William Roache questions Labour's plans for a £20,000 death tax

William -better known as Ken Barlow from Coronation Street- has backed the Conservatives campaign to scrap the governments proposed death tax.

Death tax of up to £20,000 would leave many families with almost nothing to pass on to their children.  It is in effect a 100 per cent inheritance tax for people with modest assets.

William Roache, said: “This idea of a death tax doesn’t strike me as the right way forward. I mean some people could lose almost all of their savings and be left with nothing to pass on to their children”

Under the Conservatives’ Home Protection Scheme people would be offered the opportunity to pay a one-off premium of £8,000 into a voluntary scheme to cover the cost of residential care.

William, commenting on the Conservative party plans, said: “This strikes me as the right approach, protecting the benefits of those on lower incomes who really need the help, and encouraging those with more money to make the right choices and to take some responsibility for themselves in old age. These are the values that I hold and I believe underpin a strong society.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, added: “We all know Gordon Brown has a track record of saying ‘no new taxes’ before and election, and then raising them by stealth after it.  So the choice at the election could not be clearer.

You can William Roache MBE online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaqNsSBIyKQ

Cameron: 'I want to make Britain the most family-friendly country in the World'

David Cameron will ban the ‘most manipulative marketing techniques; strengthen regulations; and give people the power to make complaints.
He said its was part of his campaign to make Britain the most
‘family-friendly country in the world’.

The measures are designed to crack down on ‘irresponsible marketing practices and products targeted at children’.

They include:

• Banning the most manipulative marketing techniques aimed at young people
• Giving people the power to make complaints
• Banning irresponsible companies from winning future government contracts

Mr Cameron said, ” I want to make Britain the most family-friendly country in the World.  A key part of helping families and mending our broken society is making sure that business is responsible in how it markets and advertises products to children.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, added:

“Governemnt and parents must come together to combat company campaigns that are inappropriate.

“A Conservative government will take the tough action needed to help families and build a society where children are not treated as adults and targeted through inappropriate campaigns.”

Home building at its lowest level since 1946

Applications to build new homes across the UK fell by 17%. Showing that the much needed recovery is yet to materialise.

House building has been forecast to fall even further in 2009-10 to the lowest levels since 1923. Home ownership is also falling and Labour’s Housing Minister John Healey recently said that:

“it’s time to give up the dream of home ownership”.

Small contractors are particularly feeling the affects of Labour’s failure, with private sector development remaining in the doldrums, smaller contractors are being shut out from what little available work there is.

Shadow Minister for Housing, Grant Shapps, said: “After ten Housing Acts and nine Housing Ministers, house building under Labour has sunk to its lowest level since World War II. Labour’s housing policy has been a complete failure”

Support Eric Ollerenshaw’s campaign.

I am delighted the Conservative administration at Lancashire County Council recognises and appreciates the financial pressures facing Lancaster City Council, and that they are confident that they can work with us to ensure that the pools in Carnforth, Heysham and Hornby remain open for community use.

The first task is for the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8th February to agree to recommend Cabinet to reverse its decision – and the second task is to persuade Cabinet members on 16th February to accept that their decision to stop running the pools should be reversed.

Both meetings are public meetings.

The call-in of the Cabinet decision to be heard at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 February is led by members of the Conservative Group.

Cllr. J. R. Mace
Leader of the Conservative Group
Lancaster City Council

For more information, please click to see a statement from the County Council.

The fight is not over yet, so please sign our petition below and get in touch with your local Councillor.

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Support Eric Ollerenshaw’s campaign to stop Lancaster City Council cutting its funding to our rural swimming pools

Lancaster’s Lib Dem-led cabinet voted on the 19th January to cease funding to Hornby, Carnforth and Heysham community pools, which the City Council has been managing for the past ten years.

Conservatives on the Cabinet wanted negotiation to take place with the County Council, before the City Council ‘burned its boats’ by ending the management agreement.

Conservatives also asked that Parish Councils – as representatives of the communities affected – be invited to send observers to negotiations between City and County Councils.

These proposals were rejected by the other eight members of theCabinet, and the two Conservatives were the only ones to vote against the decision to end the agreement in March 2011.

Support Eric Ollerenshaw’s campaign to stop Lancaster City Council cutting its funding to our rural swimming pools. Sign the petition below and get in touch with your local Councillor.

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Mr Cameron said he wanted to guarantee funding for hospices

Speaking about the announcement today from Rainbows Hospice in Loughborough, David Cameron said:

“This Christmas many thousands of families in Britain are caring for terminally ill children. This New Year they’ll be coping with the worry of an uncertain future. It is essential that these parents and carers get the support they need to make life liveable, comfortable and fun for both them and their children.

“Hospices provide a vital part of that support. They are a sanctuary for parents looking for specialist help and understanding, a special place for children to have short breaks and – most importantly – a loving, professional environment for care at the end of a child’s life. So it is extremely concerning to hear that the grant runs out in March 2011 and there are no current plans to renew it. The Conservative Party is today making a commitment to ensuring that proper funding for this essential sector can continue.

Welcoming today’s announcement by the Conservatives, Chief Executive of Children’s Hospices UK, Barbara Gelb remarked: “We are delighted that the Conservatives have pledged to extend central government funding of children’ hospices, which is currently worth £10 million a year, as a bridge to getting more funding locally. We will continue to seek a similar commitment from all political parties”

“This is about prioritising what is most important in our public services – and nothing can be more important than caring for our most vulnerable children.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood commented: “Like most charities, the recession means their donations are down so it’s more important than ever than ever that they know they can rely on the funding they get from the Government”

Eric Ollerenshaw, Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood welcomed Caroline Spelman M.P, Shadow Secretary Of State for Communities and Local Government to launch the new action plan to reinvigorate coastal towns.

