Have your Say!

To be or not to be..

During my time up in Blackpool at Party Conference last week I was surprised about which announcement got the most applause and media coverage. When our Spokesman declared that no-one would pay death duty on amounts less then one million pounds there was a whoosh of excitement- and the commentary that followed in the press suggested that this policy was probably largely responsible for killing off Gordon Brown's 2007 election plans.

The reason I was slightly surprised about the popularity of this policy (although I certainly support it) is that currently only 6% of people pay inheritance tax anyway- so for 94% of us this policy is irrelevant. But I have become increasingly aware of the fact that a growing number of people are feeling that they now pay more than enough in tax, especially as the massive cash investments in health and education have brought modest rather than dramatic improvements. Couple this with a desire to leave something behind for our loved ones when we pass on, it makes perfect sense that policy has been so widely appreciated for the message it is sending.

A lot of my time at Conference was spent gearing up for a general election- most MP's and would-be MP's have sprung into action over the past few weeks, sorting out leafleting campaigns and gathering canvassing teams around them. For now though, it looks like it's all been a waste of time, there will be no election in 2007. Even when the election does come, it means weeks of disruption for the nation and less time to concentrate on local and national issues. It's frustrating that time has to be wasted in this way, but unfortunately that's one of the drawbacks of democracy- as Churchill so wisely said "Democracy is the worst form of government, apart from all of the others."

What do you think? Let me know.
Yours,
Gary

posted by Gary Streeter M.P. on Saturday, October 13, 2007