Is Swine Fever a Hoax

This article was sent to me by email a very interesting read



Already you see media stories admitted this whole swine flu pandemic is a hoax. On May 3 the press said it was "overblown." Congressman Dr. Larry McDonald said, "I think the swine flu program is a tailor-made hoax." This isn't new. Back in 1976 there was the original swine flu hoax. Congress said everyone was going to die, only the government could save them, and tried to vaccinate the entire country with a vaccine not even meant for swine flu. It was a hoax. One elderly person died possibly of swine flu. Twenty five people died directly from the effects of the government vaccine! Countless more got sick and had side effects from it. We told you this is a hoax. But it is a prelude! There have already been forced quarantines for no good reason. There is a threat of mandatory quarantine. There is a threat of forced vaccines. There is a threat of martial law. A state of national emergency was called for nothing. Californis called for a state emergency. WHO said it is a stage 5 pandemic on a scale of 1 to 6. Not one American has died. In our state of North Carolina only one person has been confirmed with swine flu out of eight million residents. As of May 4 WHO threatens to raise the alert to a full blown level 6 pandemic!!!Let's put this in persptective. Last year there were over 13,000 confirmed cases of tuberculosis. This is a rabidly infectious disease, and there have been real TB epidemics. Almost one thousand people died last year of TB, yet not one American has died from swine flu. 1,400 people die every day from coronary heart disease. That's 42,000 every month. That's news! Why is the government trying to practice medicine. Why is Home Land Insecurity trying to practice medi-cine? They're both too stupid to get out of their own way.

You cannot get swine flu from eating pork, even raw pork from infected pigs. It is biologically impossible. Yet, the American pork industry has been decimated by this. People are refusing to buy or eat pork. We are the largest pork exporter in the world, and many countries have banned our exports. This is just one more way the flu hoax is destroying the economy. Did you know the Egyptian government made the farmers kill all their pigs? Every one of them. There hasn't been one single case of swine flu in Egypt. Not one. You need to realize how this hoax devastates the entire world economy. Go to Google and type in "swine flu hoax", and you'll come up with lots of good information. Congressman Ron Paul has exposed the hoax. Our old friend Dr. Mercola (drmercola.com) shows that vaccines kill more people than the flu does. Infowars.com and prisonplanet.com expose this. Just type in "swine flu hoax" and you'll be overwhelmed.There is no swine flu vaccine. There will be. Don't get vaccinated when it is available. Tamiflu and Relenza just make you worse. No antiviral drugs work; please remember that. All antiviral drugs are a scam for money, like the much touted interferon family. Folks, aren't you tired of being lied to year after year about one false epidemic after another? Swine Flu 1976, SARS, Gulf War Syndrome, Hanta Virus, Antrax (not even Contagious!), Ebola, Listeria, E. Coli HO197, Mad Cow, flesh eating bacteria, Pfiesteria (red tide) and West Nile Virus. Aren't you tired of the government and media crying wolf when there never is a wolf?

This is a prelude, and it is a prelude to force vaccinations, forced quarantine, martial law, and more violations of your civil rights. Executive order 13375 allows for forced quarantine for no reason, and prison time and quarter million dollar fines for refusing. Land of the free?The only vaccine you want is smallpox, but that is not available.Why can't we get smallpox vaccine? Why has it been completely prohibited to us? This threat is due to politics and not health concerns. We face a serious threat of smallpox biowarfare. Read Demon in the Freezer if you want more information.Swine flu is a hoax and a prelude. Your freedom is at stake.

SHEEP

When I left school in 1965 I became an agricultural apprentice after 3 years I went to Hadlow Agricultural College for year passing all my relevant exams but I was not suited to be in the Farming World and became a Professional Judo Coach in 1971. Although I never carried on with farming I still have kept an interest in what is happening, my main interest as a student was Sheep and two things have come to my attention in the last week which ultimately could see the destruction of the production of sheep in GB:

1) The European Union want to have every sheep electronically tagged, so they can monitor them. Most probably from some satellite can you imagine the work this will put on the farmer and more importantly the cost on an industry which has very tight profit margins. Farmers will either stop rearing sheep or pass on the cost to the consumer so another price increase because of EU interference. How long before us Human Beings are tagged by the EU with the excuse it will prevent terrorism or a Pan epidemic?
2) This rumour I heard has not been confirmed but I was told at an Agricultural Fair that a well known superstore (Tesco) have told sheep farmers that they will not purchase sheep that have been rounded up by a sheep dog. Why? Because a Sheep dog stresses the sheep too much have you heard of anything so barmy if this is true will they stop buying sheep from other countries? NO


Martin Clarke Sittingbourne

Council Tax

Dear Editor

My complaint about the fact that I have to pay Council Tax for an empty flat had the response from Nu Labour Councillor Roger Truelove that the Fire Brigade and Police are council tax funded the assumption was that to maintain these services I should pay council tax on an empty property if not I should not expect the service. So does the same apply to the unemployed and disabled who do not pay Council Tax (in most cases) are we going to revert back to hundred or so years ago where a house would display a plate on the wall stating that they had paid there insurance and if they had a fire the brigade could extinguish it? The Council Tax is a bad Tax it only charges Property owners or registered Tenants a fairer system would be for everyone to contribute to the up keep of a Council. It was interesting to note that he mentioned 4000 people in Swale on the housing waiting list if that is the case why did I have so few enquires from British Subjects, nearly all I got was from Immigrants most of whom could hardly speak the language when asked if they would be able to read the Contract, supply a references from a previous landlord and employer, all standard procedure, they could or would not comply. In GB according to the Nu Labour Government prediction we will have to build a house every six minutes for the next 23 years to cope with new immigrants. This will mean our Council Tax will be soaring through the roof not to pay just for the Housing but for new schools, already one in seven primary school children have English as there second language. Roger Truelove boasts how his government are giving financial support for the housing crisis and so they should they caused the mess. The one thing for sure the people of Swale will pay and they will be the people who have jobs, run businesses and own property who will be squeezed and I wonder when and if all these houses are built who will be living in them?


Martin Clarke Sittingbourne

Local People to Pay

PRESS RELEASE
Date: 25th April 2009
Release date: Immediate
Subject: Local people will pay the price for Brown’s failed policies.
Local Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Gordon Henderson, has expressed concern at plans to increase taxes on families and firms in Sittingbourne & Sheppey.

