On a sunny day with a cool breeze, I spent time in the conservatory tending the fish and pond and then did more work on the prospect of developing my Horning property and the forthcoming local elections after the very enthusiastic meeting last night.
Later, to prepare a long public response on the Budget statement, which was being televised for the first time.
I was late to bed last night and then woke up a couple of times before morning. This time, Diana brought the morning drinks in a return to our normal routine. A sunny day, but with a cool breeze. I put up the blinds in the conservatory and moved a few plants around because the sun seems very strong for plants that are susceptible. I also spent some time giving the sand-filter a good back-flush as the fish seem to be creating a lot of sediment at the moment with their increased activity and Pete seems to be under-doing the maintenance. It was thus a little difficult to get down to my other work and this was made worse by Di keeping all of the windows open as she felt hot and me cold.
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I eventually got on with things and made a number of telephone calls to my Liberal Democrat colleagues after last night's meeting. It had gone on quite late and was a very active and enthusiastic occasion that led to us deciding to target another ward in Eaton Ford. This meant more election literature and time spent planning my action list and priorities which are quite burdening at the moment. We had a late lunch as Diana had to go out and then the children arrived in the afternoon, having broken up from school. Di took Debbie with her friend Helen to the horse-riding and then they both came back here for the rest of the day.
This afternoon, I prepared for the Budget statement, which was being televised for the first time, and then had to quickly collect my thoughts and draw conclusions for the forthcoming interviews with the local press. I then typed up a statement and rushed out to present it to them. Later this evening, I wrote a long letter and compiled a map to try to get the North Norfolk planning authorities to agree to an additional dwelling at Heronshaw in return for renovating the old building itself which would make economic sense of the project. Finished off by doing a few other administrative tasks and went to bed quite late and tired with Diana at about 11.00pm. The news today was all about the budget and my prepared comments are below:-
First Reaction of the Liberal Democrats to the Budget Statement
Release Time 5.30pm, Budget day, Tuesday the 20th March 1990
Some Measures to Welcome
Liberal Democrats will welcome the increases of the range of personal taxation allowances, the particular increase for the blind, the raising of capital limits for social security entitlement, the diverting of Pools betting duty for football grounds improvements, the abolition of composite rate tax and the modest measures for encouraging small companies by raising VAT thresholds and improving the tax relief for bad debts. Charities will also be better off but will still pay VAT on their costs.
Peps, Tessas and other Gimics
The abolition of composite rate tax also removes a further distortion in investment, but he has spoilt this by introducing a number of other special measures that will keep his city financial friends busy pestering us with new savings schemes that will probably only divert existing savings anyway. With the emphasis on new savings rather than increasing taxation, Mr Major seems to be taking major risks over the balance of the economy where inflation may well continue to rip. Overseas speculators may well deduce that the budget was just not tough enough.
The Lost Opportunity
One lost opportunity is the lack of measures for the environment; where he has not introduced any taxation reliefs for insulating the home or the work-place, no graduated vehicle licensing for "gas-guzzlers", catalytic converters; no new ways of making the polluter pay and he has showed that he only cares "tuppence" for the use of lead-free petrol.
Nothing for the hard pressed
Householders, hard pressed by the Poll tax and high interests rates will be staggered by the statement that rates will remain high for a long time and that other measures of limiting credit will be ruled out. The abolition of stamp duty on stocks and share transactions but not on house transactions is adding insult to injury. Owners of capital and investors are favoured and the hard-pressed borrowers disadvantaged by a government that continues to give to the rich and take from the poor.
The Real tax to Abolish
The one tax we would have liked him to abolish is the new Poll Tax. The eleventh-hour increases that were announced for Poll Tax allowances, which will provide yet another headache for Local Government to administer at a time of costly administration, are another admission about the unfair, inadequate and ill-thought out incidence of this tax and, by doing it now, too late for Scotland, it shows that it is more to do with political problems close at home.
Gerrymandering
Lastly, as we predicted, they are increasing excise duties on Petrol, Drink and Tobacco by large amounts that affect the Retail Price Index now and the suspicion is confirmed that the intention is to try to avoid increasing them next year, in the run-up to an election, to "reduce" the level of inflation.
Cllr David Broad, The Hayling View, Little Paxton Huntingdon (0480) 215040