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| Tweet Topic Started: 24 Apr 2011, 22:35 (261 Views) | |
| Deleted User | 24 Apr 2011, 22:35 Post #1 |
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Campaigning in the North of England. |
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| David MacDonald | 27 Apr 2011, 16:33 Post #2 |
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Leader of the Labour Party David McDonald speaks to voters in liverpool Hi everyone, Thanks for coming today. I would like to talk to you today about the national minimum wage. New Labour believes that your job is vitally important and that you should be awarded for your hard work. Therefore, we want to introduce a national minimum wage of £2 an hour. This will be indexed with inflation so that if inflation goes up your wage won't suffer. The conservatives have shown themselves to be the party of inequality because they do not protect the poorest in society. Nor do they wish to even consider a national minimum wage. They don't want to see those in low paid employment protected. This policy protects the low paid employees. But moreover it is fair and just. It is a move which is supported by over 60% of those asked when we carried out a recent poll. People want change and New Labour can deliver that change. We will protect the poor from the savage policies which have desolated Britain. If you want a fair national minimum wage then please vote for a New Labour Government. Thank you! |
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David MacDonald MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (1997-present) | |
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| David MacDonald | 27 Apr 2011, 16:41 Post #3 |
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David MacDonald MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (1997-present) | |
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| Christopher McGowan | 29 Apr 2011, 23:37 Post #4 |
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| Sir Keir John Martland | 30 Apr 2011, 10:58 Post #5 |
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The Prime Minister launches the manifesto at Manchester Ladies and gentlemen, This Manifesto is about making our country respected and secure, and helping you achieve a better; safer and more prosperous future. For I believe - strongly - that you, and not the Government, should be in charge of your life. That's what Conservatism stands for. That principle underlies all the policies in this Manifesto. I believe in responsibility, opportunity and security. I also believe in a society where the government doesn't try to take away people's responsibility. Labour make that mistake. So when you compare what the politicians are saying in this election, ask yourself these questions. Whom do you trust to take responsibility for Britain's defence; to keep us safe and strengthen our influence for good? And who, at the same time, wants to give you the opportunity to do your best for yourself and your family? Who will give you the power to choose - to say for yourself what you want? And who will give you the personal prosperity that comes from low taxes - from your own savings, your own pension, your own home? Who will let you build up your own stake in Britain's success - and pass it on to your children? Only Conservatives can truly claim to be the party of opportunity; choice; ownership and responsibility. I hope you will choose a the right path - to go forward, not back; to go for the best, knowing that Britain can be the best and do it best. My belief is clean only the best is good enough for Britain. The 1990s present a great economic opportunity for Britain. We have got the scourge of inflation under control. We have cut direct tax rates. And a stable currency gives industry a chance to realise the potential released by the reforms of the 1980s. We are now members of: * The biggest free market in the world. British industry is again respected in Europe. * A zone of low inflation, in which we can compete with the best. Economic growth is created by people's hard work, ingenuity thrift and willingness to take risks. An enterprise economy rewards the industrious and thrifty We believe that government should not gobble up all the proceeds of growth, and that those who create prosperity should enjoy it, through lower taxes and more opportunity to build up personal wealth. Our policy is therefore to reduce the share of national income taken by the public sector. In the mid-1970s, public spending peaked at over 49 per cent of our gross national product. In the early 1980s, it peaked at over 47 per cent. In this recession, it is peaking at only 43 per cent. We aim to reduce this steadily as the recovery gets under way. During the past 11 years we have cut, simplified or abolished a whole range of direct taxes. By applying a 20p rate to the first £2,000 of taxable income, we will cut taxes for all 25 million taxpayers, and take the four million on lowest incomes out of 25p tax altogether. * We will then make progress towards a basic Income Tax rate of 20p. * We will reduce the share of national income taken by the public sector. We will see the budget return towards balance as the economy recovers. Since 1979, wealth has been spread more widely through the community Home ownership, share ownership and the build-up of personal pensions have all contributed. Over two-thirds of people live in homes that they own, 10 million people own shares, 6 million of them in newly-privatised industries. About 2.5 million have benefited from tax incentives to encourage employee share schemes. And over 4½ million people are now building up their own personal pensions. The future of the coal industry depends crucially on the competitiveness of coal as a fuel for electricity generation. British Coal has made enormous progress in increasing productivity since the end of the 1985 strike - but there is still further to go. We will support the efforts of British Coal and its workforce to improve the industry's performance. The long term future of the industry lies in the private sector. We have invested in clean coal technology to safeguard the environment. Renewable energy projects have received unprecedented support. North