Brown and his budget.

Last weeks budget was meet with a range of mixed feelings.
The new budget headlined a 2p cut of the basic tax rate and this has seen Brown criticized for attacking the poor.
It has been suggested in a study that fewer than half of households would benefit from his 2p cut of the basic rate of tax.

Today he is defending his budget in front of the Commons Treasury Select Committee. Many believe he has a lot of explaining to do.

With the introduction of top rate road tax on the increase to £400 by April 2008, Brown seems to be robbing both the rich and the poor. Could we be seeing a modern day Robin Hood?

Once again, such a stunt doesn’t stand him in good stead in his popularity war with David Cameron.

The Wheels on the bus go Brown Brown Brown.

Gordon Brown is on a major crusade to promote his environmentally friendly side.

Today he left his car keys hanging on the hook and opted instead to ride the tube to attend an energy conference in the capital.

In another ‘green’ publicity stunt earlier in the week Mr Brown and his Prime Minister joined a group of children on their school bus that runs on bio-fuel.

If this is an effort to encourage the nation to use public transport it is pretty see through.

Mr Brown should really commit to the Oyster Card culture and travel on public amenities when the cameras are not about. Especially if he intends to stay on target to meet the 60% reduction of our carbon emissions by 2050.

As Mr Tesco would say "every little helps".

Brown Vs Cameron

The fight is on. The Chancellor and the Leader of the Opposition battled it out yesterday as they revealed their opposing plans to improve the environment.

David Cameron’s promotion of green air travel is a controversial one.

It is inevitable that he’ll be making enemies among the airplane industry – we could be seeing the end of an era as cheap flights go.

With the Labour party currently being the unpopular kid in the political playground, Cameron’s bid to introduce taxation on domestic flights may see his popularity grow with environmentalist.

However the Conservative party as a whole doesn’t seem as green as its ambitious leader. Could it be that they are using Cameron and his green policies as a pawn to gain votes and public support?

My lecturer told me about an incident in Richmond, where the local Liberal Democrat council were contested by opposing Conservative’s over a scheme to raise tax on larger vehicles. Although some vehicle owners feel hard done by the rise in taxation is all in the effort for a greener and healthier environment. With Cameron preaching green ethics, why is it the rest of his party are showing anti environmental attitudes?

Brown’s agenda didn’t include any green air travel proposals and he was heavily criticized for merely “recycling policies he had announced in March 1995”.

Despite verbal punches being thrown from both sides, at least we are witnessing a fight that will, which ever way the politics swing, result in a cleaner environment.

Private Brown

The shortage of NHS dentists in Britain is a worrying thought. Teeth maintenance is an expense that not everyone can afford, which is why NHS dentistry is of great importance.

Many believe that the Labour government has failed the public when it comes to dentistry.
The Prime Minister’s attempts to introduce private sector methods into the NHS have been opposed many times by Gordon Brown.

Financial benefit awaits practicing NHS dentists who deem to cross over to what Brown sees as ‘The Dark Side’ (the private sector) thus making his fight an uphill struggle.

Brown is well known for his anti-private stature. His political principles would not see him use private heath care, yet he was last week pictured leaving a private dental clinic where he received treatment that cost him one hundred pounds an hour.

Is this hypocritical?

Should Brown practice what he preaches and never see a private practitioner?

Supporters of the Chancellor say – “It’s not like going to a private doctor. If you want a dentist quickly you have no choice but to go private”.

It would seem that Brown has been a patient of the Private practice in question for 10 years. With all fingers pointing at him to replace Blair as Prime Minister, surly he should make all effort to personally stick to his proposed principles.

Although he hasn’t made an act of adultery or sexually assaulted a colleague, this harmless act of ‘pain relief’ could be just as damaging. The Labour party are currently lagging in popularity and this is the wrong time for them to be losing precious support.

David Cameron’s teeth will be set in a grin toady, this I’m sure of.

Dirty Britian

Are the very streets of Britain turning in to a landfill site?

The ever increasing rubbish that lines our streets and roadsides is a pure indication that we are losing respect for mother earth and ourselves.

Jeremy Paxman comments in today’s G2 supplement that “we are a filth island in which there is now an occasional oasis of cleanliness”.

Although Paxman’s comment is far fetched, he is depressingly accurate.

It is a worrying thought that we are killing the land we live on. It seems as though you can’t walk down the road without seeing an empty drinks bottle or cigarette butt casually abandoned by it previous owner.

A recent EnCams (Keep Britain Tidy organisation) report shows litter levels in England have fallen to a five-year-low. However, seeing is believing and litter seems to be more abundant now than it has been for years.

The introduction of fines for littering in some major cities has seen small improvements in the areas appearance, but is scaring people out of ‘carelessly defacing’ the answer?

The answer is no! Surly we should not litter because we care, not because we’re scared of being fined £80.

The way I see it is people only appear to care about their personal property – their garden, their neighbour’s garden, their street. If litter is dropped in the park or the high street, its nothing to worry about, the council will pick it up.

Landfill sites are said to be running thin and within ten years are predicted to be full. This is a major concern. Rather than making the situation worst and creating eye saws on our streets we need to work together for a cleaner future.