Posts filed under 'politics'
Motorists were hit again this month with another 2p a litre rise in the price of fuel leading many people to lose even more faith in the government.
The increase came in to play on the 1st September and is the first of five tax rises that the government is planning to put in before the next general election. It is estimated to be worth more than £10 billion in additional tax. It will mean that the taxman will take 65 per cent of the price of a litre of petrol. Apparently it is also planning to scrap the scrappage scheme along with other temporary schemes.
This increase adds even more pressure on families who are already feeling the squeeze and it can’t be the best move for Gordon Brown and his Labour party if they have any hope of staying in 10 Downing Street at the next election.
A poll by Used Car Expert Magazine shows that 74 per cent of drivers are seriously concerned about this latest increase. However, there are some ways in which you can reduce the cost of motoring.
Shop around for your petrol: Major supermarket Morrisons immediately announced that it planned to freeze their petrol prices for the rest of the week (from the 2nd September) while Tesco’s continue to run with 5p off a litre of fuel if you shop with them. Visit www.petrolprices.com to find the best petrol prices in your area.
Shop around for your car insurance but beware of car insurance ’special offers’ that could cost you more. Visit 100% online insurance company swiftcover.com for cheap car insurance prices. They also have a very useful page on how car insurance premiums are calculated, this might also help you keep your premium down.
Keep your car in tip top condition in order to ensure a better re-sell value and to keep running and repairs costs low
Buy your car tax annually - this will save you £40 a year rather than paying every 6 months
September 3rd, 2009
According to an article in The Times online, the new car scrappage scheme appears to have had a positive effect on new car registrations.
The SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) said
“We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations.”
The registration of new cars continued to fall in June but not at the rate that was expected and by the smallest decline since July 2008. Apparently 35,000 new cars have been ordered since the scrappage scheme was introduced back in April, so 1 in 5 people who ordered a new car were taking advantage of the scrappage scheme. Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT said that the scheme has had a ‘very encouraging’ start but it was too early to evaluate the full impact.
However, some car dealers and motor manufacturers are still to be convinced by the scheme. A survey by Guardian Money showed that many new car buyers who use the car scrappage scheme could actually save more money if they were to simply look for the best cash deal and sell their car privately, pocketing the cash.
What are your views on this? Have you taken advantage of the scrappage scheme and did it save you money?
July 9th, 2009
The Speaker of the House of Commons was today forced to resign as the scandal around MPs’ expenses spiralled. A Speaker hasn’t been forced into this position for more than 300 years.
Michael Martin, who has been an MP for 30 years announced his decision in the Commons today saying:
Since I came to this House 30 years ago, I have always felt that the House is at its best when it is united,” he said.
“In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of Speaker on Sunday June 21. This will allow the House to proceed to elect a new Speaker on Monday June 22.
“That is all I have to say on this matter.”
Some people think that Mr Martin has been made a scapegoat for all the MPs who made inappropriate claims on their expenses. Some MPs, it is reported, claimed on their expenses for gardeners, interior designers and housekeepers, whilst others avoided paying tax on a main residence, claimed second home allowances on properties with no mortgage and even claimed rental money for office space which was in their own garage. It is the type of scandal that could bring down Parliament with calls Parliament to be dissolved immediately.
How can we have any faith in our MPs when they are willing to take the taxpayer for a ride - even if the claims are ‘within the rules’.
May 19th, 2009
I don’t know about you but I find it really hard to understand exactly what is going on in our economy.
Today we are reading reports that mortgage lending in March rose by 16 per cent and that we are finally seeing movement in the housing market. Lending in March 2009 was still 52 per cent lower than in March 2008 but at least it is moving in the right direction. The numbers of homes changing hands in March also jumped by 40 per cent and property website Rightmove confirmed that they have seen house prices rise in the past three months.
So on the one hand things are starting to show signs of improving. Then along comes Alastair Darling with his 2009 Budget. He announced today that
the UK will have to borrow a record £175 billion with our economy this year expected to be the worst since the second world war.
