Prime Minister Questions 18th December

Wednesday's Prime Minister Questions was about David Cameron trumpeting the reduction in employment figures. 

Whilst Ed Miliband was trying remind David Cameron how the cost of living is affecting people come and down the country. 

David Cameron has got this strange obsession with Ed Balls, one which only David Cameron can explain. 

I thought Ed Miliband did to stick the issues and trying to avoid throwing back cheap insults. 

Ed Miliband seemed calm and David Cameron seemed flustered and angry. Which in my opinion made Ed Miliband the better debater. 

Countdown to the 2015 UK General election

It is now seventeen months to the next UK General Election and the main parties are preparing their election manifesto. 

The Labour Party will probably campaign on improving living standards. 

Yesterday Ed Miliband went to the Tory heartland of Stevenage to promise that the next Labour government  will build more houses. 

I think this will resonate with voters up and down the country, many of whom are feeling the affects of the housing shortage 

Tories are also going to focus on a cost of living but from a different prespective. The Tories recently leaked their child benefit proposals to the Daily Mail. 

In this proposals, child benefit will no longer be given to parents with more than two children. 

I think this is disaster of a policy which in my opinion is unworkable. What will end up happening is that more children will end up on the poverty line. 

The Tories would also like to restrict free  movement of labour between certain countries and the UK. 

This is also an unworkable policy as the key principle of the European Union is the freedom of labour movement. 

So this would be very difficult for the Tories implement without contravening EU policy. 

Prime Minister's Questions

Prime Minister's questions was back yesterday and Ed Miliband focused his questions around the cost of living.

At first Ed asked about the proposed pay rise of MP's and both Ed Miliband and David Cameron are broadly against the pay rise. 

Ed then asked David Cameron about another tax cut for millionaires. Which David Cameron did not deny this surprised me. 

I would have thought millionaires where the last people that David Cameron would currently want to give a tax cut to. 

This really helped Ed Miliband to convey his message that David Cameron and the Tories are out of touch with every day people.

I thought that Ed did well and hopefully in time he will be seen as a credible alternative to David Cameron. 

Working till we literally drop!

I am a bit late in posting my review of George Osborne's autumn statement.

What stood out the most for me was his statement about increasing the pension age to sixty eight. 

Even if economically it makes sense it does not seem fair that millions of people in there 20s or 30s could be looking at an extra eight years of work. 

It is already hard to secure a job with a pension. George Osborne made the assumption that as people are living longer therefore they will be healthy enough to work longer. 

He may well be right but even if your healthy enough to work in your mid to late 60s. It does not seem like an efficient way to deal with the pension crises. 

 

RIP Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela died yesterday at the age of ninety five. Whilst it was not unexpected it still left me feeling sad.

I was about thirteen years old when the "free Mandela" concert to place in the Wembley  arena. 

It was at that moment I realised what Mr Mandela was going through in order to make South Africa free. 

My heart was filled with joy when he was released from prison shortly afterwards. 

Last night as I was watching the tv coverage, it occurred to me that there are few political leaders left that everybody truly respect.

Nelson Mandela belief in forgiveness and unity is something that will live with me forever and I will pass on and teach my children and  future grandchildren. 

RIP Madiba 

David Cameron trade trip to China - Day One

Prime Minister David Cameron is on his umpteenth trip abroad and this time to China.

 As David Cameron believes that the Chinese government could help stimulate the UK economy.

David Cameron hasn't even been in China for a full day and already this trip has run into controversy.

 

Firstly the amount of people that David Cameron has taken on this trade trip is ridiculous. The people he has taken include his father in law and the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. 

One of the reasons that Jeremy Hunt as accompanied David Cameron on this trip is that his wife is Chinese. 

I am sure that this connection will useful on this trade mission. But Jeremy Hunt has potentially got a winter crises looming. I hope he put an appropriate contingency plan in place before jetting of to China.

Secondly David Cameron was asked about the UK's relationship the Dalai Lama and he said it had not changed but hadn't any imminent plans of meeting the Dalai Lama.

 Many took this to mean that he would do anything to keep the Chinese government happy. 

 

Lastly the Chinese government would not allow British reporter Rob Hutton into the press conference. 

David Cameron did bring it up with Chinese President. But Rob Hutton was still not allowed in the press conference.

Hopefully tomorrow will better for David Cameron we will find out exactly how the Chinese government plans to invest in the UK. 

Preview of the autumn statement 2013

This week Chancellor George Osborne will be presenting his autumn statement to parliament.

 The most interesting topic at the George Osbourne's uturn on energy prices. 

Quite frankly it is bit of a shambles when the Labour leader,  Ed Miliband was calling for an energy price freeze. 

The Prime Minister David Cameron came out saying the government has no control over international energy prices. 

Now all of a sudden the green levy will be axed from our bills. Which means that household might get a reduction of £50 a month but only after it has gone up by £126 a month.

 

So it does sound like its a bit of a mess but hopefully it will become a bit more clearer once George Osbourne formally presents the budget to MP's. 

Hopefully budget will have a sizeable section on the cost of living crises, at the moment some middle class families are battling to keep afloat with the rising energy and childcare cost.