The other day Derby City Labour Group leader, Chris Williamson, wrote a letter to the Derby Evening Telegraph that disgusted me. It’s so awful that I’m happy to publish it in full on this website as well as my response to it.
It shows the Labour group to be as unaware of the realities of life for normal people in Derby as we all feared they were. His current deluge of letters to the Derby Evening Telegraph on national issues also makes me wonder if he has ambitions of higher office. Bob and Margaret, I’d watch your back if I were you!
Tories would bin welfare benefits
The recession that we are currently enduring is the fourth in 40 years but it’s the deepest since the 1930s.
Thankfully, the steps taken by this Labour government have minimised its impact on ordinary working people.
But unemployment has inevitably risen, which is why I have asked the city council to bid for the Government’s £1bn Future Jobs Fund to create additional employment opportunities in Derby.
In previous recessions, low-paid workers, in particular, were subject to even greater exploitation but the introduction of the National Minimum Wage 10 years ago and its annual uplift has put a stop to that.
Before Labour came back into office in 1997, unscrupulous employers could hire and fire virtually at will and, in a recession, even more people would have lost their jobs. In previous economic downturns, vulnerable workers were often treated with contempt by unscrupulous employers.
Workers nowadays enjoy protection against unfair dismissal after 12 months in a job and compensation of up to £63,000 if dismissed unfairly.
It was the Labour government that also gave workers the right to paid leave of 24 days a year, which increased to 28 days last April. Prior to Labour giving workers a statutory entitlement to paid holidays, some employees didn’t receive any holiday pay at all. These employment rights have been complemented by measures such as paid maternity leave, with two weeks’ paid paternity leave for new fathers as well.
Make no mistake, if David Cameron wins the general election, the welfare and employment rights we enjoy today will be bulldozed away and long term mass unemployment will make a comeback.
Chris Williamson,
Leader of the Labour Group, Derby City Council.
The Council House,
Derby.
Sir,
It is not often that a feature in your letters page can make me simultaneously laugh, cry and feel violent rage. It says something for Mr Williamson’s penmanship that he managed exactly that with his letter of 15 July.
He writes-off the ongoing recession as something external that has been forced upon us. No mention of the manner in which our now Prime Minister left us helplessly exposed to it with his wasteful profligacy and hubristic belief that he had single-handedly ended “boom and bust”.
He talks about the triumph of Labour over unscrupulous employers – presumably he’s happy with the bank fat cats who on Labour’s watch have privatised profit and nationalised losses. Is it really a triumph for ordinary people that every man, woman and child in this country is saddled with a £20,000 share in the national debt?
Finally he talks about the return of mass unemployment under a Tory government. I know that Mr Williamson has his head in the sand like the rest of his party but someone needs to tell him the truth. It’s already here – and it happened on your watch.
People are out of work because of Labour’s incompetence. Businesses have gone to the wall because of the acres of bureaucracy they’ve brought in. Gordon Brown is too scared to ask the people what they think. It is time for change.
Jack Perschke
Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
Derby South
To see this letter in the Derby Evening Telegraph click on this link: http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/s-happened-Labour-s-watch/article-1210889-detail/article.html
it seems to me most goverments and there councillors onl seem to do what they think is right .but not for thier constiuants .probally power gone to thier heads .ive letters from davi cameron /several when he became leader .he told me he believe /everyone in all areas are entitled to a quality of life .for better health fresh air included ..that means better health as well yet some of his councillors are agreeing to these incinerators .they are trying to build /which will cause poorer health .so his local councillors obviously disreguard ,.his plans his website he set up is even called quality of life./he states we are all entitled to cleaner air .we even discussed toyota hybrid electic cars .hes got one and a wind turbine ./seems to me his ideas are not the same as his councillors think very sad .the dangers of the incinerator .get forgotten a judge has awarded the public in one area permission to sue the council for allowing thier health to deteriate in one area in uk /so lets hope derby refuse these incinerators .and believe me ill be keeping a watch on the polations .see how they vote .so come on jack fight for your area health no to incinerators in derby youll get some votes /peter ambler
Jack do you honestly believe that the recession and unemployment was not only the government’s “fault” but it was welcomed by them?! I think you know it wasn’t, also everyone knows that the Conservative party couldnt care less about the most vunerable in society, if they did why did they not introduce the minimum wage or great schemes such as sure start or the child trust fund?! Please respond to this post, I really want to talk to you about the resession and how blaming soley the Labour government for it will won’t wash…
Also please to not defame Cllr Williamson’s character this way, he has been a long serving public servant for Derby and in my opinion has been a great help to its progression especially in normanton.
