Every child with £17k debt thanks to Labour

George Osborne has just launched a poster campaign to highlight that every child in Britain is born owing £17,000 because of Labour’s Debt Crisis.

The stark reality is that under Labour, Britain’s national debt is set to double to over one trillion pounds in just five years. This will have to be paid back. Families will have to work longer and harder as they are facing a bill of more than £2,000 just to pay the interest on this debt.

Gordon Brown promised us no boom and bust......but what have we now got? Exactly that.

As a country, we need change now. We need a change for the better... before Gordon Brown does any more damage.

Worst economic crisis in 60 years

In the UK, house prices are now falling at double digit rates, and over the weekend the Chancellor fired a stark warning shot about the severity of the downturn. Alistair Darling told the Guardian, that the UK faces its worst economic crisis in 60 years and said the downturn would be more "profound and long-lasting" than most had feared.

According to Nationwide, UK house prices fell for the tenth consecutive month in August, down almost 2% since July. The annual rate of decline accelerated to 10.5%. This is the fastest (and only double digit) decline since Nationwide started collecting monthly data in 1991. With mortgage approvals continuing to slide in July (to 33k), it looks like further price falls are on their way.

House prices are falling at their fastest rate in 18 years, leading to fears of a wave of repossessions. Mortgage lending has slowed dramatically due to the credit crunch while key indicators have suggested that the economy could be poised to go into recession. A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has said that radical action was needed to ensure the crisis did not get worse and warned of a sharp rise in unemployment. There is no growth at all right now, which technically means we are close to a recession. Inflation is rising, unemployment is rising, the cost of living is going up and people are nervous about jobs. Britain is ill prepared due to money not being put aside for a rainy day. Gordon Brown has borrowed far too much. It will be many months ...and probably another year... until there is good news on this front.

So what should we do now?

1. We need strong, clear leadership from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. They need to speak with one voice instead of the Chancellor saying it is the worst economic crisis in 60 years and Gordon Brown saying it is not as bad as we think. We don't need a disfunctional government right now. It does not bode well for economic recovery. They need to tell us how they are going to get us out of this mess.

2. We need a vision for the future on how we resolve this economic downturn. George Osborne is proposing to:
a) Help people with current economic problems e.g put fuel duty down when the oil price goes up
b) Take first time buyers who need a mortgage out of stamp duty so that they can get on the housing ladder
c) Help low income families to get direct debit rates for gas and electricity bills
d) Reorganise public finances so that we never again borrow recklessly in a boom and are more prepared for a slow down in the economy.

In summary, what we need is a new government that does have a vision and speaks with one voice. We need a change for the better ... a Conservative government.

Labour is hitting those who can least afford it

This Governement just goes from bad to worse.

The latest scandal, is that the 10p tax rise will hit the lowest paid in our country, including nurses, soldiers, some pensioners and receptionists. Despite Gordon Brown's claim that no-one will lose out, the Treasury has confirmed that 5.3 million families - an average of 8,000 people in Brentford & Isleworth - will pay more tax and be worse off.

George Osborne MP and his team will push hard on this one and call on the Chancellor to re-open the tax con package from the 2007 Budget and help those who are hit. The Government claims that this would cost £8 billion, but according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, helping the 5.3 million people who lose out here, would only cost £700 million - which is a relatively small sum compared to the £20 billion of tax changes in the total package.

I am strongly opposed to tax rises which are uniquely targeted at the poorest. These are the people we should be helping the most.

Education ignored in the Budget

The latest Budget from the Labour Government is just bad news for so many people. The budget cannot hide the high debt, high interest rates, higher taxes and now lower growth across the country. The tax take will be £2.8bn a year higher by 2010, which is £110 more for every family.

Most leading economists believe there will be a downturn in the months ahead...and we are badly prepared. Nothing has been put aside to help deal with the bad times and the cost of living is already rising fast.

So what was in this budget?
- Biggest alcohol tax rise for a generation
- 70% of motorists will pay more Vehicle Excise Duty
- Borrowing levels have soared (£7bn higher next year than this)
- Growth is down
- Ignored public opinion on a national road pricing scheme and it will go ahead
- No new money for key areas e.g. education and defence

What more are we getting for our money? In my view.....nothing!

What we need is a new Conservative Government and George Osborne as the new Chancellor.