Letters - Thursday January 21, 2021

Earlier this week, my colleagues and I abstained on Labour’s Opposition Day Motion.

Opposition day debates do not change the law, they provide the Opposition with the opportunity to raise an issue. The Labour Party abuse these debates by misrepresenting how Parliament and voting works in order to create a ‘gotcha’ moment which Labour activists can use to distort the record of the government.

In this case, the debate was on the Government’s temporary decision to uplift Universal Credit by £1,000 per year. This was done in order to help families with the pressures on their budgets during these difficult times. I’m pleased that this increase has helped thousands of local families here in Blackpool South, making up part of a wider £9.3bn package of support for the welfare system.

The Chancellor’s Budget in the spring will set out the government’s spending plans for the next year which will include a full appraisal of how we can best support working families and the role that Universal Credit plays in this. My own view is that the temporary increase in Universal Credit should be made permanent and I will continue to lobby government on this but proper scrutiny is required to ensure value for the taxpayer.

This will be the right time to debate this issue, when members are provided with concrete proposals and costings from the Government and are in full command of the facts, not now, in the midst of a pandemic.

The tactics deployed by Labour discredit our parliamentary system and show contempt for the general public. They claim to act constructively but Monday’s debate showed that in reality they are more interested in scoring political points.

It is for this reason that I decided to abstain from the vote.

Scott Benton

MP Blackpool South

Virus

Government accountability

Sir Keir Starmer has requested an enquiry concerning the Government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, which has so far not materialised although promised by Boris Johnson some time ago.

I honestly think that this could turn out to be a much bigger scandal than the expenses fiasco and I can foresee that the Government will probably do all it can to delay and put all kinds of obstacles in the way of a far-reaching enquiry.

When the stones are finally turned over, what’s found underneath will probably be an eye-opener.

First and foremost, the things that should be looked at should be the costs of the PPE contracts given to companies that were never in a position to deliver.

Were they given the contracts by ministers on a ‘nod and a wink’ from members of their own party and people outside of Parliament who had a vested interest in getting these lucrative contracts?

Some shipments of PPE never even materialised or were found to be sub-standard when delivere .

A lot of people have got extremely rich on the billions of pounds of tax payers’ money that has been squandered over the last nine months.

Just to show that there is no bias on my part, credit where credit is due, the vaccine rollout seems to be on track and we can’t wait to get our jabs this week at the Penwortham Cricket Club so that we can finally see our son Geoff, daughter-in-law Natalia and our lovely grandaughter Scarlet.

Hurrah!

M Tipper

address supplied

Politics

People need to vote safely

Elections are the foundation of our democracy and people should not have to choose between voting and their health.

People have a right to vote safely and early postal voting will enable them to do that.

People can already ask for a postal vote.

However, many people believe this is still on medical grounds or being absent during voting time, which is no longer the case.

In order to overcome any confusion, every voter should be sent an early postal vote form by their local council, along with a pre-paid return envelope, so they can choose to use a postal vote.

Following the cancellation of last year’s local elections and the Police and Crime Commissioners Election, both of which have been rolled over to coincide with the county council elections election in May, there is now growing speculation that this year’s election will be postponed.

Up to now the Government has stated that they will go ahead as normal, but without any clarity regarding how this will be carried out and ensuring that those who want to vote can do so safely.

However, the Government assurance regarding decision-making has recently been prone to last minute U-turns, which has created chaos and confusion amongst the public.

Local councils are now seeking assurances to enable them to plan for election while protecting the public and their staff who will be responsible for administering the elections during the pandemic.

The cost of the extra safeguards that will be required in the election should not fall on local tax payers, the Government should step up and provide the extra funding.

Coun Azhar Ali

Labour Group Leader at Lancashire County Council