Taxing questions for Labour!

Why do Labour Cabinet members seek to minimise their tax bills by paying for professional advice rather than seizing the opportunity to "redistribute" more of their income than is strictly necessary!?!

Harriet Harperson?

Could Harriet Harman ever have been the Equalities Minister if she was male!?!

"[Her draft Bill ] will also allow employers to give preference to female or non-white job applicants over equally-qualified white men."

What about a preference for state educated applicants over privately educated people such as Harriet!?!

Harman on pensions

If Harriet Harman believes that Sir Fred Goodwin is not entitled to a full pension because he has "taken RBS to the brink of collapse, and the bank had been saved only by a massive bailout from government, he was not morally entitled to the money", does she think Gordon Brown should be entitled to a pension!?!

I would contribute to his pension, but only if he retires now!

Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer

Why would any Democrat want to avoid paying taxes when they actively support bigger Government and bigger taxes!?!

Shed dreams!

When will every UK shed have access to broadband!?!

People who value broadband will already be connected to the internet superhighway - even the Matthews already have a broadband connection!

Absent minded?

How many of Britain's 2 million uninsured or unlicenced drivers are already absent parents!?!

"Absent parents who do not pay child support could have their passports and driving licences seized without having to be taken to court."

ContactPoint

Who will be vetting the 390,000 staff (including charities!) who can view contact details of every child in England!?!

What will the penalties be for failing to update your records on the system!?!

PS MPs will be the only parents exempt from the database...

PPS How likely is it that Victoria Climbie's guardian would have registered her on the ContactPoint database!?!

Policies up in smoke?

What's the point of banning tobacco displays if it only reduces the prevalence of smoking amongst young people by just 20,000 smokers or 10%, "the key evidence"!?!

It's difficult to imagine any other Government policy being introduced with such poor outcomes apart from the banning of vending machines that are only used by 20% of 11-15 year old smokers anyway!

Are the youth of today so stupid that they could not find an alternative source of cigarettes!?!

PS If the Government is so concerned about smokers' health, why not just ban cigarettes!?!

Pilots lite!

What's the point of pilot schemes if they omit unpopular elements of the grander plan!?!

Identity cards will be issued free of charge during an evaluation period whilst drivers testing a national road pricing scheme will deduct payments from a "shadow account set up in the driver's name".

Parallel Politics?

Why is Hazel Blears attacking political bloggers for "fuelling a culture of cynicism about politics" when she acknowledges that politicians frequently live in a parallel universe divorced from "the realities people face"!?!

Gay cheek!

Are gay people really "net contributors to public services through their taxes, because very few of them have children" when they are more likely to require expensive NHS treatment to fight HIV than the rest of the UK population!?!

Humble Beginnings?

"Seven female cabinet ministers have talked about their struggles in their twenties, in an interview with a women's magazine. [ ] Company magazine editor Victoria White said it showed that successful women could make it from "humble beginnings".

Ruth Kelly - She was privately educated at Sutton High School. She returned to England where she won a scholarship to the Westminster School to take her A-levels. She went on to Queen's College, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1989, and then to the London School of Economics gaining an MSc in Economics in 1992.

Tessa Jowell - educated at the independent St Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh and Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Harriet Harman - educated at the famous independent St Paul's Girls' School and the University of York, where she gained a BA in Politics.

Migration Advisory Committee

How does a "panel of experts" identify "which sectors of the UK job market are short of workers"!?!

Do they choose the professions that have incurred the highest pay rises in the last five years or use a lottery!?! Pay increases should decline for the chosen ones as the supply of labour increases ceteris paribus.

Educational Maintenance Allowance

How do 150,000 teenagers in receipt of the Educational Maintenance Allowance spend their money at weekends!?!

Will town centres be safer this weekend as the payments system has broken down!?!

It's good news for fraudsters though, they will already have identified ways to exploit the failings to their advantage!

Stamping out duty?

What Government help is being offered "to help people through difficult times" who are not buying houses but are merely struggling to make ends meet?

They can console themselves with the knowledge that their taxes will need to increase to fund the cuts in stamp duty!

Of Rape and Referenda!

When a woman says no, she means no.

When an electorate says no, it means yes!

Free swimming

How will swimming pools ration limited space when they will soon be free to all!?!

Will there be swimming pool waiting lists or will appointments be required 48 hours in advance!?!

PS How many new swimmers will take up the sport or is it just a subsidy to existing swimmers!?!

Smoking policy stinks!

If Government is determined to stop under-age smoking, why not fine the parents of those caught smoking rather than ban cigarette vending machines, packets of 10 and, unbelievably, branding and logos!?!

"Brown to meet oil industry chiefs"

"Please, please, please, increase the oil supply so that drivers don't notice my October tax increase, please, please, please"

PS If Gordon Brown has any 'green' credentials, he would welcome recent oil price increases as it encourage people to use fuel more efficiently!

Every little hurts!

How will MPs keep site of "the environment agenda" when they might award themselves an automatic tax free lump sum of £23,000 a year for second homes!?!

Lesser mortals will be expected to pay for increased fuel costs out of their existing taxed incomes!