Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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Spin, not
face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's
chosen method of communication. Ordinary
people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question
which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member
might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like
us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she
might tell the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September
16, 2004
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Inheritance
Tax demand
Oliver
Letwin says when the Conservative Party returns to power,
it will give high priority to the redistribution of wealth
(Mail) As a member and supporter of his party, my best
advice to him and his parliamentary colleagues is to abolish
or at least double the allowance for inheritance tax.
At
a stroke, that would channel to relatives and friends
money that would be spent or saved by the recipients,
benefiting the economy, rather than to the wasteful Exchequer.
Letter
from David Owen, Exmouth, Devon to the Daily Mail, January
3, 3006
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Howard's
tax axe
Tories
want to scrap Inheritance duty to help 2.4million middle-class
families
By
Graeme Wilson, Political Correspondent, Daily Mail - December
30, 2004
Inheritance
tax could be scrapped under radical proposals published by the
Conservatives today. In an attempt to put tax cuts at the heart
of the next election campaign, the Tories unveiled plans which
could see the unpopular levy swept away altogether. Around 2.4
million middle-class families would benefit from the Tory proposals.
Inheritance
Tax, currently levied at 40p in the £ for any assets left
above a threshold of £263,000, has become a source of growing
resentment. Soaring house prices mean hundreds of thousands of
hard-working families have been dragged into its clutches over
the last seven years.
Within
five years, experts estimate that one in eight will be liable
to pay inheritance tax after their deaths, compared to one in
40 five years ago. The tax is particularly unpopular because individuals
are 'double-taxed' - paying inheritance tax on earnings, savings
and investments on which tax has already been paid.
Tory
leader Michael Howard will respond today by publishing a 12-page
document spelling out his proposals to tackle the problems caused
by the duty. The paper will contain five options for reform -
and will declare that the simplest of all is to abolish inheritance
tax. This would life a burden from more than 2.4million families
across the country and allow parents to leave their children a
tax-free inheritance for the first time in decades.
It
would also consign 900 pages of tax laws to the dustbin. However,
it would be an expensive reform and would cost an incoming Tory
administration £2.9billion.
Another
option would be to raise the threshold at which inheritance tax
kicks in from £263,000 to £1million - a step which
would cost £2.5billion. This would ensure the tax was only
paid by the very rich.
A
third option is to cut the inheritance tax rate. Cutting the rate
to 10%, or 10p in the £, would cost £2.4billion. A
fourth possibility would involve exempting the principal residence
or main home - a step which would cost £2billion. However,
such a reform could encourage taxpayers to invest more in housing
and end up fuelling sharp increases in house prices.
A
final option would involve linking the threshold at which individuals
start paying inheritance tax to the increase in house prices.
This would only cost £200million and would prevent many
being hit by the tax simply because the value of their house has
gone up.
Mr
Howard said yesterday they he hoped to present voters with firm
policies on taxes before the election, which is expected to be
held in May. The various proposals will be considered by experts,
businesses and taxpayers. Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin argued
that reform of the tax was unavoidable. "Inheritance tax
is increasingly a tax on the homes of ordinary families. Around
six million people are now living in homes which could be affected,"
he said. "It is unfair to impose a high marginal rate of
tax upon hard-working families who happen to live in parts of
the country where property is expensive. I believe the tax system
should support rather than penalise families building their financial
security and independence."
He
said that when Labour came to power, inheritance tax was raising
£1billion/year. The figure has soared to £2.6billion.
The key problem has been the buoyant housing market. Since 1997,
the average house price has risen by 138% - but the threshold
for inheritance tax has grown by just 32%.
When
Labour came to power there was only one town in Britain - Gerrards
Cross in Buckinghamshire - where house prices were above the inheritance
tax threshold. This year there are a total of 86 towns where the
average price is above the threshold.
For
the health of our democracy, we, the people of the United Kingdom,
must find a way to force Mr Blair to resign
Such
defiance of the democratic process and the will of the majority
of we people of the UK, must be exposed by voters as a matter
or urgency, and not just in the two by-elections we have had this
July and the European elections in June 2004. But how can this
be done?