In this week’s Budget the Government announced a number of measures that will hit local people.

· National Insurance will be increased for workers and for firms. This jobs tax will discourage businesses from hiring staff, cut people’s pay packets, and mean anyone earning £20,000 a year or more will be worse off.

· National debt will double to £1.4 trillion – this is equivalent to £22,500 of debt for every man, woman and child. Taxes are to rise by £1,000 for every family over the next two years.

· Fuel duty is up 2 pence per litre, and will continue to rise by more than inflation for the next four years, increasing the cost of travelling to work, taking children to school and going shopping.

· Alcohol duty, which was hiked up in December, will rise again as part of the Government’s plans to increase the cost of beer, cider, spirits and wine by more than inflation every year. This punishes responsible drinkers and is putting small local pubs out of business.

· Business rates are rising by £1 billion in the middle of a recession. Business rates are the biggest cost for firms after rent and staff costs. Bills have soared for local firms since the beginning of April, and further large rises are expected next year too.

Mr Henderson said:
‘These aren’t taxes for the few, they are tax increase for the many. Families and local firms across Sittingbourne & Sheppey are going to pay the price for Gordon Brown’s failings.

‘Labour MPs have been briefed to push the line that this was Budget for jobs. That couldn’t be further from the truth. At a time when people are losing their jobs or facing pay freezes, hard-working families now face smaller pay packets and a higher cost of living thanks to Labour.’

‘I just wish that Gordon Brown would pluck up the courage to call a General Election. Then we would have the chance to elect a Conservative Government to repair our broken public finances and help lead the country out of recession.’
….ends….
Notes to Editors

The Budget was published on 22 April.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/bud_bud09_index.htm

SOARING NATIONAL DEBT

National debt will rise from £609 billion in 2008-09 to £1.4 trillion by 2013-14 (HM Treasury, Budget 2009, p.226).

HIKES IN NATIONAL INSURANCE

In November’s Pre-Budget Report, the Government announced that employee and employer National Insurance contributions will rise by 0.5 per cent from April 2011. More than half of all workers (anyone earning over £20,000) will be worse off.

HIKES IN FUEL TAX

Fuel duty will go up by 2 pence per litre from September, with a further 1 pence per litre rise above the rate of inflation each April for the next four years (Budget 2009, p.165-166).

HIKES IN BEER TAX

In December 2008, duty on beer, cider and wine increased by 8 per cent, and spirits duty by 4 per cent. In the Budget, alcohol duty is increased by a further 2 per cent (Budget 2009, p.169) – adding 1p to a pint, 13p to a bottle of spirits and 4p to a bottle of wine.

This is part of the Government’s ongoing plans to increase beer taxation by above inflation every year.

Almost six pubs close every day and more than two thousand have been forced to close in the last twelve months alone (British Beer & Pub Association press release, Chancellor Betrays Britain’s Struggling Pubs, 22 April 2009).

HIKES IN BUSINESS RATES

Business rates are rising by £1 billion in the Budget, a rise of 4.4 per cent (Budget 2009, p.231).

Business rates bills have risen by an inflation-busting 5 per cent from April 2009. On top of this, transitional relief from the 2005 revaluation has expired; in previous cycles, transitional relief lasted five years not four; this has doubled or trebled bills for some firms. The Government announced on 31 March that firms will be able to partly defer some of these rises – but firms will just be billed for the increases later.

On top of this, Gordon Brown has slashed back empty property rate relief for commercial and industrial premises, with compounds the effect of the recession when firms have empty property they cannot rent out or sell.

Marika Sherwood and Golliwogs

Dear Editor

Marika Sherwood accusations against Miss V Hemsley-Flint because she dared to have a golliwog just prove that some people live in a different world to the rest of us. Most children who had a golliwog just saw it as a toy something they would derive comfort from something to feel safe with when the went sleep rather then being a gross insult to Black people it is a compliment to them, a child would look at a black face and feel safe. It is only when the get older that they learn to be bigoted and they will eventually see that not all Africans are like Robert Mugabe or the Somali Pirates, tell them to watch the BBC programme about the Ladies detective agency set in Africa there they will see that African people are the same as English people
Marika Sherwood then goes on to say there is a need for a Federation of Black Police Officers I thought it was illegal to discriminate on the basis of the colour of the skin? Many White Male Police Officers want an organisation as they are being discriminated against, because of their colour, sex and sexual orientation. Where does it stop next we will a Right Hand under 5ft Police federation, the Federation of Black Police Officers carries on the myth that Black people are different to everyone else.
With regard to the History lesson Marika wants us to believe that Black and Indian people have been here for 2000 years, well it may have been the case that the Romans brought a few slaves from Africa when they settled in England but most went back if there were any left when the Romans left, very much like the programme MERLIN some want to manipulate history for there own benefit rather then face the truth. Do you not think that if Black and Indian people were here for 2000 years the colour of the English skin would have changed? What is fact that Black people have lived in England for at least 400 years especially round the sea ports s they would have come here as sailors and traders.
The truth is most English people are not racist, Black, Brown and White Englishman tend to get along but what all of us dislike is the amount of illegal and legal immigrants being allowed in this country at a time of National Crisis some thing we can not afford, Marika may want to believe in racist views but the majority of do not care about skin colour.

Finally Marika’s comment and I quote “However I do agree that people should be hired on merit- as long as this ignores gender, disability and skin colour” So these groups should get favourable treatment is that another way of saying DISCRIMINATION.


