In his response to National Express's consultation on future rail services in East Anglia, the Conservatives Parliamentary Candidate for Waveney, Peter Aldous, has lobbied for further investment in the East Suffolk Line.

 

"Whilst the proposed investment in the East Anglian rail network is to be welcomed, I am concerned that in both the short and long term the East Suffolk Line could suffer" said Peter in his response.

He went on to welcome the recognition by National Express of the importance of hourly services and also expressed his view that lack of funding could mean that Waveney could be left with an inferior service than it has at present.

"The installation of the Beccles Loop is vital and securing funding must be the highest priority to ensure that the proposed hourly through services from Ipswich to Lowestoft do commence in December 2012" he added.

As well as calling for a more "passenger friendly" way of changing trains in Ipswich, avoiding where possible having to cross the main line, Peter Aldous called for improvements to the line including the remodelling of the station forecourt at Lowestoft and the provision of a bus and rail interchange there.

Click here to read Peter's response to the National Express' recent consultation on rail services in East Anglia

Photo: Peter Aldous lobbies for further investment in the East Suffolk Line.

Peter Aldous has warned that homes and businesses across Waveney could be facing power cuts within years.

For the first time since the three day week of the 1970's, consumers will be told to prepare for blackouts, since the supply of electricity will fail to meet demand at peak times.

Over the next few years many power stations will reach the end of their lives or will have to shut because of E.U. law. However, the Government has failed to ensure that replacements are available in time. The small print of Whitehall documents reveals that Ministers have pencilled in power cuts of 3000 Megawatt hours per year by 2017. This is the equivalent of 670,000 people being without electricity for a day - in other words an area almost the size of Suffolk (pop 715,700).

In practice the blackouts are most likely to strike at peak times - in the early evening during the winter months - hitting many more people for shorter periods when the need for electricity is greater. The expected gap of 3000 Megawatt hours could even mean a simultaneous hour-long power cut for 16 million people simultaneously on a winter evening.

Peter Aldous said: - "I am extremely concerned that homes and business in Waveney will face blackouts because the Labour Government has put its head in the sand with regards to an energy policy for a decade. Ministers have been forced to admit they expect the lights to go out for the first time since the three day week of the 1970's ".

"Conservatives will act quickly to tackle Labours energy crisis. We will increase generating capacity, improve energy efficiency by insulating peoples homes, adopt the latest green technology and make Britain's energy policy a matter of national security".

Peter Aldous has warned that homes and businesses across Waveney could be facing power cuts within years.

For the first time since the three day week of the 1970's, consumers will be told to prepare for blackouts, since the supply of electricity will fail to meet demand at peak times.

Over the next few years many power stations will reach the end of their lives or will have to shut because of E.U. law. However, the Government has failed to ensure that replacements are available in time. The small print of Whitehall documents reveals that Ministers have pencilled in power cuts of 3000 Megawatt hours per year by 2017. This is the equivalent of 670,000 people being without electricity for a day - in other words an area almost the size of Suffolk (pop 715,700).

In practice the blackouts are most likely to strike at peak times - in the early evening during the winter months - hitting many more people for shorter periods when the need for electricity is greater. The expected gap of 3000 Megawatt hours could even mean a simultaneous hour-long power cut for 16 million people simultaneously on a winter evening.

Peter Aldous said: - "I am extremely concerned that homes and business in Waveney will face blackouts because the Labour Government has put its head in the sand with regards to an energy policy for a decade. Ministers have been forced to admit they expect the lights to go out for the first time since the three day week of the 1970's ".

"Conservatives will act quickly to tackle Labours energy crisis. We will increase generating capacity, improve energy efficiency by insulating peoples homes, adopt the latest green technology and make Britain's energy policy a matter of national security".

Waveney Conservatives, led by Parliamentary Candidate Peter Aldous, will be supporting the Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch Big Weekend on Saturday 19th September by cleaning up litter on Pakefield Beach.

This follows on from their litter pick on Kessingland Beach on the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Peter Aldous comments: "Since the Marine Conservation Society started their annual beach survey in the mid 1990s, the amount of litter has doubled. It is not only unsightly for visitors, but a threat to our marine wildlife. Some litter is washed up from abroad, but a significant amount is dropped here in the UK. We need to clear up the mess to protect the environment and the coastline."

