19th June 2008

North Wilts MP James Gray raised the issue of gypsy and traveller sites in a lively Westminster Hall debate yesterday afternoon.

“I was delighted to be supported by my Conservative colleagues and neighbours, Michael Ancram and Dr Andrew Murrison, and delighted too that the Conservative frontbench spokeswoman, Jacqui Lait, was able to re-iterate Eric Pickles’ promise that the Conservatives will change the law on gypsy sites.”

“As I pointed out several times during my own remarks, the so-called “regional spatial strategy” - the spurious contribution of the unelected South West Regional Assembly - has stated that Wiltshire has to provide a large number of these sites. Mrs Lait confirmed that the Conservative Party will abolish the regional spatial strategy, to ensure that there will be no top-down targeting or pressure on councils to provide a set number of sites over which they have no control.”

“By contrast I was disappointed that the Government Minister was not able to give me reassurance on one of the main points I pressed him on, namely whether in the Government’s view, the travelling population and the settled population should receive equal treatment in planning law. We currently have a situation where gypsies are allowed to breach planning law and camp illegally, as at the site in Minety, but the settled population are not.

“As I pointed out during my contribution, what we need is for locally elected Councils to make their own assessments of how many pitches are needed for the gypsies in their own areas, and provide for them in the way that they would for the settled population or for the homeless. If Councils did not fulfil this obligation and gypsies started to camp illegally, then they would face the voters’ indignation at the ballot box.  I do not believe that we should create more sites that are required, which would encourage more gypsies to move to the UK, and I am glad that my party would do away with the undemocratic diktats of the Regional Assembly.”

Read on to see Hansard report in full..

6th June 2008

Working families across North Wiltshire will find it even harder to cope with the soaring cost of living, local MP James Gray warned today thanks to Gordon Brown’s new plans to hike taxes on family cars.

"Fuel prices at the pump are rocketing, and households face ever-higher gas and electricity bills on top of higher council tax. The cost of driving a car will soon be even higher. Low-income households will be the hardest hit, just as they have been with the 10p income tax hikes."

The Government is to change the way that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is calculated to raise an extra £2,500,000,000 for Gordon Brown’s coffers. Family cars face higher VED as well as a ‘showroom tax’ for new cars. The VED tax will be retrospective – so any car bought after 2001 will be hit by the higher tax rates. This will lead in turn to a plummeting re-sale price for second-hand cars. This will make it more difficult for people to replace their car and upgrade to a new or better one.

Working families across North Wiltshire will find it even harder to cope with the soaring cost of living, local MP James Gray, warned today thanks to Gordon Brown’s new plans to hike taxes on family cars.