City’s Labour MPs Need To Stand Up For The Port

The City’s Labour MPs should be challenging government plans to impose massive new tax rises on the port of Southampton.

The port is fundamental to the economy of Southampton and the region and tax hikes that drive away shipping will destroy local jobs.

This comes on top of the bungled decision recently by the government to impose a back dated business rates bill of £3.75m on 25 businesses in and around the port.

Our MPs, who should be fighting the city’s corner, are saying and doing nothing. Alan Whitehead MP, as a former Under Secretary of state for Transport, should understand the importance of the port and should be standing up for the city.

Time after time our Labour MPs are letting Southampton down. In the last few weeks we have had millions of pounds of government funding pulled from the city. They have pulled the plug on the money to revamp Guildhall Square and the money to rebuild the city’s colleges seems to be slipping away. Our MPs should start fighting for our local interests and putting the city first.

Time To Shift power To Local People And Rein In Whitehall bureaucrats

Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Cities, Tariq Ahmad, meets local Conservatives to talk about revitalising Britain's cities.

Local residents will have the power to instigate local referendums, will know more about how town hall money is spent and Southampton City Council will have more powers and funding under a new Conservative blueprint for local democracy.

I was delighted at the proposals to revive local democracy which were recently unveiled by David Cameron in a major policy document. The new policies include:

· Abolishing all regional planning and housing powers in the hands of regional government, returning powers and discretion back to local communities.
· Creating bottom-up incentives for house building, by allowing Southampton to benefit from the increase in council tax revenues from new homes.
· Giving a real incentive for councils to promote local economic growth, by allowing them to keep the uplift in business rate revenues from businesses growing in size.
· Granting Southampton City Council a new discretionary power to give discounts on business rates, allowing them to help local shops and services, such as rural pubs or post offices, or even create new local enterprise zones.
· Making greater use of direct democracy, including allowing Southampton residents to veto high council tax rises, or instigate a council-wide referendum on local issues if 5% of local residents give their backing.

These radical plans will put local people in the driving seat, and cut back interference and meddling by Whitehall bureaucrats. The next election won’t just be about whether to transfer power from Labour to Conservatives. It will also be about whether to transfer power from the central state to local people.

Dan Hannan....Telling It As It Is

Gordon Brown has run out of our money.

Action for City Tenants

On Wednesday 17th March Conservatives on the City Council brought an emergency motion to lower the average rent increase from 6.2% to 3.1%. This move was made possible following a successful campaign by Southampton tenants and local Conservative councillors to get a fairer deal for tenants from the government. Year after year Labour having been forcing up local rents well above the rate of inflation.

In the next year the Labour government will take £4.1million out of the council tenants rents to spend elsewhere in the country. If it wasn't for the successful campaign by local tenants and Conservative councillors this figure would have been a staggering £5.8m! This is money which could be spent on home improvements for local people.

Tory Defence Chief Backs Spitfire Campaign

Dr Fox at the Solent Sky Museum with an original Spitfire

Shadow Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, has given his backing and that of the national Conservative Party to Southampton's Spitfire Tribute Foundation, the organisation set up to raise funds for a permanent and fitting tribute in the city to the WW2 fighter plane.

Southampton was the first stop for Dr Fox last week where he met myself and Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Southampton Itchen, Royston Smith ahead of a tour of Hampshire.

Dr Fox visited the Solent Sky Museum which houses an original Spitfire and the University of Southampton where he talked to students about the security challenges facing Britain. Dr Fox then went on to other parts of the county to meet with members of the armed forces, retired service personnel and those in voluntary and commercial sector who support our forces.

Labour’s Backdated Port Tax Bombshell

Businesses in and around Southampton Docks are facing nearly £4m in extra business rates from the Labour Government.

Until recently these businesses had paid the business rates as port fees to the port which acted as an umbrella for collecting and paying over Non Domestic Business Rates.

The government has brought in changes to the ratings system for port businesses which will mean they face backdated tax bills to 2005. In effect they will be taxed twice for this period.

Extra taxes are being imposed at the worst possible time with businesses in the city reeling from the effects of the Gordon Brown’s recession. These extra taxes come on top of the 5% hike in business rates coming in this April. Rather than helping local firms in the tough economic climate Labour are hammering them and putting jobs at risk.

Initially firms were asked to pay the back dated taxes in 14 days!
Now Labour are being forced to rush through emergency legislation to allow payments to be spread over a number of years.

Conservatives nationally are fighting these extra taxes in Parliament. At a local level I have pledged that the city council, who are required to collect these taxes, will do all they can to help businesses through this difficult time.