Peter Aldous and the other volunteers will be assembling at the Pakefield Street Car Park at 10.00am on Saturday 19th September. Anyone is welcome to come along. To obtain further information please ring 07771 791513.

Photo: Peter Aldous leads Waveney Conservatives on a beach clean up on Pakefield Beach.

Gordon Brown and his Ministers are deliberately covering up serious problems over the banding of homes for Council Tax, Peter Aldous, has warned.

New figures have revealed that Whitehall's Council Tax snoopers have been forced to re-do the Council Tax bands of thousands of homes after appeals by householders across Waveney and the country.

Official papers from the Valuation Office Agency show that many homes are in the wrong band for Council Tax and families have been paying over the odds for years. Accidentally leaked minutes have confessed that if the tax errors became known the government would lose money and would have to pay tax refunds. This was also ruled out since it would generate 'adverse press coverage... in the current climate'.

The combination of a campaign by 'Money Saving Expert' Martin Lewis, the publication of these leaked minutes and an ITV Tonight documentary, has produced a surge in Council Tax appeals. Now Parliamentary Questions have forced the government to publish detailed figures on the changes to Council Tax bands.

In the last three years, 190,000 existing homes have had their Council Tax band changed: 133,985 have moved down a band. In Waveney 244 homes have moved down a Council Tax band as a result of appeals. This proves that there are serious and systematic errors in the banding of homes, which ministers have been covering up to save money.

Peter Aldous said: 'We now have clear evidence of a Council Tax cover up. The Labour Government has been caught red handed fiddling Council Tax to make families in Waveney and across the country pay more. Whitehall bureaucrats know that many homes across the country are wrongly banded, but have refused to correct the tax inspectors' errors to save the Government money and save face.

'The whole basis of our tax system is undermined if the state conspires to overcharge the public. Labour Ministers only want to reform the Council Tax system if it rakes in extra cash for Gordon Brown's coffers'.

Gordon Brown and his Ministers are deliberately covering up serious problems over the banding of homes for Council Tax, Peter Aldous, has warned.

New figures have revealed that Whitehall's Council Tax snoopers have been forced to re-do the Council Tax bands of thousands of homes after appeals by householders across Waveney and the country.

Official papers from the Valuation Office Agency show that many homes are in the wrong band for Council Tax and families have been paying over the odds for years. Accidentally leaked minutes have confessed that if the tax errors became known the government would lose money and would have to pay tax refunds. This was also ruled out since it would generate 'adverse press coverage... in the current climate'.

The combination of a campaign by 'Money Saving Expert' Martin Lewis, the publication of these leaked minutes and an ITV Tonight documentary, has produced a surge in Council Tax appeals. Now Parliamentary Questions have forced the government to publish detailed figures on the changes to Council Tax bands.

In the last three years, 190,000 existing homes have had their Council Tax band changed: 133,985 have moved down a band. In Waveney 244 homes have moved down a Council Tax band as a result of appeals. This proves that there are serious and systematic errors in the banding of homes, which ministers have been covering up to save money.

Peter Aldous said: 'We now have clear evidence of a Council Tax cover up. The Labour Government has been caught red handed fiddling Council Tax to make families in Waveney and across the country pay more. Whitehall bureaucrats know that many homes across the country are wrongly banded, but have refused to correct the tax inspectors' errors to save the Government money and save face.

'The whole basis of our tax system is undermined if the state conspires to overcharge the public. Labour Ministers only want to reform the Council Tax system if it rakes in extra cash for Gordon Brown's coffers'.

Peter Aldous has welcomed Conservative plans launched that help struggling local newspapers in Waveney and up and down the country.

The plan was announced by David Cameron and Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and will review bureaucratic regulations around the ownership of local newspapers and would allow local newspapers to consolidate across platforms into online, TV and Radio.

This will mean local newspapers will have the freedom to adapt to the digital world and develop new business models for the future. Most significantly this will encourage local newspaper groups, such as Archant who own the Eastern Daily Press, the East Anglian Daily Times, the Lowestoft Journal and the Beccles and Bungay Journal to invest in ultra local television services.

David Cameron said "local newspapers are closing and staff are being made redundant in the face of falling advertising revenue and competition from the internet and local authority free sheets. That's why the Conservative Party is going to announce plans to sweep away the bureaucratic rules that mean that a rigid law decides who owns what bits of the media in local communities. This will give local newspapers more freedom to adapt to the digital world and develop new business models for the twenty first century."