The
most effective way of getting our deceitful PM to resign would
be to mobilise the army of Labour MPs currently in the House of
Commons and get them to demand it, the loss of their seat to be
a penalty if they did not. All voters in Labour-held constituencies
need to write a letter along these lines to their local Labour
MPs:
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Dear
Despite
his absolute and unequivocal assurances over the past year
of the serious risk to our security of Saddam Hussein's
'weapons of mass destruction', Prime Minister Blair
has admitted, that the threat was non-existent. For that
critical error of judgement and for his gross incompetence
in handling this very important issue, I ask you to take
immediate steps to ensure that Tony Blair does the honourable
thing and resign without delay..
I
would therefore be much obliged if you would propose and
help mobilise a Parliamentary vote of 'No Confidence' in
Mr Blair which, despite Labour's huge majority, would leave
the PM with no option but to resign.
If
I get no reply to this letter, I shall assume you will continue
to support Mr Blair as our Prime Minister. In such circumstances
I shall not vote for you in the forthcoming General Election.
Signed:
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Simple,
non-violent, protest letters along these lines on a variety of
issues could be the basis for re-vitalising our democracy and
increasing voters' interest and participation in politics. Download
a printable copy of the above letter here.
There
is another way for the voice of the silent majority to be heard,
a voice that made sure broken promises would not only be revealed,
but punished in subsequent elections.
In
the year available before the General Election expected in 2005,
many topics are available as ammunition, each one asking questions.
A weapon for our purpose will be the results of Opinion Polls
in individual constituencies using ICM, NOP, Gallop, Mori
or YouGov.
Questions
suggested for this purpose are listed here.
CAST
YOUR VOTE ON A VARIETY OF OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES HERE.
Current
and prospective Parliamentary candidates of all Parties running
for election could share a platform at public forums in every
constituency. They would be presented with the results of
polls on this issue expressed by the majority of voters in that
constituency.
The candidates could be asked if their own views and that of their
Party manifesto corresponded with the polls, and if not, how they
intended to represent the will of the majority of local voters.
Local and National Press, Radio and TV coverage would be arranged
and the results published on this web site.
Here
is another powerful strategy for using your vote effectively in
the forthcoming General Election. Send your sitting and prospective
MPs a letter defining your requirements if they want your vote.
This example deals with the proposed
EU Constitutional Treaty.
Your
letters would end: "If you do not answer
this letter, I shall take it that you intend to follow the Government
line. I shall act accordingly in the forthcoming General Election.
Or
why not create a questionnaire that you send to all the candidates
in your constituency, getting them to give yes/no answers to questions
of your choice, and ending it with the same paragraph(above).
Download
a printable example of the questionnaire.
It
is high time for the people of this United Kingdom to stop allowing
themselves to be manipulated by politicians. We need our representatives
in Parliament to genuinely reflect the view of the majority in
their own constituency, even if this means going against their
personal and/or their party's policy. While they may argue their
case, hoping to change the minds of the majority in their constituency,
they should ultimately be obliged to reflect the majority view
of those who elect them.
It
will be argued by politicians of all parties that most voters
don't have the knowledge necessary to express an opinion on important
subjects at issue, and that our vote is a form of delegated democracy.
We should argue that it is their duty to ensure that we voters
do have ready access to such information as is necessary to form
an intelligent opinion. That, after all, is one main purpose of
Opposition Parties in our Parliamentary Democracy.
Most
important of all, such proceedings would rekindle in voters their
latent interest and obligation to cast their vote, knowing that
the candidate of their choice would be more likely to act in accordance
with their wishes. A much higher turnout in elections would be
the result.
Contact
your local Party Chairman. Gain his support for setting up public
forums in your constituency on these, as well as any other relevant
topics, well before the next General Election expected in 2005.
You should then, depending on the integrity of the candidate of
your choice, feel fairly certain that your view on any subject
being debated in Parliament will more accurately be reflected
by your representative in that assembly.