Martin Clarke Sittingbourne

Empty Property @ Council Tax

Recently a lot of time has been spent questioning MP’s expenses and how much Council have lost to Icelandic Banks yet it is the general public and small businesses who have to take the brunt in extra taxes and extra regulations which generate income for Councils and Government
One anomaly is a landlord or Home owner paying Council Tax after 6 months if the building is empty, as some one who rents out flats I have always found this law annoying, why should I pay Council Tax for an empty building I already pay it where I live. Of course the government have always got an answer they maintain to help the homeless this an incentive to keep property in the Rental Market, What has happened to man’s home being his Castle if it my property why should I be forced to rent? No matter this in the past has just been an annoyance as in the past I rented my flats very easily but things have changed with the credit crunch there are lots of properties now available to rent. So it is not so easy to rent anymore I have 3 flats empty one has been refurbished after a Tenant absconded without paying his rent and the other two regulars have lost jobs and can no longer afford the rent one has to do a flat share. Because I am a bit particular who I have in my Flats and will not rent to the first person who comes along, it will take me longer to find a suitable tenant once again in the past it would not take 6months.In today’s climate where people are losing their homes, their jobs and being forced to rent their houses or move back with family, the rental market has become saturated and in all probability my flats will take longer then 6 months to rent. Of course it is not in my interest to have them empty and I may have to consider different methods to encourage people to rent BUT WHY SHOULD I PAY A FURTHER TAX because of this government ineptitude

Higher Business Rates

Date: 4th April 2009
Release date: Immediate
Subject: Gordon slams hike in business rates.
Gordon Henderson has accused the Government of pushing local firms and small shops to the wall by hiking their business rates during the recession. Business rate demands are being sent to local firms across Swale and many are seeing startling rises in their bills this year, with the prospect of even bigger hikes next year. After rent and staff, business rates are the third biggest cost that local firms face.

This comes as a survey by the Local Government Association has found that 4 out of 5 councils are reporting an increase in empty shops in town centres. Mr Henderson criticised a number of Government policies that are pushing up tax bills:

· Inflation-busting rise this April: Business rates are to rise by 5 per cent this April, despite the forecast of RPI inflation to be negative, because of a statistical quirk in the way business rate rises are calculated. The burden of rates will go up by £1 billion a year. The average business rate bill in Swale is currently £8164; this rise will push it up to £8573.

· End of transitional relief from the 2005 revaluation: Transitional relief from the 2005 business rates revaluation has now expired, pushing up bills for many firms in April 2009 by two or three times more, and raising another £100 million for the Government.

· Small shops to be hammered by the 2010 revaluation: The April 2010 rates revaluation will hit the retail sector hard, because of the Government’s decision to use April 2008 as the snapshot for the revaluation – when relative retail rents were artificially high compared to industrial and office rents. The resulting rating hikes could push many small shops out of small business rate relief, which means rocketing bills.

· New empty property hike: When Chancellor, Gordon Brown slashed back rate relief on empty properties. As the recession bites, firms are unable to rent out vacant property, but still have to pay rates in full despite no income from rent. This has increased rates by £1 billion in 2008-09 and by a further £715 million from this April.

· Retrospective ports tax: Businesses based in Sheerness docks face a further hammering, as the Government is imposing retrospective hikes on ports firms’ bills, backdated to 2005. This week Mr Henderson met with the bosses of firms worst hit by the tax to hear how it would affect the jobs of local workers. The Conservative Party is putting pressure on the Government to reverse their decision.

· Poor take-up of small business relief: Small firms are not claiming small business rate relief because they have to fill out complex paperwork. In Wales, small business rate relief has been automatic since 2007.

· New supplementary business rate: New laws being pushed through by the Government will introduce a new ‘supplementary business rate’ which could raise taxes by £600 million a year. Local authorities will effectively be forced to levy this charge because cuts to the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme mean less revenue for councils.

Mr Henderson said:
‘Gordon Brown is dragging local firms down his road to ruin. It is the height of economic madness to be increasing taxes on local firms in the depths of a recession. Local shops in Swale will be hardest hit by these rises, leading to even more boarded up shops on our high street and more job losses.’
….ends….

Lest we forget

Last week I was in West London attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Briton who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a Kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.' The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum. I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an Englishman. RED FRIDAYS Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Englishmen and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for Country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many English people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'... Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday. IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON IF YOU COULD NOT CARE LESS THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON. IT IS YOUR CHOICE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- Lest we Forget.

Message to parents

his is hilarious - no wonder some people were offended! This is the
message that the Maroochydore High School Queensland , staff voted
unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine . This
is the actual answering machine message for the school. This came about
because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be
responsible for their children's absences and missing homework. The school
and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children's failing
grades changed to passing grades - even though those children were absent
15-30 times during the term and did not complete enough school work to
pass their classes.

The outgoing message:

Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school.
In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please
listen to all the options before making a selection:

To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1

To make excuses for why your child did not do his work - Press 2

To complain about what we do - Press 3

To swear at staff members - Press 4

To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your
newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5

If you want us to raise your child - Press 6

If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7

To request another teacher, for the third time this year - Press 8

To complain about bus transportation - Press 9

To complain about school lunches - Press 0

If you realize this is the real world and your child must be Accountable
and responsible for his/her own behaviour, class work, homework and that
it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and
have a nice day!

If you want this in another language, move to a country that speaks it.

THE BIRD FEEDER

The Bird Feeder
I bought a bird feeder..
I hung it on my patio and filledit lovingly with seed... It was indeed a beautiful bird feeder.
Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the Continuous flow of free and
easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table,
and next to the barbecue..
Then came the bird sh * t. It was everywhere; on the patio tiles, the chairs, the table everywhere!
Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to
peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.
And other birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the
bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone.
I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like it used to be ... quiet, serene and no one demanding their
rights to a free meal...

Now let's see ......
Brown & our government give out free food, subsidised housing,
free medical care, and free education and allows anyone
born here to be an automatic citizen.
Then the illegals came by the millions.
Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for the free services;
small flats are housing 5 or more families;
you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by a doctor in an emergency surgery because it is filled with illegal non tax payers;
your child's year 12 class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.
Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box;
I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and
people waving flags other than 'The Union Jack' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Its just my opinion but:
maybe, just maybe, it's time for the government to take down the damn bird feeder.
If you agree, pass it on; if not, continue cleaning up the sh*t!

100 years On

Barack Obama and Gordon Brown are shown a time machine which can see 100 years into the future.
The both decide to test it by asking a question each.
Barack goes first "What will the USA be like in 100 years time"
The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action and gives him a printout, he reads it out "The country is in good hands under the new president, crime is non-existant, there is no conflict, the economy is healthy.
There are no worries"
Gordon Brown thinks "Its not bad this time machine, I'll have a bit of that" so he asks
"What will Britain be like in 100 years time?"
The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action, and he gets a printout.
But he just stares at it.
"Come on Gordon" says Barack, "Share what it says"
"I can't! Its all in Arabic!"

Fighting for Freedom

Fighting for freedom...

