|

Yesterday in Parliament - 29 October 2008

EDM: Self Assessment Tax Return Penalty Payments
Bob Spink MP

That this House notes that Exchequer expenditure on advertising and informing people about making self assessment tax returns on time has fallen from £5.5 million to £1.9 million over the last four years and that the penalty charges paid by taxpayers for late submission of self assessment tax returns risen from £73.7 million to £149.4 million over the last 4 years, is concerned that this correlation may indicate that tax payers are now being given insufficient information and calls on the Government to review its policy in order to assist people to make timely returns and avoid penalty payments.

_____________________________________________

Dr. Bob Spink - Amendment to Marine Bill Motion: after 'seas', insert 'notes that one of the greatest threats to marine life in UK waters is that, under the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) more fish are thrown back dead than are legally landed across the EU, and that marine conservation has been destroyed by the CFP'.

Bob Spink (Castle Point) Climate Change Bill: Let me take the Minister back to a technical minutia. Is she convinced that the methodologies for measuring aviation and marine emissions, particularly on the international scale, will be robust enough in the longer term?

Joan Ruddock: I am sure the hon. Gentleman may know a little more about the technical minutiae of this matter than I do, but the Government are very conscious of the problem. We are always in discussions and seeking to improve the methodologies, but the fact that there is no agreed methodology at the moment means that we would face difficulties if we followed some of the amendments and simply included the present levels of emissions.

Bob says: (The fact is, Britain will enforce tightly, pay more and lose jobs and shift the emissions to other parts of the world where laws will not be so tightly upheld… and this will shove up emissions in the longer run, not reduce them).

EDM 2343: Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand Andrew Mackinlay

That this House considers the behaviour of Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand to be base and vulgar; and further considers that it diminishes the reputation of the BBC and should not be funded by the licence fee.

Please amend to add at the end the words:

"and that the obscene salaries paid to these two comedians from the licence fee should be reduced forthwith to no more than the level of the Prime Minister's salary."

Article by Bob for local newspaper : Time For Grown-Up Politics

I'm fighting for two of our children’s birthrights. First, to grow-up in a safe and pleasant local environment. Second, to live in a self-governing country, not a Federal Europe. Let me start with our local area.

It lifts people's hearts when politicians stop slagging each other off and start working together.

Labour's Parliamentary candidate, Julian Ware-Lane, fights for our greenbelt, saying: The sites proposed by the council are wholly inappropriate'. He's damn right. And he's backed-up by senior Labour Minister, Margaret Beckett, who told the House of Commons: The Government is against building in the greenbelt but Castle Point Council have talked of doing so in the future.

Leading the Battle

Dave Blackwell and his team of Independent Councillors are leading the battle to stop overdevelopment and improve our infrastructure. They don't do political bickering, they just get on with the job. And local Labour Party top gun, Bill Deal, put politics aside to work with us, for his community.

I'm proud to be part of an excellent team of local politicians who bring much-needed dignity to public life. And being Independent leaves me free to work for you, rather than for a political party.

Party politics is self-serving, it doesn't serve you. For instance, our local Tory County Councillors closed one of our secondary schools so their Tory mates on the Borough Council could build 100s more houses when they sell-off our school field. Yet in the consultation they denied they'd do this. Little wonder people don't trust politicians.

Tory Councillors, in questionable planning meetings pass dubious developments, like the 320 houses in The Chase and hundreds of flats which cannot be sold, like those on Long Road. Transparency in local planning remains an issue in Castle Point.

And now the Environment Agency wants to sacrifice 800 acres of Canvey, to cut flood risks, not for us but for the rest of the Estuary. But we're fighting them with our Stop Flooding Canvey Campaign. I'm taking a delegation to see the Minister responsible for the policy. We'll be led by Town Council Leader Dave Blackwell and we'll leave no stone unturned fighting for our patch. Our hard-won victory against the Calor Gas plant shows that, if we all work together, we can win.