Hi Jatinder,
To address your points in turn:
1. No I do not believe the recession was welcomed by the government but I do believe that they were largely to blame for both the severity and duration of it’s impact. They were in control as we sleepwalked into economic disaster. There is nowhere to hide from that fact.
2. The Conservative party have always cared about the most vulnerable in society and to say otherwise is ridiculous. It was my party who gave people independence and property by selling them their council houses, it was my party who ended the terrible service and rigged prices of state run monopolies and it was my party that gave entrepreneurs the chance to start a new business and create real opportunity and wealth by reducing taxation and regulation.
Going forward it will be my party that stops the disgrace of the perverse incentives that see single mothers effectively taxed at 98% for every hour’s work they take on over 10 hours a week. It will be my party that empower parents to start and run their own schools and it will be my party that will protect NHS spending whilst delivering the real reform that this fantastic national institution deserves.
3. We support both the minimum wage and Sure Start. Over 12 years one would hope that the Labour government would get a few things right!
4. As for blame, there is no one else to blame. We went into the recession terribly prepared and we are crawling out of it with the national debt at its highest since the war and a deficit that is twice the size it was the last time a Labout government had to go begging to the IMF for help. As a Tory I have to accept that it will always be our job to mop-up after Labour financial mis-management. That is the case today and suspect it will ever be thus.
5. Cllr Williamson is a very sucessful City politician and, as with anyone who dares to put their head above the parapet and run for office, I have a great deal of respect for him. However, I disagree with his politcis utterly and challenge your view that he has done anything for Normanton. In typical Labour style he may have signed-off some expensive projects for the ward but what has really improved there? What has happened to fundamentally make it a better place? Labour do not have the exciting vision of real opportunity and advancement for all that we have.
I promise you, it is time for change!
Jack,
To address your points in turn:
1. No I do not believe the recession was welcomed by the government but I do believe that they were largely to blame for both the severity and duration of it’s impact, SIMPLY UNTRUE, MR PERCHKE YOU WORK FOR E&Y, USA SUB PRIME MORTGAGES WERE TO BLAME (THIS RECESSION WAS NOT PREDICTIED BY EVEN SOME OF THE MOST PROMINENT ECONOMISTS) HOW WOULD THE TORY’S HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENT? MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE RELAXED BANKING REGULATION EVEN MORE?! They were in control as we sleepwalked into economic disaster AGAIN UNTRUE, THIS BUST WAS UNFORSEEN BY MANY, INCLUDING THE EXPERTS. There is nowhere to hide from that fact. THIS IS NOT A FACT…FAR FAR FROM AN OBJECTIVE FACT.
2. The Conservative party have always cared about the most vulnerable in society AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE MINERS? and to say otherwise is ridiculous REALLY? ONCE AGAIN A LIE…CAN I REMIND YOU THAT YOUR ARE GOING TO CUT TAX CREDITS FOR THE POORER AND RAISE THE THRESHOLD FOR INHERITANCE TAX FOR MILLIONAIRES?…HMM YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THE VUNERABLE DONT YOU? It was my party who gave people independence and property by selling them their council houses UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING YES MAYBE YOU GOT ONE THING RIGHT…MAYBE NOT EH?, it was my party who ended the terrible service and rigged prices of state run monopolies and it was my party that gave entrepreneurs the chance to start a new business and create real opportunity and wealth by reducing taxation and regulation. AND LEAD TO THE LACK OF BANKING REGULATION TODAY? I CAN BE SUBJECTIVE TOO!