How the Campaign for an Independent Britain

is

working to restore British freedom and democracy...

Lobbying MPs, Peers and MEPs to persuade them to speak out against the ex­pansion of EU power.

Keeping up the pressure on all the main political parties to honour their election pledge to give the British people a referendum on the EU Constitution.

Supporting the call by Lord Tebbit for a referendum on Britain’s future relationship with Europe.

Fighting the influence of pro-EU elements in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh National Assembly.

Resisting the Euro-Federalist agenda within the European ‘Parliament’.

Maintaining a strong, united front against the EU with like-minded patriotic and pro-democracy groups throughout the British Isles and Europe.

Developing our grass roots organization so that we have active campaigners in every part of the UK.

Organising pro-democracy meetings and rallies in towns and countryside.

Publishing and distributing leaflets and newsletters highlighting the need for vigorous defence of Britain’s sovereignty.

E-campaigning – using email and the web to educate and inform the public.

Providing speakers for meetings and conferences across the UK.

Highlighting the full facts about the EU through our ‘Time for Truth’


http://www.eurosceptic.org.uk/newsletter

POEM: WE WANT OUR ENGLAND BACK

Goodbye to my England, so long my old friend
Your days are numbered, being brought to an end
To be Scottish, Irish or Welsh that's fine
But don't say you're English, that's way out of line.

The French and the Germans may call themselves such
So may Norwegians, the Swedes and the Dutch
You can say you are Russian or maybe a Dane
But don't say you're English ever again.

At Broadcasting House the word is taboo
In Brussels it's scrapped, in Parliament too
Even schools are affected, staff do as they're told
They must not teach children about England of old.

Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Shaw
The pupils don't learn about them anymore
How about Agincourt, Hastings , Arnhem or Mons ?
When England lost hosts of her very brave sons.

We are not Europeans, how can we be?
Europe is miles away over the sea
We're the English from England, let's all be proud
Stand up and be counted - Shout it out loud !

Let's tell our Government and Brussels too
We're proud of our heritage and the Red, White and Blue
Fly the flag of Saint George or the Union Jack
Let the world know - WE WANT OUR ENGLAND BACK !!!!

Community Cinema

Community Cinema

Am I missing something with regard to turning the Old Odeon Cinema/New Century Cinema into a Community Cinema, I was under the understanding that a Multiplex Cinema was being built on the old Industrial Park or am I wrong? The reason the New Century Cinema closed was because it was not financial viable and that is not a surprise in the days of Multiplex, DVD and Home entertainment so why would a Community Cinema be financially successful? I personally think that particular building is an eye sore and would love to see it demolished and replaced with some nice little coffee and Art shops but if sufficient member’s of the public want to invest their hard earned money into this project that is down to them on condition they do not start asking the Council and Government for money at a time when our taxes are needed for more important things. I dear say all those people who are losing their jobs and houses due to NU Labour economic policies are not interested in a Community Cinema


Martin Clarke Sittittingbourne

News From The Campaign for an Independant Britian

'Free movement of labour' destroying livelihoods

‘Free movement of labour’ is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union. For this reason Britain has an ‘open door’ policy for millions of EU citizens who wish to work here.

We cannot do anything to interfere with the rights of these people to take jobs from Britons because it is EU law that they should be permitted to come here - and EU law overrides UK law.

Unscrupulous employers take advantage of this situation because it offers the chance to have cheap labour. Many large corporations and trade unions accept free migration because they have enthusiastically signed up to the ‘European project’.

Since 2004, over three quarters of a million people have come to Britain from the Continent to work. Gordon Brown’s right-hand man Peter Mandelson says this is fair enough because British people have an equivalent right to work on the Continent. But why should we give up our homes and families to find work abroad?

Gordon Brown promised ‘British jobs for British workers’. He cannot achieve this. No matter what our politicians tell us, the only way to safeguard British jobs for British workers is for the UK to leave the European Union.

Our rights as freeborn Britons cannot be secured unless and until we free Britain from the shackles of the EU. The Campaign for an Independent Britain demands a referendum on membership of the European Union so that we, the people, can decide whether or not we stay in the EU.

Friday, 30 January 2009

EU to blame for French riots

Will Britain be next?

Riots in France are the direct result of EU policy, and the same could happen here – according to the Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIB), the cross-party Eurosceptic group.

CIB spokesman Andy Smith said:

“Yesterday’s civil unrest in France represented an outpouring of public anger and frustration over President Sarkozy’s inability to protect his own people from the consequences of the financial crisis. French membership of the Eurozone precludes independent action by the country’s government. The Single Currency means there is no flexibility on interest rates and no possibility for France to determine its own response to the recession.

“Here in Britain, where the government is not currently hampered by Eurozone rules, the situation has not yet reached boiling point, but it could soon do so, as more people come to realise that our ability to deal with the worsening economic situation is severely restricted by our EU membership. We may not yet have been dragged into the Eurozone – though the government clearly wants to take us in – but we are already subject to a host of EU regulations that prevent us from doing what is in the national interest. Policies of national preference are explicitly prohibited by EU ‘competition laws’ and the British government has limited scope to determine its own economic policy.

“Already, opposition is growing in Britain to the policy of free migration within the EU – which allows people from Continental Europe to take jobs in the UK, and protestors have taken to the streets calling for ‘British jobs for British workers’. Campaigns against foreign ownership of key British companies and against overseas ‘outsourcing’ of manufacturing and services are gaining ground. It is hardly surprising that in the recent public opinion poll, carried out by ComRes for the CIB, 71% of voters said they wanted a national referendum to decide whether Britain remains in the EU, and 75% said they thought UK politicians don’t do enough to stand up for British interests in Europe.”

Monday, 12 January 2009

Seven out of ten British voters want referendum on EU membership

· European Union seen as out of touch, unfair, and poor value for money

· Eighty three per cent say British law should be paramount

· Majority say UK politicians “don’t do enough to stand up for Britain”

The overwhelming majority of Britons want a referendum on whether the UK stays in the European Union.

A new poll by ComRes, commissioned by the Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIB), shows support for the EU at rock-bottom.

Most voters are deeply unhappy about the way the European Union is run, and believe it is out of touch, unfair, and offers poor value for money.