We Shall Fight on the Beaches

I am also fighting hard for our independence in Europe. Churchill said: We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall never surrender. What Churchill and our forefathers won at great cost, let no political party squander.

Officially, 75 per cent of our laws now come from unaccountable EU Commissioners; the very ones who have failed to get their books audited for 14 years. Commissioners like Peter Mandelson who was recently discovered at a private dinner meeting, plotting with discredited top Tory George Osborne on how to impose the EU Constitution without a public backlash.

The latest insult is a payout of £1million of your cash to Mandelson when he resigned. In the real world, if you break a contract, you pay compensation. But in the topsy-turvey world of the EU, we pay him. How bent is that? In fact, our membership of the EU does not just bring us massive problems, it costs us £1,250 million a month.

One thing is certain; the EU is not here for Britain's benefit. That's why we should return to trading in a Common Market and fight the Tory, Labour and Lib Dem stealthy creep into a Federal Europe.

Like most of you, I've given up on Party politics. I'm a UKIP member because UKIP alone is fighting for our independence. But I take no party whip at Westminster, not even for UKIP.

People want me to be independent. It's my job to listen to you and to deliver for you.

Two facts are clear. First, being independent of a whip means I work for you, not for a political party. Second, being independent of the local Conservative Association means I'm free to challenge bad council policy, to fight vested interests and stand up to developers who want destroy our greenbelt.

However you vote, whatever your problem, I'm here for you. And I'll fight for your right to live in a self-governing country and to enjoy our environment and greenbelt.

Bob Spink MP

Local people are keen to see Poppy Man
who is really popular wherever he goes

Poppy Man is dropping in with RAF veteran and local MP Bob Spink,
for a drink and chat with Royal British Legion Members on Canvey Island
next week. He has just arrived back from Basra where he was a great hit with
our troops. Standing six foot tall, he’s a truly handsome guy.

Bob is encouraging greater support and understanding for our veterans
as we come up to Remembrance Sunday.

Bob has also helped to fix for Poppy Man to meet the Speaker in Parliament next week.

Bob says:

"Our veterans and our service men and women are professional
and dedicated. They made this country and much of the rest
of the world a free and decent place to live.

They are simply the bravest and the Best.

Poppy Man reminds us of those who sacrificed everything for their country

And the support and understanding we must show veterans and those still serving.

Early Day Motion 2335:

That this House notes the launch of the 2008 Poppy Appeal with the Poppy Man visiting troops in Basra; supports the Royal British Legion in its aim to exceed the £30 million raised in the 2007 Poppy Appeal; pays its respects to those who have lost their lives during conflicts across the world; recognises the sacrifice made by millions of people who have lost their lives, not only during the two world wars, but in other conflicts and peace-keeping operations; pays tribute to the Royal British Legion; and fully supports the work of the Royal British Legion, which helps the 10.5 million serving and ex-service personnel and their families who are eligible for the Legion's range of welfare services, including grant-making to those in need, pensions and benefits advice, counselling and job retraining, home and hospital visits as well as the provision of full nursing care.

Lifted from Google

Standing in the middle of the room is a figure made of wire and poppies.

It is somewhat unnerving, but this is the focus for this year's Royal British Legion appeal.

Known as Poppy Man, he features in a series of posters - a symbol of the support given to those helped by the Royal British Legion.

One image is of Tina Thompson, 36, and her two-and-a-half-year-old son Aidan. It could be a typical family scene - a happy little boy swung in the air at the seaside.

But the other figure holding his hand is not his father but the Poppy Man.

'Taken aback'

Mick Thompson, a career soldier who had served in Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, was killed on his way to work at his base in Cyprus.

Looking at the poster, his widow, Tina, thinks of what might have been. "When I first saw it I was just taken aback," she admits. "I was quite upset because I thought it should be Mick holding Aidan's hand and not the Poppy Man, but I just think it's a well-done picture."