Key points from the budget include:
* Alcohol taxes up 2% from midnight
* Tax on tobacco up 2% from 6pm
* Fuel duty to rise by 2p per litre from September
* Introduction of a car scrappage scheme
* A rise in income tax for those earning over £150,000
* A reduction in tax relief on pensions for people on more than £150,000 a year
And the outlook for the Economy
* Forecast to shrink by 3.5% in 2009
* Growth expected to pick up in 2010, expanding to 1.25%
* Economy to grow by 3.5% annually from 2011
* Public borrowing to increase to £175 billion
* Consumer price inflation to fall to 1% by the end of the year.
* Retail price index to go to -3% by September.
The International Monetary Fund thinks that Alastair Darling is being rather optomistic with his growth expectations in 2010. They predict that the economy will shrink by 4.1% this year and continue to contract by 0.4% in 2010.
Time will tell but at the moment I wouldn’t certainly err on the side of caution.
April 22nd, 2009
Today is a historic day for America as the first ever African-American president is sworn in.
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th president of the United States of America and is the fourth ever youngest president at 47 years of age. Some two million people are expected to pack into Washington’s National Mall to witness Barack Obama take the presidential oath.
The BBC are reporting that there is a huge sense of excitement with people breaking out in cheers. Barack Obama will repeat the oath of office whilst placing his hand on the very bible that was used in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln was sworn in. He will promise to
“preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”
Barack Obama will make a 20 minute inaugural speech as the new President and it is anticipated in The Telegraph that he will “urge American individuals and businesses to take responsibility for their actions”. His aides said the address would stress twin themes of “responsibility and accountability”.
He enters his presidency at a difficult time with the economy in crisis and there are wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. According to the New York Times, poll ratings show that 79% of people are optimistic about the next four years. Can America’s first African-American president live up to these high expectations? I for one hope that he can.
January 20th, 2009
The housing market is being hit hard by the credit crunch. There were reports recently that UK house prices have fallen by 8.1% over the last year and 1.7% in July alone. This is the biggest annual fall since the Nationwide began its housing survey in 1991, according to The BBC website.
Today there were more worrying reports as The Times and The Telegraph both report that repossessions are up by 40% in the first three months of 2008. More than 300,000 are in arrears on their mortgage payments.
The Financial Services Authority reports that 9,152 people had their homes repossessed in January to March of 2008. This compares to 6,471 during the same period in 2007. The Council of Mortgage Lenders is predicting that this will rise to 45,000 by the end of the year.
So with all this crisis, what are the Government going to do to save the housing market and give consumers more confidence. Well one of the ideas is to defer stamp duty. Alistair Darling says that he is looking at a number of measures to help people but was reluctant to talk specifically about stamp duty. During the 1991 recession the Conservative government decided to temporarily suspend tax on homes worth less than £250,000. Currently homes up to this value would incur a 1% stamp duty fee.
Personally I think that this would be a great idea and may go someway towards helping to kick start the housing market again. Someone buying a house worth £260,000 would currently also need to find £7,800 just for the stamp duty. That is a lot of money to find, along with removal fees, solicitors fees and other costs. It is worth remembering though that the fee would have to be paid at some stage but at least it gives the buyer time to save a bit more.
At the moment Alistair Darling is remaining tight lipped on the subject but I am struggling to think of an alternative action.
August 5th, 2008
I must admit that I have never liked politics much. I hated it at school and haven’t taken a huge amount of interest in it over the years, other then when there has been the odd dodgy photo - like when Cherie got snapped accepting a bouquet of flowers one morning looking rather worse for wear.
However, over the past couple of weeks I have been becoming increasingly more interested in who is going to be our next Mayor of London. Would I vote for someone who admitted that he ‘deliberately trapped the Government into bidding for the 2012 Olympics to attract fund for developing the city’s run down East End area’ as reported in The Telegraph or do I vote for someone who says that ‘If you vote for the Conservatives, your wife will get bigger breasts and your chances of driving a BMW M3 will increase.’ Mmmm a close call.