Jeremy Hunt added: "the current rules were established in a pre-digital age. It is now time to allow new industry models to emerge that will encourage investment not just in local papers but in local online services and new local TV companies."

Peter Aldous said: "I am fully behind the ideas put forward by the Conservatives to help struggling local newspapers. We are lucky to have great local newspapers such as the EDP, the EADT, the Lowestoft Journal and the Beccles and Bungay Journal in this area, so it would be a travesty if the Labour Government's bureaucracy and regulations mean they are reduced by cutbacks.

Labour Government censors breakdown of Government spending in Waveney.

Peter Aldous, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Waveney has expressed disappointment at the Labour Government's decision to water down new laws which would tell people how much taxpayer's money is spent in Waveney and in every other part of the country.

A new law, called the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, and introduced by Conservatives, was passed by Parliament with cross community support from local and national organisations. It could turn politics upside down - by giving local people the power to decide how their cash is spent in their area.

For the first time in British political history, the Government will publish a regular breakdown of the amount of public money spent in each community, and explain how much of that spending is controlled by local people and how much by Whitehall.

More and more taxpayer's money is being spent by unelected quangos. In Gordon Brown's first year in office, spending on so called "executive non-departmental bodies" rose by 16%. The Taxpayer's Alliance has estimated that £64 billion a year is now spent by unelected quangos – equivalent to £2550 for every household in Waveney. The need for proper transparency in public spending is thus urgent.

However in a consultation paper recently issued by the Government, the plans for reports on local spending under the new Act have been severely watered down. Only spending information by Councils and NHS Primary Care Trusts will be published – and this is already in the public domain.

The Conservatives are pledging to put this right and will:

• Use the Sustainable Communities Act to publish detailed information on local spending by central and local government bodies, and devolve more funding down to local communities.


• Require Councils and Whitehall bodies to publish online detailed figures on how they spend our money, so the press and public can scrutinise waste and inefficiency properly.

Peter Aldous said “It is completely unacceptable that control freak ministers should try to water down these ground breaking new openness laws. Labour are obsessed with trying to control everything from Whitehall. It speaks volumes that they want to stop local people finding out the truth that East Anglia gets a raw deal from their Government”.

Independent research by Oxford Economics has revealed that £6.5 billion of taxpayer’s hard earned cash in East Anglia is being spent elsewhere in the country.

Peter Aldous added: “Enough is enough. We can’t continue to be used as a cash cow for the rest of the country. There is a desperate need for investment in the roads in Waveney, whether it be the third crossing, the northern spine road, the Beccles southern bypass or the Bungay bypass. Money raised here should be spent here on projects that will have a lasting economic benefit”.

“The Sustainable Communities Act can give local people a far greater say on how their money is spent in Waveney and Suffolk. The Conservatives will open up the books and give power and funding so that local people can adopt local solutions”.

Peter Aldous has welcomed Conservative plans launched that help struggling local newspapers in Waveney and up and down the country.

The plan was announced by David Cameron and Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and will review bureaucratic regulations around the ownership of local newspapers and would allow local newspapers to consolidate across platforms into online, TV and Radio.

This will mean local newspapers will have the freedom to adapt to the digital world and develop new business models for the future. Most significantly this will encourage local newspaper groups, such as Archant who own the Eastern Daily Press, the East Anglian Daily Times, the Lowestoft Journal and the Beccles and Bungay Journal to invest in ultra local television services.

David Cameron said "local newspapers are closing and staff are being made redundant in the face of falling advertising revenue and competition from the internet and local authority free sheets. That's why the Conservative Party is going to announce plans to sweep away the bureaucratic rules that mean that a rigid law decides who owns what bits of the media in local communities. This will give local newspapers more freedom to adapt to the digital world and develop new business models for the twenty first century."

Jeremy Hunt added: "the current rules were established in a pre-digital age. It is now time to allow new industry models to emerge that will encourage investment not just in local papers but in local online services and new local TV companies."

Peter Aldous said: "I am fully behind the ideas put forward by the Conservatives to help struggling local newspapers. We are lucky to have great local newspapers such as the EDP, the EADT, the Lowestoft Journal and the Beccles and Bungay Journal in this area, so it would be a travesty if the Labour Government's bureaucracy and regulations mean they are reduced by cutbacks.