Going forward it will be my party that stops the disgrace of the perverse incentives that see single mothers effectively taxed at 98% for every hour’s work they take on over 10 hours a week LIE ACTUALLY ITS 16 HOURS A WEEK AND NOWHERE NOT 98%. OH REALLY? HOW WILL YOU DO THIS?…BY LETTING YOUR MATE GEORGE LOWER TAX CREDIT THRESHOLDS TO HELP LESS SINGLE MUMS? GREAT WORK MATE…ALWAYS HELPING! It will be my party that empower parents to start and run their own schools HOW EXACTLY? SIPHONING OFF MONEY FOR GRAMMAR SCHOOLS FROM SCHOOLS THAT COULD BE MADE BETTER? and it will be my party that will protect NHS spending whilst delivering the real reform that this fantastic national institution deserves. BUT NOT FOR EDUCATION, POLICE AND EVERY OTHER PUBLIC SERVICE?! OH AND DESTROY THE SERVICE BY MAKING THE WAITING LISTS ASTRONOMICAL AGAIN?
3. We support both the minimum wage and Sure Start YES BUT YOU DIDNT INTRODUCE THEM DID YOU? Over 12 years one would hope that the Labour government would get a few things right! HA SO THEY DID GET SOMETHING RIGHT….SOMETHING THAT THE TORY GOVT HAD LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPLEMENT BUT CHOSE NOT TO BECAUSE OF CONTROL FROM THE BUSSINESS LOBBIES?!
4. As for blame, there is no one else to blame. We went into the recession terribly prepared and we are crawling out of it with the national debt at its highest since the war FACT. THE GDP GROWTH WAS ALMOST AS LOW DURING THE RECESSIONS OF THE 80s and a deficit that is twice the size it was the last time a Labout government had to go begging to the IMF for help AS HAVE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES….I THINK ITS A BIT MORE DIGNIFIED THAN BEGGING THOUGH…MUCH MORE DDIGNIFIED THAN LETTING THE COUNTRY FOLD AS THERE IS A GLOBAL…YES GLOBAL RECESSION! As a Tory I have to accept that it will always be our job to mop-up after Labour financial mis-management. NOT TRUE, SIMPLY A LIE, YOU HAVE AN ECONOMIC BACKGROUND IM NOT SO STUPID TO ACCEPT THIS. ECONOMICS IS WAY MORE COMPLEX THAN A GOVERNMENT MIS-MANAGING. GLOBAL FORCES HAVE SOME IMPACT TOO. STOP FOBBING ME OFF AND LYING TO ME! That is the case today and suspect it will ever be thus. LAST 2 RECESSIONS HAVE BEEN UNDER A TORY GOVERNMENT… SO A BIT OF MOPPING UP YOUR OWN MESS TOO USING THAT LOGIC.
