The Bag Tax Loop Hole

As someone who spends most of the day driving around as part of my job, I occasionally frequent "The Scottish Restaurant" - McDonalds Drive Through (or is it Thru?).

This morning I ordered my favourite breakfast treat: the sausage and egg McMuffin breakfast meal. This consists of a sausage and egg muffin, a hash brown, and a coffee.

At the drive through/thru I was asked if I would like a bag. In Wales bags cost 5p. This is an environmental tax established by the Welsh Government and accounts for plastic and paper bags used to carry purchases. However, one of the stipulations of the tax is that if loose food is to be purchased then the bag must be provided free of charge to preserve hygiene.

This is what I got handed to me this morning. As you can see my hash brown was lose thus requiring a bag.
The muffin didn't. When I ordered I was asked if I needed a bag. I said no but got one anyway. If I had said yes I would have paid 5p for the muffin to be put on the bag with the hash brown! How daft is that.

It's time to Claim Back the Union Jack.

The Union Flag, or "Jack"

With the London Olympics and Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee just around the corner, the shops are full of Union Jack merchandise.

As a Unionist I am proud to fly our flag as it is one of the most recognisable brands around the world.  It evokes images of what is described as typically British: London, the Mini, Tea to name but a few.

Then there is the BNP. 

Union means to "be together".  Britain is, and has always been, one of the most multicultural countries in the world.  Nowhere else could you travel a few hundred miles and experience different cultures.  

These small isles contain the whole world.  Some are afraid of this, I embrace it.

So here are some everyday british items that show why the Union Jack stands for Britishness and not the BNP:

London: Capital of the UK, formally known as Londinium and founded in AD43 by the Romans (Italian)

the Mini: Classic 60's British built car designed by Sir Alec Issigonis (Anglo-Greek)

Tea: from South and East Asia

Shampoo: Originally from India, introduced to Britain by Sake Dean Mahomed (Muslim)

Beer: According to ancient text, believed to originate in Egypt and Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq)

Pub: Origin: Roman Tabernae (Italian) and Anglo-Saxon Alehouses (German)

Bungalow: Derived from a Hindi word for "Bengali" style of house. (Hindi)

Pie and Mash: Pie (Greek), Mash (Peruvian)

Tomatoes: Peruvian

Bearskin Hat: made from bear skin (Canadian)

Parliament: derived from the word "parler", to talk or discuss (French)

Tower of London: Built by William the Conqueror (French/Danish) after the;

Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror (French/Danish) beat King Harold II (Danish)

Victorian: The era of Queen Victoria, who's great grandfather was Fredrick, Prince of Wales (German)

These are just examples of our multicultural nation dating back over a thousand years, so if you have any others please let me know, oh yes, and please remind the BNP too.

It's time to Claim Back the Union Jack.

Sim City and the Case for Devolution of Business Rates

Sim City

While rummaging through some old things in the loft I came across an old favourite PC game - Sim City.  For those of you who have not played this game, and those of you who have political asparations, it teaches you basic skills in tax manipulation and the effects it has on the population of the city you create and run.

Example: Increase property tax = population decrease.  Increase Commercial Tax - Quality of life is depleted = population decrease - Increase tax on industry Unemployment goes up = population decrease.  You can also fund Welfare, Puplic Transport Police, Fire, Roads etc - but if you can't raise the tax revenue-you can't pay.  If the taxes are raised the population decreases and revenue falls = Game Over.

However this did get me thinking about business rates.  Why?  Because in the UK Local authorities have the ability to control the Residential Rates of Tax through council tax.  But the flaw is evident in that local authorities do not have the same control over commerce and industry.  These rates are set by the Welsh Government in Cardiff and collected through the local authorities to be redistributed.

In the afore mentioned game the governor gets to select the rates of tax for all elements of the Simulated City to win the game (goal being stay in the green and make everyone happy), but in reality the Local Authorities of Wales only have one of these controls - Residential = Council Tax.

It would be wise then that each local Authority takes control of its own setting of the business rate. I am a fan of Enterprise Zones because they provide areas for businesses to flourish due to the decreased tax demands, but if each Local Authority could control those very taxes then we would instantly generate 22 competitive Enterprise Zones in Wales, surely a great breading ground for business.

Wind Power and the Looming Legacy

Yet again we are blindly creating a legacy for our children to deal with, not Nuclear, but Wind power.

Wind turbines, onshore and offshore, are a contentious environmental issue.  Their very image is used for the promotion of Green energy production, but how green are they?  Are we all blinded by the shear greenness of them?  I think we are, for there is a dark shadow looming in the back ground, a legacy we will be leaving for our children to deal with - the blades of these turbines are currently being sent to landfill due to the complex make up of carbon fibres, glass fibres and resins.

Denmark is currently leading the field in post life treatment of these blades, burning them to generate more power but up to 60% of the blade materials are left behind with landfill being a choice destination.  There is research being carried out to see if the residue can be reused, but this research is very young.

Turbines are getting bigger and so are the blades.  It is reported that within the next twenty-five years some 225,000 tonnes of rotor blade material will need to be recycled world-wide, approximately 100,000 tonnes in Europe.  In Wales, I see no research or mention of how we are going to deal with this waste potential.

In a strive to combat global warming by creating a greener source of energy we are running headlong into an environmental disaster.