Telford & Wrekin Council Watch

Can MP David Wright answer this?

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Written by John Franklyn

Thursday, 22 May 2008

The cost of living is really getting to people now.

I have recently spoke with a representative of a high profile Company who says that they are feeling the pinch because of the credit crunch.

As you know, the less money you have, the harder you are hit and I for one can see the difference both in business and in the domestic environment.

The cost of the essentials are really increasing in the weekly shopping basket, the cost of fuel for cars and of course, the cost of gas and electricity.

Poor families in Telford and Wrekin don’t get help with things like school uniforms and of course need to provide various materials for children like pens, pencils, forking out for school trips.

The government say they have lifted millions of families out of poverty, only because they cooked the books and no longer include rent as part of their calculations, so on paper people seem better off, the reality is they are worse off.

I very often meet families who are on the key meter for their gas and electricity. Like with myself, this method costs a bit more annually, but at least you’re not left scrapping around to pay a quarterly bill.

But unfortunately, I regularly hear from families who run out of electricity even though they only use what they have when it is needed the most.

People have even taken to dumping pets at animal rescue centres.

Yet, we hear how well the country is doing, unfortunately, this Government and many elected members have lost touch with the real issues as many do not have the cushion of allowances to fall back on.

I have been copied into an email that has been sent to MP David Wright that really shows how people are struggling.

This email comes from a person who has worked since before leaving school, continues to work hard, has done plenty to assist people in their own community, is someone I know and respect.

I have changed one or two things so as not to give their identity away, people are struggling, the worst thing is, we have not yet seen the worst and some say that when the recovery does start, at some point, it will take at the very least two years to recover.

So MP David Wright – will you answer this?

Dear David,

I see the price of petrol and diesel has gone up yet again. The price of diesel is going up every other day at the moment.

It's getting close to the point where I can't afford to drive any more which is unfortunate. Because I have problems with my knees I can't walk everywhere. I can get to work on the bus but it'll cost me £3.20 return to the Town Centre daily. That's a journey of about 3 miles. From the Town Centre I then have the option of catching another bus for around the same amount that will eventually get me close to work from where I can walk to work or walking and then catching a minibus that my employer provides.

I'd need to do some sums to figure out whether the bus is cheaper than the car but one thing is for sure - my journey to work will increase from five minutes to around an hour and a half. That means three hours a day less with my family and when I work a late shift every other week that means not seeing my 3 year old as she would be in bed by the time I got home from work.

Then there's the problem of me being on 24 hour call-out. Every other week I am on call 24 hours a day but buses don't run 24 hours a day. I'd have to give that up and lose about £5,000 a year in salary.

And, of course, there is the knock-on effect of high fuel prices that affects everyone, driver or not - increased cost of food and other goods. My wife tells me that some items of shopping are increasing on a weekly basis. This is due to both the increasing cost of transport and the food shortages caused by farmers turning fields over to biofuels in the name of the global warming scam that you and your colleagues are propagating.

When will this stop David?

When will you and your government do something to help out those of us who don't have a £61,000 MP's salary to cushion the blow?

When will your government realise that what the economy needs - and what we all need - is for the tax on fuel to be decreased, not increased?

It's all well and good your prime minister (salary £187,000) telling us that he won't drop tax on fuel so we can afford to live because we need secure and cheap oil supplies for the future but that's not happening (largely thanks to your government's foreign policy, but that's another matter). We aren't going to get cheap and secure oil supplies other than those that are present in the North Sea, control of which your government is passing over to the EU. A tax cut is the only way fuel prices will be decreased.

So what do you suggest I do David?

The way things are going, very soon I won't be able to afford to work.

What are you doing to bring down the cost of fuel, the cost of food and the general cost of living?

What are you going to do to make sure that people like me can afford to travel to work and buy food for our families?

This raises other concerns and displays how constructive accounting seems to happen with the Councils Propaganda Machine Transforming Telford.

I have recently questioned the Auditor and their letter that gave praise to Transforming Telford for something the EDT did prior to their conception.

Now I must question Transforming Telford and ask, how did they get the Borough’s average salary of £34k pa.

Did Transforming Telford select a specific high paid group, like Senior people within the IT and Financial industries and exclude your cleaners, shelf stackers etc who are more than likely on the minimum wage.

Something does not add up here, if the average salary was £34k, I for one do not think that people would be priced out of work because of high fuel prices and even higher cost of public transport that does not offer flexibility or reliability.

Comments

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HOOP	\|SAdministrator \|2008-05-23 10:38:25

Some good points there, both in the message to David Wright and from you John,
The problem seems to be that this government, and especially our MP, simply
don't get it.

People are increasingly disillusioned by the whole political
system, and are showing this by reduced turnouts at election and a general
decline in political debate. Despite this even the most disinterested member of
the public knows when they are being lied to - which with the present government
seems to be pretty well all the time.

It's no good them repeatedly telling
ordinary people that things are bloody wonderful under Labour, when they know
that they are being screwed on a daily basis to look after the interests of the
fabulously rich.

And what will David Wright's response be? - probably to
congratulate AFC Telford United in their recent performance.

Matt	\|Registered \|2008-06-01 23:00:18

David Wright is an idiot. He refuses to answer any questions properly. And still
likes to blame the Tories for anything Gordon Brown does that messes up the
lives of ordinary people.

lgdl08595 - They are all Liars

|Registered |2008-06-22 09:43:26

Who gets this £34K average wage in Telford, we don't that's for certain, we
average £7/£7.50 per hour, a lot don't even get that. We are then taxed out of
95% of it. Politicians should be made to work 1 month a year in a factory and
live on our Wages. I would love to see how they manage when they can't manage
on their MP Salary £60K+ and their rip off expenses. Time to live in the real
world & find out what we have to give up to pay for their blunders & cock ups.
Politicians of whatever party should stop blaming others take responsibility or
get out! Where have all the extra taxes gone? Anyone noticed any improvements
in our lives or services? Get rid of all the Quango's who cost this country
about £64+ million to tell us what we already know, the Politicians haven't a
clue what they are doing!!!!!!!!!

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