5. Cllr Williamson is a very successful City politician and, as with anyone who dares to put their head above the parapet and run for office, I have a great deal of respect for him. A LIE…YOU HAVE NOT SHOWN HIM AN OUNCE OF RESPECT, WHO ARE YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS OF LOYALTY TO A LONGSTANDING PUBLIC SERVANT OF DERBY. However, I disagree with his politics utterly and challenge your view that he has done anything for Normanton. NORMANTON (IF YOU EVEN KNOW WHERE THAT IS WITHOUT ONE OF YOUR CRONIES AT TORY HQ POINTING IT OUT ON THE DERBBY MAP) IS A GREAT DIVERSE AREA IN DERBY, IT MAY HAVE POCKETS OF POVERTY BUT THIS HAS BEEN REMEDIED GREATLY BY THE LABOUR COUNCLILLORS (THE SURE START CENTRE IS OF COURSE ONE OF THESE TRIUMPHS) In typical Labour style he may have signed-off some expensive projects for the ward WHEN HE WAS LEADER OVER 1 BILLION POUNDS OF DEVELOPMENT IN DERBY WAS UNDER PLANNING but what has really improved there? A FEW EXAMPLES, DERBY COLLEGE (ROUNDHOUSE) CREATING SOUGHT AFTER COLLEGE PLACES FOR OUR YOUTH, WESTFIELD AND CITY PLANNING, CREATING A NEW REFINED CITY PLAN FOR DERBY, AND OF COURSE A NEW BUS STATION THAT WAS SORELY NEEDED AS THE OLD ONE WAS DELAPEDATED AND NOT AT ALL PLEASANT. YOU HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH THE AVERAGE DERBY CITIZEN What has happened to fundamentally make it a better place? Labour do not have the exciting vision of real opportunity and advancement for all that we have. A LIE AND RHETORIC ONCE AGAIN, WITHOUT LABOUR VISION WE WOULD NOT BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
I promise you, it is time for change! CHANGE FOR THE WORSE? NO THANKS
To end I do hope that you enjoy my sarcasm, as your condescending lies will not be accepted by me. I really dislike your campaign pledge that you are a “new type” of candidate, stop kidding yourself, you have gone as negative as your opposition, to be frank, I find you to be unfitting to fill the seat for Derby south. The city’s ethnic diversity is not something to “interest you” as you once said to the telegraph; I find this comment almost offensive being of ethnic origin myself. We deserve much better than an inexperienced late entry candidate that is only ever up in derby on a Saturday. We deserve much better.
The Conservatives have obviously never done anything wrong.. “They were in control as we sleepwalked into economic disaster” Didn’t Edward Heath introduce the 3day week, meaning that businesses couldn’t produce as much and many ended up unemployed?
“It was my party who gave people independence and property by selling them their council houses” what i’ve been taught in history is obviously wrong as i was told many were too poor to afford the prices the council houses were sold at. Sorry for getting this wrong.
As a 17year olds point of view i believe that the Conservatives billboards they’ve set up e.g. “I TOOK BILLIONS FROM PENSIONS, VOTE FOR ME!” (with probably the only photo of Gordon Brown smiling) is very childish and doesn’t set a good example at all! Don’t get me wrong Labour have had 13years to do good and in many cases failed but in many they have done good, but isn’t that so for every government? If the Conservatives come into power (hopefully not) when they eventually leave wont the party after them also have to “mop-up” just like what the Conservatives will have to do for Labour?
Something that really irritates me about the Conservatives is the fact that they’re getting rid of EMA!!!
Sorry if any of the above is incorrect or offensive
In 1979 when the Tories arrived in govt, there was chaos: inflation at 23 percent, an epidemic of strikes, powercuts, rubbish littering the streets, and even the dead were not being buried.
In 1997 when the Tories left govt the economy was in excellent condition: no National Debt, strong pound, and low inflation.
The real reason the Tories are disliked is because they always provide the bitter medicine the economy needs after years of Labour sickness.
Oh dear Marco, your history teacher wasn’t very good was he/she? Let me tell you the facts.
The governments between 1964 and 1979 were plagued with many factors including external pressures. It’s almost lying to simply put this down to labour being in government because the conservatives were in government from 1970 to 1974 too.
Actually when the Labour government came in to office in 1964 there was a very large deficit in the budget much like today, this was created by the previous Tory government. FACT.
So, after a progressive government in 1966 to 1970 (labour, of course being many other (not just economic) factors that lead to their loss) the Tory’s then gained power once again.
Under Heath…this happened; 1973…Global oil crisis, causing many economies around the world to falter, this is when inflation sky rocketed and this I’m afraid was under a Tory government. FACT…if you want to blame a global recession on a government like you are doing today then look at the Tory’s past too…they didn’t do much better. Ill also point out at this point that it was the Tory government that also enabled us to join the European Economic Community (the mother institution of the EU). Who’s pro euro or not?…I don’t think we can tell really, do you?