The poll is a devastating blow to those in the Government who want to deepen the UK’s involvement in the EU by taking Britain into the euro zone.

But it is also bad news for the Conservatives as it shows the electorate have moved beyond Tory policy on Europe and are far more Eurosceptic than the present Tory leadership.

With half of voters saying Europe is “largely corrupt”, 71% of those polled say they want a national referendum to decide whether Britain remains in the EU.

Seventy five per cent think UK politicians “don’t do enough to stand up for British interests in Europe”. The same proportion views the EU as “out of touch”.

Sixty five per cent feel that the UK “gets an unfair deal in the European Union; we play by the rules but nobody else does”.

Only 29% believe that Britain gets good value for money from its membership of the EU.

Sixty three per cent say that the EU stops Britain from having its own immigration policy, and an overwhelming 83% are opposed to European law overriding UK law.

Commenting on the results, George West, Chairman of the Campaign for an Independent Britain, said: “The results come as no surprise, proving that the 2.4 billion euros of taxpayers’ money that the EU spent in 2008 alone on promoting itself and its central aim of ‘ever closer union’ was money thrown away. No amount of EU flag waving, singing the EU national anthem ‘Ode to Joy’ or EU brainwashing will ever win over the hearts and minds of British people who were told in 1972 that they were joining nothing more than a trading Common Market.”

The poll results were welcomed by leading Eurosceptic Members of the European Parliament. Nigel Farage, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and MEP for the South East of England, commented: “This poll shows how hopelessly out-of-touch our politicians are with the public. The need for a referendum, on fundamental issues of sovereignty, has never been greater.”

Roger Helmer, Conservative MEP for the East Midlands and Chairman of The Freedom Association, added: “I am delighted at this further confirmation that the British people demand a say on the EU. The EU's frantic attempts to deny citizens a say on the Lisbon Treaty are despicable. Their contempt for the voters is breathtaking.”

-ENDS

Press contact: Andy Smith, Press Officer, Campaign for an Independent Britain, tel: 07737 271676, email: press@eurosceptic.org.uk

Editor’s notes

(1) ComRes interviewed 1,007 GB adults by telephone between January 2 and January 4, 2009. Data were weighted to be representative demographically of all GB adults. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full poll results and breakdowns are available on request. Contact: Greig Baker, ComRes, 28 Broadway, London SW1H 9JX. Tel 020 7340 9634 Email greig@comres.co.uk Web www.comres.co.uk

(2) The Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIB) is a cross-party pressure-group with a nationwide membership and a network of active local groups. CIB publishes a quarterly tabloid newspaper, Free Britain, with news and views on the EU, plus regular newsletters for its activists and a series of eye-catching public information leaflets. Its website, www.eurosceptic.org.uk, is an authoritative source of information on all aspects of Britain’s membership of the European Union. Members of CIB include prominent MPs, Peers and MEPs from across the political spectrum, as well as journalists, teachers, trade unionists, civil rights campaigners, lawyers, business leaders and local councillors. Its joint Presidents are Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour) and Sir Richard Body (former Conservative MP).

Monday, 30 June 2008

Daily Express poll

The Daily Express is running an online poll on EU membership. To date, the percentage of Express readers saying they want Britain to get out of the EU is… 94%!

Polls are still open, so if you haven’t already voted let’s keep those votes for withdrawal flowing into the Express. Vote ‘Yes’ to getting out! The Express needs as many votes as possible to make the poll credible.

Go to http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/50229/VOTE-Should-Britain-leave-the-EU-

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Expense Allowance Abuse by MEPs

Superb German video showing MEP cheating on their daily allowances! The film crew were eventually removed from the building - illegally!

View the video

Sunday, 22 June 2008

CIB welcomes latest poll

Eurosceptic campaigners today welcomed the latest poll showing that an overwhelming majority of British citizens seek a looser relationship with the European Union. The poll, by Eurosceptic group Global Vision, showed that barely a quarter (27%) of electors want to stay a part of the EU under its current terms. Over 40% wished a relationship with Europe based purely on trade, while 26% wished to leave the EU altogether.

"With Ireland on the brink of rejecting the re-badged EU constitution in its referendum, and with a judical review under way in this country regarding the legality of the government breaking its promise to hold an referendum here, it is clear that the headlong drive towards the creation of a European superstate has neither support nor democratic legitimacy," said Campaign for an Independent Britain spokesman Andy Smith. "That three quarters of Britons favour a reduction in the powers of the European Union comes as little surprise. However, it has to be added that the chances of the EU giving up any of its powers are remote. Sooner or later, Britain will have to face up to the reality that we would be better off out of the EU." Link to CIB News

Posted by CIB website contacts at 18:15 0 comments

LOOK after your own First

Many Years ago I knew a Guy who had lost his job and fell upon hard times; he got so low that he could not feed his own family. Yet every Sunday Dinner time he would put on his best suit and go to the pub he would always buy several rounds to give the impression of being comfortable of. His wife eventually divorced him and now lives of the state with her two children I do not know what happened to him.

We now have the same scenario with Gordon Brown and his NU Labour Government I refer to Gazza, Gordon has promised Tens of millions of Stirling to rebuild Gazza. Yet when this item appeared on the news it was followed by an appeal for Donations to fight Cancer within 10 minutes there was an appeal for Great Ormond’s Street why because they do not receive sufficient government funding. At a time when we have massive unemployment and tens of thousands having their home reprocessed, would not it be a good time for our Government to look to its own people.

With regard to Gazza it will be throwing good money after bad as soon as it is rebuilt HAMAS will start slaughtering innocent Israeli citizens with rockets, Israel will be forced to retaliate by invading Gazza and destroying it again

Martin Clarke Sittingbourne

Margaret

I Have just watched the BBC2 production “Margaret” this was about the down fall of the greatest Prime Minister Britain has seen in Modern History. Although I have read the Downing Street Years which followed the Iron Ladies time in Office I never realised how treacherous both Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine were not only treacherous but in my mind they were traitors to the British People for it was these two who pushed us further into the EU and we now reaping what they sowed Bank and Financial system collapsing, massive and uncontrolled immigration, massive unemployment, thousands of new legislation coming out of the EU only designed to control our very lives. Welcome to the EU Dictatorship thanks to these two traitors

IMMIGRATION

Because of Immigration the British population is on track to grow from 61 million to 70 million in the next 20 years, and 80 million in mid-century.

