[jambutty]

I accept that no MP is forced to vote on party lines Cyfr but the Whips do more than influence a vote. If an MP decides to go against the Whips ‘advice’ (which in reality is more of an instruction) that MP will be sanctioned in some way right up to being dismissed from the party. MP’s are whipped into party line if they show a tendency to think for themselves. That’s why the Whips are called Whips!

The National Basket has a certain cash value Neil (I don’t know what it is) and month-by-month the prices of the goods in that basket are checked and any increase is declared as an AVERAGE percentage value of the previous cash value. It’s called inflation. Thus during the course of a year the inflation could be say 10%. Wage increase claims are based on this figure and those with a lower income will not get the real cash value increase, whilst those on a higher income will, not only get the cash value but more. Because of this percentage thing pensions become less and less year-by-year in real terms and so do the wages of the low paid.

We shall have to agree to disagree Neil. But you will never convince me that basing wage increases on a percentage basis is anything other than UNFAIR.

In spite of your claims that the Poll Tax was a bad idea Cyfr, on the contrary many people saw it as being fair. Why should a pensioner, single person or even a couple pay the same Council Tax as a household with 3 or 4 working adults? The Poll Tax was a fair way of charging adults for the services that the local authority provided. Where it went wrong is the level of PT per person. It was too high. The Councils grabbed the opportunity to get more money out of the town’s residents. Lower income earners did not pay more as there was the safety net, in the same way that low income families get a full or partial Council Tax relief.

My MP, Janet Anderson, has a web site shillelagh but unless you declare which sector of industry you are in you cannot register to post on the Blog. The choices are; Charity, Corporate, Government Agency/NDPB, Government Department, Local Government, Media, MP/Peer/MEP/MSP/AM/MLA, Parliamentary Staff, Google Page Ranking/Public Affairs Consultancy, Public Services, Student/Research Institute, Think Tank/Pressure Group, Trade Assoc/Professional Body or Union. I don’t see factory, office, shop workers in that list. Nor postmen, binmen, pensioners etc.

Thus the man/woman in the street cannot register unless they lie about which sector they are in.

There are contact details, which include several email addresses but as you say not everyone is computer literate or indeed has one of these infernal machines. But there is always the public library and help is at hand for those who cannot use a computer to send an email.