Sea oil and gas are enjoying a record expansion thanks to our policies of deregulation and low taxation. * Safety will remain our highest priority throughout the energy sector. * We will continue to encourage competition in energy markets. We will progressively reduce British Gas' monopoly of the retail gas market, to give small users the same rights as big firms. * We will privatise British Coal in a way that enables employees to enjoy a stake in the industry. * We will increase our support for British Coal Enterprise which promotes economic regeneration in areas affected by the closure of mines, and has successfully assisted 76,000 people in finding new jobs. * We will review the future of the nuclear industry in 1994. We are committed to safe and economical nuclear power. The existing strict arrangements for nuclear waste will be maintained. * We will maintain a guaranteed market for renewable energy projects and fluid research in this area. * We will consult on new building regulations to improve energy use. Together with British Gas and some of the Regional Electricity Companies, we will establish an independent Energy Savings Trust to promote energy efficiency. Our grants scheme for low income households will receive record funding next year. Conservatives believe that high standards in education and training are the key to personal opportunity and national success. We believe in partnership with parents, choice in schools and a good grounding in the basic skills all children need to make a success of their lives. We are committed to widening opportunities without compromising academic standards. We will continue to expand higher education and training. We will reinforce the rights of the individual in the world of work, and break down artificial barriers to advancement. By extending opportunity and arming people with the power to choose, we will give valuable freedoms and a powerful spur to achievement. * We will complete the introduction of the National Curriculum offering 10 subjects at a nationally-defined standard - English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Technology, Art, Music, PE and, in secondary schools, a foreign language. * Regular and straightforward tests will be in place for all 7, 11 and 14 year-olds by 1992. * GCSE at age 16 will be integrated into the National Curriculum, with a new A+ grade to test the most able. The majority of marks will come from a written exam. * We will continue to encourage the creation of nursery places. For the first time, over 50 per cent of three and four year olds have places either in nursery or primary schools. * Full information will be published annually about the performance of all local schools in each area. * Independent inspection of schools will provide parents with straightforward reports on their child's school, together with an action plan from governors to remedy any weaknesses. * Popular schools which are over subscribed will he given the resources to expand. * GM schools will be able to change their character if that is what parents clearly want and the change fits in with the wider needs of the local area. * The Technology Schools Initiative will be expanded across the country. * Existing schools which opt for GM status will be able to emulate City Technology Colleges and attract private technology sponsorship. * We will maintain the Assisted Places scheme, which gives access to independent education to many families who could not otherwise afford it. * We will ensure that the partnership between the state and the churches in education is maintained and strengthened. * We will enable small schools to apply for GM status in groups. * We will pay particular attention to raising educational standards in areas of deprivation in our cities. As a first step in the reform of teacher training, postgraduate students will spend much more time in school classrooms, learning their skills under the practised eye of senior teachers. * We will undertake reform of the teacher training system to make it more effective in developing classroom skills. * We will develop measures to encourage women with family responsibilities to enter or return to teaching. We will defend the well-respected A-level examinations. We will also continue to develop new high-quality National Vocational Qualifications, and introduce a new post-16 diploma which recognises achievement in both vocational and academic courses. A training revolution is under way in Britain. The Government's job is to create a framework within which men and women of all ages can develop skills, gain qualifications and shape their own futures. Labour would disrupt industrial peace by weakening the power of management and the courts. They propose to take away the courts' most important sanction - the power to take over a union's assets. Sympathy strikes would be legalised by Labour, and employers would be prevented from dismissing strikers who broke their contracts. The workers' rights we believe in are those which enhance individuals' status and opportunities. We believe people should be informed and consulted by employers about issues which affect their work. No one should be allowed to deduct trade union fees automatically from an employee's pave without written authorisation. Individuals must be given greater rights to belong to the union of their choice. We also believe strongly that employers, employees and customers should not have their lives and businesses disrupted by wildcat strikes. In the new Parliament, we will legislate to enforce and enhance these rights. * We will require employers to give everyone who works for them for more than eight hours a week a clear 'written statement of their terms and conditions of employment. * We will make automatic deduction of union membership dues without 'written authorisation unlawful. * We will take measures to give individuals greater freedom in choosing a union. * We will legislate to require that all pre- strike ballots are postal and subject to independent scrutiny, and that at least seven days' notice of a strike is given after a ballot. * People who use public services will have the right to restrain the disruption of those services by unlawful industrial action. The Conservative Party has always stood for the protection of