Yorkshire Cabinet visit is further example of ‘Stalinist’ Labour

Earlier today I had the “privilege” of attending today’s “public” question and answer session with the Cabinet in Leeds.

It was one of the most tightly controlled supposedly public meetings I have witnessed with every question put to the Prime Minister clearly vetted beforehand.

As a result, there was not one syllable of criticism directed at the stage - it was simply another example of the Stalinisation of the Labour Government under Gordon Brown.

Our nation’s economy is in crisis but, instead of seeking the genuine views and concerns of people in Yorkshire, all Gordon Brown and his colleagues came here for was good PR and sycophantic praise from friends and admirers.

It was an insult to our intelligence and a snub to Yorkshire.

An expensive journey into the unknown

The build-up to next Monday’s Pre-Budget Report (formerly known as the Autumn Statement) is one of the most bizarre I can remember.

Every day for the last fortnight we’ve been subjected to hints and suggestions from Ministers and Labour apparatchiks on what may or may not be in it.

Tax cuts seem certain, as do measures to help small businesses including forcing banks to lend them more money.

Normally, this speech is low key in comparison to the Budget itself, but not this time.

Indeed, such is the profile being given to the event that many in the political world are now speculating about whether Gordon Brown is intending to use Monday as a launch pad for a June 2009 General Election.

This would certainly seem like a logical conclusion because, from what we know so far, his Monday giveaway followed another one in the Budget proper next spring will almost certainly place this country in greater debt than at any time in living memory.

The Government has already conceded that taxes will have to go up to pay for these splurges; what they have not admitted is that Labour dare not risk doing this in advance of a General Election.

However, an election on June 4th - the day of the European and county elections - would allow Gordon Brown, should he be successful, to put our taxes back through the roof on June 5th.

So, where’s your money?

We need actions, not words

Although widely predicted, this morning’s news that unemployment had risen sharply to 1.82 million was still extremely disturbing.

Experts are also now suggesting that this number will increase to close on 3 million as early as next summer.

The Tories were derided in the 1990s – rightly in my view – after the then Chancellor Norman Lamont said that rising unemployment was a price well worth paying to keep inflation down.

The fact is, unemployment is a personal disaster for those individuals and their families who have to endure it and this should never be forgotten by politicians.

However, as the numbers of unemployed continues to go up in the months ahead, it is actions and not words that those affected will demand.

I was therefore very pleased when, yesterday, Conservative Leader David Cameron proposed offering tax cuts worth £2,500 per person, per year to employers who hire new workers previously unemployed for three months or more.

£2.6 billion of tax breaks would be given to employers in total and this would be paid for using the money saved on welfare payments.

Crucially, the proposal would create an estimated 350,000 new jobs over the next year – exactly what the economy and the country needs at this time.

I hope very much that Gordon Brown takes David’s advice and acts on this very sensible suggestion without delay.

Labour is gambling our future

Today’s newspapers are crammed with suggestions that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are preparing to offer billions of pounds worth of tax cuts to families and small businesses in the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report.

As a Conservative, I am generally supportive of tax cuts. But it is clear that these Government measures will be funded by yet more public borrowing.

Two questions stick out about what Gordon Brown is up to.

First, are these giveaways part of a plan to call a spring 2009 election, which many Labour strategists are apparently now urging?

And secondly, when this election comes – whether it is next year or 2010 – will there be any money left for an incoming Government of whatever colour to do anything with?

Given the record levels of national debt we are currently saddled with and the likelihood of much more to come should these tax cuts come to pass, the answer appears to be a resounding no.

Meanwhile, I understand that David Cameron and George Osborne will shortly unveil separate Conservative plans for tax cuts.

However, unlike the Brown/Darling plans, the Conservative proposals will be fully funded – in other words, paid for by identified savings in other areas rather than increased borrowing.

This is an excellent example of the difference between today’s Labour and Conservative parties: Conservatives wish to creating a better and sustainable future for us all based on responsible economic policies.

In contrast, Labour wish to play Russian Roulette with our future by pouring money down black holes and increasing our national debt in the hope of some short-term political gain.

Thankfully, I believe the people of Keighley and Ilkley will not be fooled.