Frank Field revealed data showing that there are 591 primary schools in England where English is known or believed to be a second language for 70 per cent or more of pupils.
The data also showed that in 116 primary schools more than 95 per cent of pupils are known or believed to have English as a second language. It also showed that in ten schools, 100 per cent of pupils were known or believed to have English as a second language

On 21 January, the Co-Chairs of the Cross Party group issued a statement about the unemployment figures stating that they increase pressure on the Government to ensure British workers get the first chance to apply for any new vacancy. The Co-Chairs’ statement referred to the fact that the Government had issued a record number of work permits last year, just as the recession was beginning to bite.

Government policy allows non-EU migrants to come to the UK to look for work or to take up jobs which British workers and unemployed people have not had the chance to apply for.

Whole World needs a leader like this

Whole world Needs A Leader Like This!

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Australia

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..


Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote:

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'


'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'


Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, WE will find the courage to start speaking and voicing the same truths.


If you agree please SEND THIS ON and ON to as many people as you know

Subject: Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines

Please pass on to all friends/colleagues Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photo card driving licences expire. Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence. They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70. The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire. Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b' They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed. To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to a pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years. Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photo card licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine. At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version. Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered. Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means. The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'. Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence that is until his or her 70th birthday. A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years. Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine. AA president, Edmund King said: 'It is not generally known that photo card licences expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licences. 'People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it. 'It will come as a surprise to motorists and a shock that they have to pay an extra £17.50.' The AA called on the Government to use the annual £450million from traffic enforcement fines to offset the renewal charge.

White Pride

"WHITE" Pride" This is great. I have been wondering about why Whites are racists, and no other race is..... Proud to be White Michael Richards makes his point.............. Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does make a good point. This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act. He makes some very interesting points... Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this? There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman'... and that's OK. But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink .. You call me a racist. You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live? You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET... If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists. If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists. We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that?? A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college. In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists. You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist. I am proud... But you call me a racist. Why is it that only whites can be racists?? There is nothing improper about this e-mail. Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on. I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves! BE PROUD TO BE WHITE! It's not a crime YET... but getting very close! It is estimated that ONLY 5% of those reaching this point in this e-mail, will pass it on.

Sea Anglers

Swale Borough Council actual area in the great majority of places backs on to the sea and because of that we have a lot of Sea Anglers but I wonder if they know that the European Union is seeking to extend the Common Fisheries Policy to recreational Sea Anglers requiring them to operate under licence and to log every fish they catch as part of the British Quota. Why is it, the EU aided and abetted by the NU Labour government what to control and regulate every aspect of our lives. We Englishman can no longer say we live in a Free Democratic Country.

Martin Clarke Eat Street Sittingbourne

100 way to cut Council Tax

HARRY PHIBBS: 100 ways to cut your Council Tax - WITHOUT cutting services
By Harry Phibbs
It really should be possible to cut Council Tax without cutting services - something we all need in such difficult economic times., journalist Harry Phibbs, a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham, comes up with 100 ways to make savings.
If you have any other ideas then have your say by leaving a comment at the end of this article.
Harry's 100 ways1. Freeze recruitment.
2. Scrap political advisers.
3. Cut the number of press officers. One rule would be to make sure you have no more than the number of local newspaper reporters. An alternative idea would be to get rid of the press office altogether. Why not just put journalists through to the Leader's secretary who gives them the number for the relevant councillor?
4. Scrap the council newspaper. Unless, as in the case of my Council, you make it self financing through real, private sector, advertising.
5. Cut the number of Scrutiny Coordinators. One full time person to organise all the scrutiny meetings should be enough.
6. Cut the number of coordinators for assorted other committees and panels.
Child care: Place more vulnerable children up for adoption instead of in an expensive children's home
7. Place more children for adoption. Reducing the number of Looked After children by placing more of them in permanent loving homes is principally good news for them. But it is also good news for the Council Taxpayer. Social workers are often risk averse about adoption but it overwhelmingly offers better life chances than keeping children in care. What is your performance as measured by the number of Looked After Children per 10,000 children in your area? What are the barriers to adoption caused by avoidable bureaucratic delay or politically correct prejudices?
8. For those children who remain in care, where possible send them to boarding schools.
9. Where children remain in care, keep to a minimum sending them to institutional children's home, but place them for fostering in family homes. This is much better for the children. Also even the specialist, highly paid foster carers who can cope with "challenging" children are far less costly than the phenomenally expensive children's homes.
10. Cut any subsidies to private landlords.
11. Do you have a Town Hall canteen? How many meals does it serve and what is its subsidy? Remember to take account of the cost of the space it is taking up. Probably it should be closed and the council officers find better fare along the high street at spud-u-like.
12. Charge to hold events in parks. Make sure you charge enough to reflect the need to clear up afterwards and protect the grass. Also that the choice of events is sensitive to the wishes of residents. But often revenue can be secured for events which residents enjoy - annual fireworks, an ice rink, open air opera, farmers markets, fun fairs, etc.
13. Stop funding translations/interpreting for Council documents and services and funding refugee lobby groups. This money is much better spent teaching people English. But even redirecting some of it you should still find some change for Council Tax cuts.
14. Scrap arts subsidies. Giving subsidies to one theatre so they can run plays that residents would not be willing to finance by paying to go and see them is not a reasonable use of Council Taxpayers money.
15. Don't employ Fair Trade Coordinators.
16. Don't employ Diversity Officers.
17. The old fashioned Public Lavatories represent pretty poor value for money in terms of maintenance. Often the buildings could be valuable capital assets. A better arrangement is to pay pubs a small fee for agreeing to allow non drinkers to use their loos. Also have more of those pay toilet cubicles on street corners.