The plan, entitled ‘No longer the end of the line’, outlines how the Conservative Party will end the sidelining of seaside towns under the Labour Government. The policy proposals in the comprehensive action plan include:

• Economic development – Introducing new tax breaks for local firms – including local business rate discounts, lower corporation tax on small firms, and waiving National Insurance on new firms which create jobs.

• Fighting back against crime - Giving local councils and the police new powers to restrict the large number of late licenses and tackle the alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour that blights many coastal towns.

• Better and more affordable housing – Cancelling Labour’s council tax revaluation which would charge residents higher council tax for having sea views. Creating a ‘Community Right to Buy’ to allow local groups to take over and save threatened community assets and buildings.

• Fair funding for costal towns – Allowing privately owned, listed seaside-heritage attractions, such as piers, to apply for Lottery funding.

Eric Ollerenshaw said “Labour Ministers in Whitehall have ignored and marginalised our coastal towns like Fleetwood, and this must change. This action plan is proof that the Conservative Party wants to reinvigorate our coastal towns, so that they are not just places for a great day out, but are also successful and attractive places to live and work.

Rural Action - The Conservative agenda to empower communities, protect services and revive the economy in Rural England.

Responding to a Parliamentary Question about the number of farmers who live in poverty, Farming Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said 25 per cent of farm households were ‘below the modified low income threshold’.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Jim Paice, who tabled the question commented:

“The figures showed how tough life is for many farmers

“Despite welcome increases in incomes large numbers of farm businesses are barely breaking even as the costs and regulatory burdens imposed by Government increase. In recent years thousands of farmers have quit the industry, weakening our supply base and leaving us more reliant on imports of food we could produce ourselves”

Eric Ollerenshaw, the Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, sees this as further proof that under the current Government farmers have been undervalued and undermined.

“ This is further proof if any was needed that Gordon Brown and his government has either no clue about the importance of the rural economy or simply doesn’t care”

George Osborne: "The Government is on course to miss every one of its major environmental targets".

As part of a special series of speeches to be given by six Shadow Cabinet ministers, a new Conservative government is giving a powerful demonstration that their commitment to the environment is as strong as ever.

George Osborne lamented the Treasury’s record on tackling Climate change:

“Quite frankly, when it comes to environmental policy the Treasury has often been at best indifferent, and at worst obstructive.

“How telling that Alistair Darling has not given a single major speech on the environment for two years now”.

Mr. Osborne announced a series of policies that would put a Conservative Treasury at the heart of developing a green economy. Policies that would see the Conservative government lead by example, a government prepared to learn from companies, and a government that will encourage recycling through incentives not taxes.

The Treasury would lead the development of a low carbon economy and finance a green recovery through:

• Cutting government emissions by ten per cent within twelve months - Saving up to £300 million a year in reduced energy bills. This is the most ambitious commitment on UK government emissions ever made.

• Working with Britain’s leading companies to cut government emissions. - Three of Britain’s most successful companies – Tesco, BT and B&Q have agreed to provide a Conservative government with expert advice on how to reduce carbon emissions.

• Creating Britain’s first Green Investment Bank - The creation of a new lending institution, which will draw together money currently divided across existing micro government initiatives, and leverage private sector capital to finance new green technology start-ups.

• Paying the public to recycle - In place of Labour’s bin taxes, we will help every council to pay the public to recycle

Mr. Osborne ended his speech by commenting:

“Under a Conservative government, the Treasury will no longer be the cuckoo in the Whitehall nest when it comes to climate change. If I become Chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe”.

Eric Ollerenshaw, the Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, sees this green recovery as not just the fight against climate change, but the fight for jobs, the fight for new industry, the fight for lower family energy bills and the fight for less wasteful government.

“I especially welcome the plans to scrap the Labour governments unpopular Bin Tax.  A recent large scale survey conducted by local Conservative volunteers  in our constituency showed that 80% of those surveyed were against ‘Pay to Throw’ proposals.”

There are currently more than five million households who cannot afford to heat their homes

The Government has failed in the fight against fuel poverty with new figures released by the Office of National Statistics showing a 49 per cent rise in the number of excess winter deaths across England and Wales.

A Conservative Government has promised an ambitious programme to tackle the issue of Fuel Poverty. Including:

• Making Homes more energy efficient – Saving households money on their bills

• An entitlement to energy efficiency improvements - Every household in the country will be able to access energy efficiency improvements worth up to £6,500

• Making it illegal for energy companies to charge unfair price premiums on prepayment meters - Reducing bills for 5.8 million households

• Social Tariffs – Every energy company required to offer lower gas and electricity rates to vulnerable households.

Energy efficiency improvements can be undertaken immediately, by a trusted supplier such as Marks and Spencer, and at no upfront cost  to the householder.  The costs will be met over time through the resulting energy savings made.

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, Eric Ollerenshaw welcomed the announcement.

‘The alarming figures on winter deaths come at a time when fuel bills are at record levels. Pensioner households are clearly among the most vulnerable during the winter months.

‘It is disturbing to see the most vulnerable in our area struggling to afford to heat their homes adequately. The Labour Government have consistently failed to tackle the issue of fuel poverty and today’s announcements show that a Conservative Government would have a bold programme of action to help the most vulnerable in our constituency’