the already busy Smannell Road, close to the existing Newbury Road junction. This is not good for existing or new residents. We hope the council will reject this plan and the developers come up with a more acceptable use for the land.”

Campaigners have been told the matter is likely be decided by the Northern Area Planning Committee in March. They are urging everyone in the area to continue submitting objections up until then. The Planning application number is 11/02729/OUTN and anyone can lodge comments. For further details contact
Barbara Carpenter on 01264 338388, barbaracarpenter60@hotmail.com
or me on 07793 607190, len.gates@andover.co.uk

The picture shows town councillors Barbara Long and Barbara Carpenter delivering letters of objection and the petition to TVBC offices

During the debate over an Andover town council a number of people argued that it was an unecessary, costly extra layer of local government. Over the past year the new members of the town council have proved them wrong. These unpaid, local representatives of their communities are taking action to get things done while their overpaid counterparts on the borough and county council have continually failed to deliver.

A perfect example is the excellent work being done by Babrara Carpenter Lib Dem town councillor in Alamein ward who is doggedly campaigning for imrovements in her local area. In the last three months she has lobbied the county council highways and succeded in getting dropped kerbs for a disabled resident, repairs to the footbridge over Newbury Road and extra grit bins for areas missed out in last year’s distribution of bins. Andover Lib Dems getting things done for the community.

Repairs on Newbury Road bridge

Viking Way grit bin

Newbury Road bridge grit bin

It seem not a week goes by without the far left of the Labour Party appearing somewhere, waving banners and complaining about the cuts the government is making. In Andover its usually orchestrated by ex-communists and fellow travellers whose support is minimal or non-existant. Its good therefore to see that this week the leadership of the Labour Party is actually acknowledging that cuts are necessary (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16452539.)

I am therefore grateful to Ian Swales, MP for Recar for the following list of cuts they don’t tell you about. I reproduce in full his list and comments. Nothing more can be said.

• The CUT from £250,000 to £50,000 in the maximum annual pension contribution to receive tax relief – clawing back a staggering £4,000,000,000 (£4bn) that Labour was giving to the rich.
• The CUT in bank profits with a new tax raising £2.5 bn a year.
• The CUT in regional disparity through the £2.4 bn regional growth fund.
• The CUT in tax paid by ordinary people with the basic tax threshold raised to £8,105 by next April from £6,475 in 2010/11 – and no more 10p tax rate fiascos.
• The CUT in the 40% tax threshold meaning the better off pay more.
• The CUT in money that Labour allowed people to make in Capital Gains with the tax rate rising from 18% to 28%.
• The CUT in pensioner poverty with a triple lock guarantee of rises and the biggest ever cash rise coming in April 2012. No more 75p-per-week insults.
• The CUT in the gap between rich and poor through the VAT rise. Remember those who spend most pay most and the basic costs of living don’t have standard rate VAT.
• The CUT in benefit fraud with new resources being brought in.
• The CUT in tax evasion by the rich with £900m of extra resource.
• The CUT in education disadvantage for poorer children through the Pupil Premium.
• The CUT in the amount per month students will have to pay back after graduation and a higher threshold before they start paying anything.

Remember, Labour didn’t deliver these changes in their 13 years of government and voted AGAINST them in this government. Lib Dems in parliament are pushing a fairness agenda and showing that Labour can never again be trusted with the economy.

By the way, just for good measure we also CUT Tory plans to increase the Inheritance Tax threshold from £350,000 to £1,000,000!

I see from last week’s Andover Advertiser that Alamein councillor Phil North is “disappointed” by his leaders’ proposals to increase parking chargers in Andover.

It is not enough for him to express disappointment at plans to increase parking charges. The proposals threaten Andover’s already weak town centre and place an unnecessary burden on traders and shoppers.

The increase runs contrary to recommendations from a recent report to government highlighting the negative effect parking charges have on our town centres. For details follow this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16153541

It exploits all those residents who, because of county council cuts to bus services, have no option but to drive to the shops. It shows a complete lack of financial planning by the council’s leadership and directly reverses a promise they made during this years elections.

Cllr North and his colleagues are not passive observers to this decision. They are part of the decision making process. He, and they, should honour their promise to the electorate and reject the proposed increases.

Next year, more than half a million additional children will qualify for the Pupil Premium. In Hampshire, 27,152 children are expected to be eligible, meaning that Hampshire schools are set to benefit from an extra £16.2 million, over £600,000 of this in Andover, to support disadvantaged pupils. The Pupil Premium will be extending its reach to cover any child that has been registered for Free School Meals (FSM) in the past six years. For 2012-13, the Premium will be worth £1.25 billion in total.

These are England’s most disadvantaged pupils, including looked after children, and they are set to benefit from £600 each after the Department for Education announced next year’s Pupil Premium will increase by £112 for each pupil. For too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for the future. As a Liberal Democrat, I believe that in a fair society, a Government should work to overcome this disadvantage and help children reach their full potential. Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible.

Of students gaining three As at A-level in 2008, 30 per cent were privately educated, whereas only 0.5 per cent were eligible for Free School Meals. That is why thanks to Liberal Democrats, the Coalition Government is doing the right thing by supporting schools with additional money to support children from less well-off backgrounds. This will help whole classes work better together and move forward faster.

Launching the new scheme Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather said “As we come to the end of the second term of the Pupil Premium we are seeing across the country how these extra funds are making a difference. Additional tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents are all examples of how the Pupil Premium is being used to support the most disadvantaged pupils.”

“That’s why I’m so pleased that, next year, we’ll be extending the Pupil Premium to another half a million children, and increasing the money that schools get to £600 per pupil. This means that, as a result of Liberal Democrats in government, more children will get a better start in life”.

To hear more on this initiative listen to the interview I did with Faye Marsh of Andover Sound at

http://www.andoversound.com/pages/extranet/pupil-premium-i-13172.php

Test Valley Tory council will refuse government funding to improve bin collections. At a recent council meeting they rejected Lib Dem proposals to take advantage of part of the £250 million on offer to improve services. Funding could have paid for the additional weekly summer collections that residents desperately want. Andover St Mary’s councillor Katherine Bird said “This short sighted decision ignores local residents concerns and will do nothing to help recycling.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has launched a youth contract to ensure jobless in Test Valley can earn or learn. Starting next April the youth contact will provide work experience for all local unemployed 18 to 24 year olds who want it. Thousands more new work placement incentives over the next 3 years will encourage employers to take on young apprentices. “We can’t afford to loose the skills and talents of our young people. These plans will help the next generation to build the new economy we need” said St Mary’s councillor Nigel Long.

Thanks to the Lib Dems in Government, banks will be forced to pay their fair share in these tough economic times.

The Lib Dems have ensured that the Government will once again raise at least £2.5bn from its bank levy. This levy, which the Lib Dems demanded, raises more money each year from the banks than the last Labour Government ever managed. During their 13 years in Government, Labour let the banks run wild
and left the taxpayer to foot the bill. Now the Lib Dems are taking real action to clean up Labour’s economic mess and make sure the banks pay their way.

Lib Dems in government are also opposing Tory plans to drop the 50% tax rate on high earners. Thanks to this stand half of banker’s bonuses is paid as tax. Quite right too considering the damage their selfish and short sighted behaviour has caused to economies across the world.