Last weekend, members of the Benarty branch of the SSP were in Ballingry campaigning for a free 24hour ATM in the village. The community has already won the first stage of this battle, securing a free ATM - we are now fighting on to ensure that villagers have 24 hour access.
This Saturday I will be in Dunfermline, with SSP Convenor Colin Fox, to launch our new Dunfermline branch of the party. We'll be campaigning on our free public transport policy. You can read more about our policy by following this link.
http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org/transport/index.html
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Monday 19 February 2007
Letter to Central Fife Times
Dear Sir
I couldn't agree more with Willie Clarke's letter in last week's Central Fife Times. The one off payments for councillors who retire in May this year is nothing less than a sweetener for, predominately Labour, councillors who wouldn't get re-elected anyway.
The amazing thing about this particular gravy train is that to take advantage the councillors don't even have to board the train. As of May councillors will be full time employees, drawing a wage, if they are then made redundant they are entitled to redundancy pay. At present councillors are not employees, yet, somehow they are getting redundancy pay - good work if you can get it!
I believe that career politicians are an absolute scourge and are responsible for the low turnouts at elections. This is why, when it comes to the parliamentary elections, I have pledged that if elected I'll only take the average wage of a skilled worker just as our current SSP MSPs have done for the past four years.
Yours
Lorna Bett
Scottish Socialist Party
regional list candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife
I couldn't agree more with Willie Clarke's letter in last week's Central Fife Times. The one off payments for councillors who retire in May this year is nothing less than a sweetener for, predominately Labour, councillors who wouldn't get re-elected anyway.
The amazing thing about this particular gravy train is that to take advantage the councillors don't even have to board the train. As of May councillors will be full time employees, drawing a wage, if they are then made redundant they are entitled to redundancy pay. At present councillors are not employees, yet, somehow they are getting redundancy pay - good work if you can get it!
I believe that career politicians are an absolute scourge and are responsible for the low turnouts at elections. This is why, when it comes to the parliamentary elections, I have pledged that if elected I'll only take the average wage of a skilled worker just as our current SSP MSPs have done for the past four years.
Yours
Lorna Bett
Scottish Socialist Party
regional list candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife
Letter to Glenrothes Gazette
Dear Sir,
The Scottish Executive has spent £255 million subsidising private firms over the past four years, including companies here in Glenrothes. The track record of some of the firms has not been good - taking the grants, from the taxpayers, then leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as they up sticks and leave. We are constantly told there is no money for public services such as free school meals or free prescription charges yet the Executive throws money at these companies then barely bats an eyelid when they throw people on the dole, as recently happened with Simclar.
We need to get more for our money, by using it to develop publicly owned companies or at least having more stringent measures to ensure these grants aren't abused.
Yours,
Lorna Bett
Scottish Socialist Party regional candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife
The Scottish Executive has spent £255 million subsidising private firms over the past four years, including companies here in Glenrothes. The track record of some of the firms has not been good - taking the grants, from the taxpayers, then leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as they up sticks and leave. We are constantly told there is no money for public services such as free school meals or free prescription charges yet the Executive throws money at these companies then barely bats an eyelid when they throw people on the dole, as recently happened with Simclar.
We need to get more for our money, by using it to develop publicly owned companies or at least having more stringent measures to ensure these grants aren't abused.
Yours,
Lorna Bett
Scottish Socialist Party regional candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife
Socialist candidate calls for Council Tax freeze
Central Fife Times news article
Lorna Bett, SSP list candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife has called on local councils to freeze Council Tax in order to counter the effects of ongoing rises.
Lorna Said:
"February is budget time again for local councils and the, almost obligatory, rise in our Council Tax. Under New Labour Council Tax has gone up year on year to the point where it is crippling working families across the country".
"The Council Tax fails to take into account a persons ability to pay. The differential between those who pay the most and those who pay the least is only three to one which certainly doesn't reflect the differential in pay between the top earners and say a nurse or a school janitor or call centre worker."
"The SSP has trailblazed the fight against the Council Tax – raising bills in the Scottish Parliament to scrap the Council Tax and replace it with a fairer Scottish Service Tax based on ability to pay. Unfortunately an unholy alliance of Labour, Liberal, Tory and Nationalist MSPs have continually voted to keep the Council Tax".
"These continual rises have to stop, Stirlingshire and Fife councils must follow the example of Glasgow and freeze Council Tax this year giving tax payers some respite. Of course this would only be a temporary respite and really we need to sweep away the inequalities of the Council Tax".
"In May a team of SSP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will continue the fight to abolish the Council Tax whilst SSP councillors will do everything they can at a local level bring about this change."
Lorna Bett, SSP list candidate for Mid Scotland & Fife has called on local councils to freeze Council Tax in order to counter the effects of ongoing rises.
Lorna Said:
"February is budget time again for local councils and the, almost obligatory, rise in our Council Tax. Under New Labour Council Tax has gone up year on year to the point where it is crippling working families across the country".
"The Council Tax fails to take into account a persons ability to pay. The differential between those who pay the most and those who pay the least is only three to one which certainly doesn't reflect the differential in pay between the top earners and say a nurse or a school janitor or call centre worker."
"The SSP has trailblazed the fight against the Council Tax – raising bills in the Scottish Parliament to scrap the Council Tax and replace it with a fairer Scottish Service Tax based on ability to pay. Unfortunately an unholy alliance of Labour, Liberal, Tory and Nationalist MSPs have continually voted to keep the Council Tax".
"These continual rises have to stop, Stirlingshire and Fife councils must follow the example of Glasgow and freeze Council Tax this year giving tax payers some respite. Of course this would only be a temporary respite and really we need to sweep away the inequalities of the Council Tax".
"In May a team of SSP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will continue the fight to abolish the Council Tax whilst SSP councillors will do everything they can at a local level bring about this change."
Thursday 15 February 2007
Welcome
Welcome to my blog site. I will be updating the site continually with the issues I am interested in and the activities I am taking part in in the run-up to the 2007 Holyrood elections.
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