A few key policies are:
Ken’s policies are to improve London transport, reduce crime by adding more police to our streets and having dedicated teams in our neighbourhoods, affordable housing, more fines for gas guzzlers and rewards for green car drivers and also reintroducing youth centres (a £78million programme).
Boris’s policies are to reduce crime by working with police and communities, improve London transport both safety and regularity, improve air quality, keep our streets clean and have affordable housing.
So really there isn’t much in it and it may simply come down to the individual personalities and who you can trust to work in the best interests of our capital.
Other than the problem of finding a differentiating factor between the two main candidates, the other problem expected to hit voters is the voting system. The Telegraph is reporting that the system is far too complex and fear that there may be a lot of forms that are discounted due to them being filled in incorrectly.
So if you are voting, make sure you read the instructions and complete the forms really carefully to ensure that your vote counts.
April 29th, 2008
I read an article on The London Stock Exchange website which identifies the rising cost of car insurance as a contributing factor to people not being able to afford to run a car any longer.
A poll carried out by MoneyExpert.com says that 25% of motorists who completed the poll are using their cars less as a result of increased costs. 8% of these people said increased car insurance premiums was the main reason. However, a substantial 76% said that it was the rising petrol prices that effected how much they use their car.
These people won’t be happy to hear that petrol prices could hit £1.50 per litre by late summer according to a report in The Guardian. The increase is due to the price of a barrel of crude oil hitting almost $114 and the sharp fall in the value of the dollar.
Gordon Brown in visiting the United States at the moment to discuss the Credit Crunch and has called on Opec to increase production in a bid to drive costs down. It looks like it is a simple supply and demand situation. However Opec appears to be standing firm.
So with all these costs rising it looks like we all need to tighten our belts a little. Spring is officially here so now would be a good time to Spring Cleaning your finances. Make sure you are getting the best deals for your loans, car insurance, mortgages and shop around for the cheapest petrol prices.
April 17th, 2008
Alastair Darling’s first budget tomorrow is being referred to as their ‘green budget’. He is expected to increase the price of petrol by 2p a litre, impose a ‘showroom tax’ and a higher vehicle excise duty on those cars deemed to be gas guzzlers.
However, The Independent reports today that the ‘green taxes’ are to be delayed due to the concern that Britain is heading for a recession. However, the usual increase of taxes on alcohol is expected to take immediate effect.
An interactive survey by The Times Online confirms that people are very concerned about the economy with many people citing the main concerns as the soaring gas and petrol prices, higher council tax and bigger supermarket bills. Sadly, pensioners are struggling to cope with the rising costs of essential basic items like bread and eggs according to this report.
Although Mr Darling may decide to delay some of his tax increases tomorrow, I am sure that they will be introduced at some stage. The important issue to me is that the revenue generated from these increased and newly introduced taxes, imposed in the name of improving the environment, needs to be visibly seen to be being used to help our environment, support green schemes and encourage people to use public transport. The congestion charge, although hated by most people, is an example of where we can clearly see that money generated is being ploughed back into improving the bus network in London. And the same needs to be seen with the governments increased revenue.
People need to be encouraged to make their homes and cars more environmentally-friendly by being offered subsidies, for example installing and using solar power panels and by buying hybrid cars (although I’m not sure anyone would want to buy a new car if the ‘showroom tax’ comes in). Some car insurance companies like Swiftcover offer a discount for those who purchase more environmentally-friendly hybrid cars like the Honda Civic, Honda Insight or Lexus RX. Many other companies also encourage customers to buy green. You can now buy solar powered lights, sheeps wool bedding and even solar powered bricks that can light up a path at night.
Rather than seeing red, let’s hope the budget tomorrow encourages us to be a little more green.
March 11th, 2008