So onward to 1974-1979
1974 was a hung parliament (very difficult to get anything done, I’m sure you’ll agree knowing how hard the next couple of years may be if that is the result next Thursday) so inflation soared as you said but the figure you quoted was from 1975….by 1978 the inflation figure had decreased (the annual rate) to around 10%. (quoted from the David Butler and Kavanagh books on the general election 1979). Alas by 1979 labour was susceptible on the economy and the winter of discontent is way more complex than putting it down to mistakes made by the labour government, stop being so short sighted and fickle, economics can be affected by many things. FACT.
So in terms of your claims that its labour that have made our economy “sick” are simply untrue, when it comes to economics it is boom and bust and blaming the different governments doesn’t wash. Economics takes much longer to be show trends and is impacted by global forces even back in 1979 when globalisation was becoming popular.
Oh dear, Jatinder.
So many words; so little sense. Let me explain it all to you in simple terms.
The Tories encourage free enterprise, which generates wealth.
Labour thwarts enterprise with ideology and political correctness. Labour’s raison d’être is to redistribute wealth that others have created – a parasite that keeps much for itself. Inevitably, this results in a bankrupt economy.
I regularly visited the former Soviet Bloc and witnessed how the socialist and egalitarian utopia was, in fact, dysfunctional.
What scares me most about Labour – which is typical of your response – is how the Left routinely re-write history to serve its own political purposes.
It was Labour who turned the UK into a laughing stock i.e. the ‘British disease’.
It was Dennis Healy who went, cap in hand, to the IMF for a loan.
More recently, it was Labour who misled Parliament about Iraq, and devalued our precious democracy.
Our present National Debt has little to do economic cycles, and more to do with our profligate Labour Govt. In 1997 Govt spending was 40% of GDP. After 13 years of Labour it is now 49%
To repay the National Debt Labour created it now wants to tax the entrepreneurs, which will create less enterprise, and less taxes.
The Tories want to reduce Govt spending and allow enterprise to flourish, which will generate more taxes.
Succinctly, it is a no-brainer.
Vote Tory
Megan! I was starting to think that Jack had just paid a few of his mates and family to make sure only they made comments on this site. Good to see someone with sense has commented too.
Your right there are a lot of lies in the above comment by Jack. I didn’t bother answer before because he sounded so inexperienced, but I guess with a week to go I better show the people how much he is lying!
PS EMA is not the only help from government that jack wants to cut! there’s a long list of things, while he supports giving the mega rich an inheritance tax break! These public school types need to spend a week in our shoes and they’ll soon become labour and lib dem supporters!
Hi Jatinder,
Great to have you back on the site but I fear that your last sentence has revealed your true agenda. An old school class warrior!
I hate to disappoint you, but not only was I educated at my local comprehensive school, but I was also on subsidised meals while I was there.
I’m Conservative because I believe the government safety net should catch you as you fall (as it did for my family – for which I remain eternally grateful).
Sadly, under this Labour government, that safety net now holds and restricts people who want to get out of it and start working.
Time for change.
Could you expand on your last sentence please? Is it a question of ideology or can you offer up some specifics?
PS my last sentence in my comment is aimed at your bosses, your etonian leaders that have dreamt up your manifesto.
End of the day we can all keep looking back at the past. Bottom line is the country is in a mess and Labour are doing nothing to fix it. Their “top team” have all resigned anyway- Ruth Kelly et al.
We need this campaign to look forward and having met Jack I was impressed with the guy. Do I care that he is a conservative- not really. But I do think he is someone who will make a difference and care. The two sides of Jack as a soldier and aid worker make for an interesting charecter.
David,
I agree that looking to the past at this stage is not very productive, however I would hat to see derby south’s seat in the commons to be occupied by a inexperienced career politician. We deserve more, for this reason I’m struggling to decide who to vote for, but I know what I don’t want. I of course respect your views for wanting to vote Tory, but every fibre of me wants to talk you out of it!
Jatinder,
Reading your previous posts, I’m not sure that you’re really struggling to decide who to vote for are you? (bearing in mind that everyone else can read them on this page too!)
Either way, I love your contributions, really helping to make the choice clear for anyone who comes onto this site.
Jack
PS: How can I be both inexperienced (at politics presumably) and a career politcian?
You have to start somewhere?