Saving a penny: Poorly maintained public toilets could be sold off as valuable cash assets
18. Include private sector advertising on Council notice boards.
19. Cease funding Law Centres. (A double saving as they often sue the local council so the Council Taxpayers end us paying for the lawyers on both sides.)
20. Libraries. Change the rota system to keep them open during lunch hours and also reduce staff numbers at the same time.
21. Cut spending on advertising. Of course freezing recruitment will help. If your Council newspaper is fortnightly you can place the statutory ads there.
22. Scrap school governor training/'support'. It just puts people off becoming governors with a lot of bureaucratic jargon.
23. Stop spending money on management consultants.
24. Close the Film Unit if your Council has one. Someone can take bookings as a sideline - this doesn't need a full time post let alone a team.
25. Sell off Council owned waste land for market housing.
26. Have fewer council buildings. This can mainly be achieved by reducing the number of staff but also by smarter working. You can encourage more staff to work from home.
27. Use 'hot desking.'
28. Cancel your annual subscription to the Local Government Association. This is a surprisingly significant sum. My Council pays £48,125.
29. Cancel your membership sub to the Local Government Information Unit.
30. Cancel your membership subs to most other bodies you are members of.
31. Or at least push for a reduction. For instance I think there is a purpose in the London Boroughs being members of London Councils but the cost is far too high.
Top of Form

32. Stop sending people off to conferences. One advantage of not being members of these bodies is that there won't be the same scope for sending staff off to their events at vast expense.
33. Ensure you have regular updates on projected asset sales. This is a crucial means of reducing debt and thus the debt interest payments which are often a big component of what the Council Tax funds.
34. If you don't have debt and have reserves in the bank, why are you keeping the reserves? You will only end up being tempted to spend it on something. The reserves should be diminished by lower Council Tax. Remember whose money it is.
35. Spending on the disabled and elderly should be focused on practical help not funding politicised advocacy lobby groups. Total spending in this area could be cut leaving room for lower Council Tax while still spending more on voluntary groups such as Help the Aged that provide caring, practical help.
36. Employing full time Disabled Access Officers in the Planning Department is poor value for money. Planning applications have to meet statutory requirements for disabled access but it should not be for Councils to engage in 'gold plating.'
37. Offer partnership deals with neighbouring Councils to reduce administration costs.
38. Use sprinklers in care homes allowing a potential reduction in night staff and safer elderly residents.
39. Shop around for your insurance premiums.
40. Reduce staff training to the statutory minimum.
41. Cease to employ staff to be trade union officials.
42. Charge for use of the staff car park.
43. Reduce the energy bill for street lighting. At present most Councils have excessive street lighting. As with much else this is due to a culture of being unduly risk averse over health and safety. Aside from the cost, we cause light pollution and increase our carbon footprint. For instance if the lights presently go on 30 minutes after sunset to come off at 30 minutes before sunrise, how much could be saved by having the lights going on an hour after sunset and switching them off an hour before sunrise?
44. Have periods where only half the lights are switched on (eg between 3am and 5am when scarcely anyone is using the streets.)
45. Scrap Local Education Authority clerking service for school governor meetings. One of the governors or the headmaster's secretary can take the minutes.
46. Put all services out to tender as Essex is doing - with a target of £200 million savings over three years.
47. Remember that voluntary and church groups as well as private firms may offer a better means of providing a service than the Council's own workforce, for instance in providing additional assistance to children with literacy problems.
48. Encourage residents to use the Mail Preference Service which stops addressed junk mail and then saves the cost of disposing of it. Direct Mail 'individually addressed advertising messages' accounts for 181,500 tons nationally. Say a largish council has 1,000 tons of it to dispose of at a cost of £83 a ton. That's £83,000 a year it spends putting people's junk mail on landfill.
49. Ban mineral water at meetings. Use tap water instead. This has saved us £36,000 a year in Hammersmith and Fulham.
50. Save money on printing. Stop producing glossy brochures. The thicker the paper, the shinier the pages, the brighter the colours - and the more residents think: 'So this is what my Council Tax goes on.' The printing bill for a typical council is literally millions of pounds.
51. Turn down the temperature in the Town Hall and other Council buildings. How low does the temperature get before the heaters come on? We used to have the windows open and the heaters blasting away at the same time.
52. Cut transaction costs by offering a discount to those who pay by direct debit, for instance for the Council Tax.
53. Cut transaction cost by facilitating as much as possible via the website - eg allow parking permits to be renewed online. It also may make sense to offer discounts for payments online.
54. Take a tough line in dismissing staff for persistent absenteeism. Monitor those who particularly claim to be sick on Fridays and Mondays. This will be easier having ceased funding full time union posts as the unions string out hearings for as long as possible. More positively, look at ways to improve the health of Council staff. Flu jabs represent good value for money in reducing genuine sickness.
55.Keep a tight grip on spending on agency staff.
56. Encourage staff to suggest efficiencies. Offer a prize for the best suggestions. But also allow anonymous entries.
57. Ensure that the numbers of staff engaged in health and safety enforcement is kept to the statutory minimum.
58. Combine the post of Finance Director and Chief Executive.
59. Give park wardens targets for imposing Fixed Penalty Notice fines for littering and dog fouling.
60. See if cafes could be opened in redundant park buildings thus allowing a revenue stream to the Council in rent.
61. Assess whether the staff employed to collect fees cost more in salaries than the income they gather in. For instance if you are employing three people to collect £15,000 a year from cafes for having tables and chairs on the pavement, this is not good value for money.
62. Where extra spending would secure a desirable objective consider whether the money could come from sponsorship rather than the Council. For instance new street trees could be funded by encouraging households to sponsor a new tree in their street, Christmas lights can be sponsored by local business.
63. End garden waste collection. Apart from the financial cost they do more harm than good for the environment. Much better value is promoting composting for instance by offering everyone a free composter.
64. Save money relocating some Council operations to parts of the country where costs are lower. Westminster Council has saved very substantial sums by moving back office processing operations and telephone services which don't require specialist knowledge. There are now 250-300 staff in Dingwall, Scotland, employed by a company called Vertex working for Westminster Council undertaking a great range of services.
65. Freeze councillor allowances.
66. Reduce storage costs and insurance costs by making sure the Council is not keeping equipment that is never used.
67. Cut down the number of cars for the Parks Constabulary. It's better to have them patrolling on foot anyway.
68. Review all the items you charge for. Cease offering services you charge for which run at a loss and merely duplicate what is offered commercially or by charities.
69. Cease charging where the transaction costs are greater than the revenue, for example charging schools to use parks for sports days. Towing cars away for mild parking offences can break even or run at a loss despite the heavy fines charged.