the citizen and the defence of the rule of law. Society is entitled to a sense of security; individuals to peace of mind; the guardians of that peace to our whole-hearted support. Our policies on law and order, and the rights of individuals, are designed to protect the people of this country and their way of life. Britain experiences less violent crime than many comparable countries. But crime has continued to rise in Britain. And the challenge for the 1990s is to step up the fight against lawlessness and violence, so that our citizens can live free from fear. We must continue to ensure that the sentence fits the crime - with long sentences for dangerous criminals, and fines and a tougher regime for punishment outside prison available as an alternative for less serious crime. And we must maintain confidence in our legal system. Public confidence in the police is enhanced when people know what they can expect from their local police force, and when outsiders are let into the process of inspecting how they work. Conservatives believe we have responsibility one for another. We will continue to care for those in need and work to establish a society that is generous, as well as prosperous. Our health, care and social security systems are fundamental to government responsibilities; and we believe strongly in fostering voluntary services too. The Conservative Party is totally committed to the National Health Service. Since 1979, there have been great improvements in the health of the nation. * Life expectancy has increased by two years. * Deaths amongst babies and very young children have gone down by 40 per cent. * hospitals are treating well over a million more people a year as in-patients. * hospitals are treating over two million more people a year as out-patients. * kidney transplants have more than doubled. * hip replacements have increased by over 50 per cent. * coronary artery by-passes have nearly tripled. Since 1979 the Government has vastly increased the resources available to the NHS. * We have increased overall funding for the NHS by 55 per cent after allowing for inflation. The cash increases in each of the three years up to 1992-93 have been the biggest ever. * The number of doctors and dentists has been increased by 17,000, and the real resources committed to GP services have doubled since 1979. * The number of nurses and midwives has gone up by 69,000. * We have established the independent Pay Review Body which nurses had sought for so long, and increased their pay by 43 per cent. It is hard now to remember that Labour actually cut nurses' pay. * We have restored the hospital building programme so savagely cut by Labour at the end of their last term of office. But the Conservative Government has not simply spent more money on the NHS. * We have reformed the organisation of the NHS to encourage those working in the service to respond to what patients want and need, and to get the most out of the increased money which the taxpayer provides. In our next term: * We will, year by year, increase the level of real resources committed to the NHS. Savings made through greater efficiency will be ploughed back into the Service. * We will develop a comprehensive research and development strategy for the NHS. * We will continue to develop the NHS Trust movement which places responsibility for managing hospitals and other services with local teams who are closest to patients. * We will continue to encourage the involvement of doctors and other medical staff in the management of services. * We will introduce powers for nurses to prescribe where appropriate. * We will complete the implementation of Project 2000 training for nurses. * We will set goals for the employment of women in professional and managerial posts in the NHS. * We will ensure that, following maternity leave or a career break, all women working in the NHS, including those returning to nursing on a part-time or job-sharing basis, are able to return to work of a similar status or level to that which they left. * We will ensure that the benefits of fund- holding arrangements are available to any GP who wishes to apply, and we will be ready to extend the scope of the scheme further as it develops. We believe that the diversity of childcare provision in the UK is one of its strengths. It offers parents real choice. Over 90 per cent of 3-4 year-olds are engaged in some form of group activity We shall continue to encourage the development of childcare arrangements in the voluntary and independent sectors. * Each local authority will be asked to produce a Local Childcare Plan setting out the provision available in their area. * We will ensure that the standards implemented through the Children Act are applied sensibly, and do not discourage private or voluntary arrangements which are often best suited to the needs of children and parents. * We will carry forward a family support initiative, encouraging the voluntary sector to work in partnership with families and local authorities. Britain's pensioners recognise the security that Conservative government brings - low inflation, savings that grow, firmness in the face of crime, public services that put the customer first. Those who have dedicated their lives to the service of the community deserve that stability We will continue to give the fight against inflation our first priority The basic state retirement pension will remain the foundation for retirement. We will continue to protect its value against price rises, as we have for the last 11 years. Making Britain a brighter and better place in which to live requires a high quality physical environment - including housing, transport and reinvigorated urban areas. The Conservative commitment is both to the re-creation of our civic pride and also to the preservation and integrity of our rural heritage, founded on the core industry of agriculture. Our aim is to enhance the quality of life for the British people. The opportunity to own a home and pass it on is one of the most important rights an individual has in a free society Conservatives have extended that right. It lies at the heart of our philosophy We want to see wealth and security being passed down from generation to generation. Some 4 million more householders own their own homes compared with 