(6 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberWhere I agree with my hon. Friend is that it is important that people who are sentenced serve the appropriate amount of time. I am aware of the issues he raises, and I would welcome discussing them with him further.
Since the Tories came to power, the number of police in the Northumbria policing area has been cut by 27%. During the same time, violent crime has gone up 177%. Is it just the general public who notice the link between those figures, or has the Secretary of State noticed it, too?
Perhaps it is worth my reminding the hon. Gentleman that at the last election he stood on a manifesto that wanted to cut police funding by 5% to 10%, whereas this Government have protected it. If his correlation were correct—if it were correct—crime would have gone up even more had Labour been in office.
I had thought the hon. Gentleman would welcome the fact that in his constituency the claimant count has fallen by some 42% since 2010. If he really wanted to champion Gateshead and more funding, including for jobs and investment, perhaps he might ask why the mayoral devolution deal was rejected last year.
First, may I tell my hon. Friend that I enjoyed my visit to his beautiful and sunny constituency last week? The idea of this back-office hub, which I heard about from the local Conservative group, is a very good one. It highlights the fact that Conservative councils cost you less but deliver you more, so if local people want to see that, they should vote Conservative in the local elections throughout the country on 4 May.
(9 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberLike my hon. Friend, I am very proud of the BBC. It is well respected not just at home, but abroad, and rightly so. However, we have to recognise that there have been serious changes in technology over the past decade, and when the charter review takes place, all issues should be looked at, including those raised by colleagues.
T7. On the 20th anniversary of the national lottery, it is a fact that twice as many households in the north-east play the lottery, compared with London, but the region receives only half the grants that London gets. Does the Minister think that is fair?
(10 years, 5 months ago)
Commons Chamber8. What steps he has taken to reduce the cost of living for people on low incomes.
The Government are protecting the incomes of low-income households by freezing fuel duty and council tax and taking 2.7 million people out of tax by freezing the personal allowance. The best way to raise living standards is to stick to the Government’s long-term economic plan, which delivers for all. Britain is back on the path of prosperity: the economy is growing, the deficit is falling and jobs are being created.
Now that’s nonsense. How on earth can this Government—the lot of them—justify this, let alone lie straight in bed at night, when they have given the top 1% richest people in this country a £100,000 pay rise and at the same time they are impoverishing the real workers of the country—the postmen, the nurses, the teachers—by making them up to £2,000 a year worse off?
The hon. Gentleman should put an end to the petty party politics and focus on the facts. He talks about the richest 1%, but the richest 1% are paying almost 30% of total income tax, which is the highest share ever. The richest 5% are paying almost 50% of total income tax. The only way this country will recover from Labour’s great recession is if we stick to our long-term economic plan, which is delivering for all.