70. In the case of some services charge more. Compare your charges to other Councils.
Do the maths: Keep a tight grip on spending and monitor where the money goes
71. Open cafes in the corner of libraries where there is some space. This could produce revenue as well as attracting more library users.
72. Rationalise the number of Council departments. In Hammersmith and Fulham we have done this and thus reduced the number of officers on six figure salaries.
73. Look at the cost effectiveness of housing grants. How many people are employed administering these grants? How many go to owner occupiers who, even if cash poor, are asset rich and could be eligible for equity release schemes to fund home improvements?
74. Scrap politically correct requirements for contractors. For instance requiring a building firm tendering for work to produce an "equalities policy." All firms have to abide by plenty of statutory requirements on equality as it is. Councils should not be involved in gold plating. It imposes a double cost.
75. Cease funding racially separatist groups.
76. Seek an arrangement with central Government that the Council is given some financial reward for reducing bills to central Government, for instance in reducing welfare dependency.
77. Art leasing. Often Councils have valuable works of arts that aren't on display and cost money in storage and insurance. Sometimes selling them may not be appropriate or even legally possible if they have been given to the Council. But revenue could also be obtained from leasing the works of arts.
78. Town Hall bookings. Often Town Halls and other municipal buildings sit empty at weekends. Take a more aggressive and creative stance in seeking revenue from bookings. Consider using private agencies for this.
79. Charge for teaching other Councils how to set up specialist services. For instance if you have a CCTV Control Room whose manager has the relevant qualifications there could be substantial revenue in him running occasional courses in how to operate it.
80. Speed up the planning process. Charging high fees is reasonable if there is a quick, efficient service. Give clear guidelines about the basics such as good design in the initial stages but reduce the gold plating demands on matters such as health and safety and disabled access. A lot of officers spend their time on such matters but the statutory requirements are quite onerous enough.
81. Put in an arrangement where the Council leader and Cabinet Members have a firm grip on spending. The threshold for where spending needs to be authorised by the leader has been reduced from £300,000 to £100,000 in my borough. Of course there is no point in doing this if the leader is a pussycat who waves everything through.
82. Any recruitment of new posts should be approved by the Vacancy Management Panel chaired by the Council leader.
83. Don't be too proud to constantly check if other authorities are achieving lower costs or higher standards for a service and if so if they are achieving this through greater efficiency. Benchmark. Benchmark. Benchmark. After that do some more benchmarking.
84. Set maximum number of word limits on the length of reports submitted by officers. Long reports that nobody reads are a waste of officer time and a means of avoiding accountability for spending.
85. Set limits to the length of responses to Member Enquiries. They should answer the question raised and not be essays on the general subject. Saving officer time allows for fewer officers to be employed.
86. Youth Clubs and Youth Centres. These should not be run by the Council: they are typically pretty drab, dreary institutions when they are. Some of the money saved by closing them could go in higher grants to charitable and church groups which run youth groups, or partnership arrangements with the private sector or groups like the Prince's Trust who provide facilities for the young.
87. Cease employing Youth Workers. Activities such as Youth Forums and Youth Parliaments are generally pretty meaningless and low in numbers participating. Instead look at initiatives that don't really cost money. Hosting school debating competitions at the Town Hall for instance - which can also provide a positive opportunity for children from LEA and independent schools to mix. These can be organised by the schools themselves without employment of Youth Workers.
Youth work: Youth worker Fred Peters co-founded the Ethelred Estate Community Youth Club in south London in 1981
88. Check the list of those outside bodies being given free or subsidised office space by the Council, for instance trade unions. They could well be in buildings which could be sold.
89. Where Post Offices are threatened with closure see if there would be space for them to be relocated in a Council library. This would offer an income stream while also saving an important local service for the community.
90. Cease employing European Officers. I understand they are particularly prevalent on County Councils. Essentially they are propagandists for European integration.
91. Ensure you have the highest possible penalties for staff engaged in fraud.
92. Cease employing Work Experience Coordinators.
93. Scrap all 'nanny state' posts, 'Five a Day' officers, etc.
94. Use energy saving lightbulbs.
95. Review areas where the Council is operating in competition with the private sector. Does the Council own any pubs? Or shops? Or leisure centres? Or theatres? Are libraries providing DVD hire or internet access at £1 an hour? My council used to own and run a high street laundrette.
96. Look at the eligibility criteria for some of the services offered. Should pensioners all be treated the same or should the age limit sometimes be raised which might allow extra help for the very old as well as saving money? Take, for instance, the London wide TaxiCard scheme where the London Boroughs each pay hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. Should we raise the age of those eligible to 70? Why do we give 65-year-olds free taxi rides? One of the residents in my ward is John Humphrys who is 65 - why should we pay for his taxis?
97. Sell off redundant park lodges by the entrances to parks and cemeteries for market housing. Apart from the revenue often these beautiful buildings become eyesore when left empty with their windows boarded up, etc.
98. Generally claims of 'spend to save' or 'investment' should be treated with scepticism. But within budgets there will sometimes be genuine possibilities. For example, providing more litter bins might be a more cost effective way of reducing street litter than employing more road sweepers.
99. Performance related pay for departmental managers. If they come in under budget they get a bonus. If they come in over budget they get their pay docked. I think Westminster do this.
100. Do not have children's playgroups directly run by the Council. Instead better value for less money can be achieved through funding this much needed resource via the voluntary sector, church groups and independent groups of mothers.

Church of England ban BNP

The Church of England has decided that nobody who is part of their Church can be a member of the BNP. No matter what you think of the BNP you have to admit it is a legal political party in a free and democratic country, for the C of E to use their Christian religion as a threat to one belief is disgusting. I am surprised they did not threaten their follows with Hell and Damnation if they vote BNP. If the C of E wants to get involved in politics they should stand for election.
The Police have the same policy with regard to the BNP but what surprises me is I would have thought that any Policeman or clergy man should be annexed from Party Politics they should be Politically neutral rather then banning them from belong to any political party they should be banned from all political parties because all political parties will some where a long the line go against the beliefs of the C of E and the Police.

Martin Clarke Sittingbourne

Some talking Sense

Norman Wells, from the Family Education Trust, said that, while many single mothers do an 'excellent job' raising their children, 'we cannot close our eyes to the evidence which shows that, on average, children fare better in terms of health, education and future career prospects when they are brought up by a mother and father who are committed to each other for life in marriage'.