1979. We will improve road transport by: * Investing £6,300 million in our trunk road and motorway network over the next three years, concentrating particularly on bypasses. Some 40 new ones will be opened by 1992 on trunk roads alone. * Increasing penalties for those convicted of drink driving. * Installing cameras at dangerous road junctions to film those who drive through red traffic lights. * Encouraging local councils, assisted by a special budget we have set aside, to introduce pedestrian priority areas and cycle lanes. * Privatising the remaining 39 local authority bus companies. * Deregulating buses in London and privatising the London Buses subsidiaries. A new London Bus Executive will be responsible for bus- stops, stands and stations and for contracting out socially necessary services. The concessionary fares scheme in London will continue. * Changing the system under which motorway service areas are provided. * Encouraging action internationally, and within our own motor industry, to promote more fuel-efficient vehicles. Centuries of farming have shaped our countryside. Now farming is at a crossroads, both here and in the rest of the European Community World-wide pressure to reduce protectionist measures, and the need to contain the cost of the Common Agricultural Policy, mean that farmers will face reduced support and increased competition. It will become increasingly important for farmers to obtain a greater proportion of their income from the market. We will encourage farmers, retailers and manufacturers to work together to increase our share of the European food market. Forestry is a traditional rural industry, which also affects the landscape, and gives pleasure to millions of people. The needs of a successful industry, landscape conservation, and public access must all be accommodated; and we will reorganise the Forestry Commission to reflect these objectives more effectively. * We will plant a new national forest in the Midlands and community forests elsewhere. * We will review the effectiveness of the current incentives for forestry investment. * We will produce guidance on the preparation of local Indicative Forestry Strategies designed to encourage new woodlands, while steering planting away from sensitive areas. We will continue to work for the profitable and sustainable future of our fishing fleet. * We are determined to see that the renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy protects the interests of UK fishermen and retains our share of the Community's fishing opportunities. * We will introduce a balanced package of measures, including decommissioning and controls on fishing activity, to conserve fish and safeguard the future of the industry. The EEC, is a great source of wealth and partnership. But, we will not let any power from the UK Parliament go to the EEC, without a referendum. And, if any time, the EEC brings us no benefit, we will withdraw. The United Kingdom is far greater than the sum of its parts. Over many centuries its nations have worked, and frequently fought, side by side. Together, we have made a unique mark on history Together, we hold a special place in international affairs. To break up the Union now would diminish our influence for good in the world, just at the time when it is most needed. Nationalist plans for independence are a recipe for weakness and isolation. Higher taxes and political uncertainty would deter investment and destroy jobs. The costly Labour and Liberal devolution proposals for Scotland and Wales have the same drawbacks. They do not intend to bring about separation, but run that risk. They could feed, but not resolve, grievances that arise in different parts of Britain. They would deprive Scotland and Wales of their rightful seats in the United Kingdom Cabinet, seats the Conservatives are determined to preserve. We believe strongly that we should go on working together in full partnership in a Union that has served every part of the United Kingdom well. The plans for devolution put forward by the other parties would have a grave impact not just on Scotland and Wales, but also on England. They propose new and costly regional assemblies in England, for which there is no demand. We will oppose all such unnecessary layers of government. The Union has brought us strength both economically and politically Yet it has preserved the historic and cultural diversity of our islands. Our constitution is flexible, fair and tolerant. It has made this country one of the best places in which to live, work and bring up our children. These benefits cannot be tossed away lightly We will fight to preserve the Union, a promise which only the Conservatives can give at this election. |
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| Christopher McGowan | 2 May 2011, 20:29 Post #6 |
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| Christopher McGowan | 2 May 2011, 20:32 Post #7 |
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| Christopher McGowan | 3 May 2011, 18:03 Post #8 |
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| Christopher McGowan | 3 May 2011, 18:04 Post #9 |
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| Christopher McGowan | 3 May 2011, 18:04 Post #10 |
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| David MacDonald | 3 May 2011, 19:38 Post #11 |
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Labour MP
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Poster http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT...6Ea9pPWW-EPH3Cc |
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David MacDonald MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (1997-present) | |
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| David MacDonald | 3 May 2011, 19:42 Post #12 |
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Labour MP
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Poster http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ...usen5UPCpv9_NSg |
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David MacDonald MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (1997-present) | |
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| Christopher McGowan | 3 May 2011, 20:30 Post #13 |
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2:28 PM Jul 11