Saturday 16th April saw a national day of Campaigning across the country, billed as “Super Saturday”.
Chris Pincher & campaign team show their support for the No 2 AV campaign
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth, commenting on the “knock and run” visit to Tamworth by Labour leader Ed Miliband, said:
“I hope Mr. Miliband took the opportunity to congratulate Conservative-run Tamworth Council for freezing council tax whilst protecting front line services. I also hope he apologised for the last Labour government which presided over a terrible 94% increase in youth unemployment in our town. Sadly I think he did neither. His trip lasted less than 15 minutes. He knocked on just three doors one of which is the home of a Labour activist. When the third person told him she is voting Conservative, Mr. Miliband leapt into his car and drove away.”
Local Conservatives are delighted that local taxpayers will see more Borough Council deposits placed with Icelandic Banks returned, following a ruling by the country’s District Court.
This means the £3 million, including interest, deposited in Glitnir Bank could be returned to Tamworth Borough Council very soon.
Iceland’s District Court ruled in favour of local authorities being given ‘priority creditor status’, when it comes to organisations getting their money back.
Tamworth Borough Council – similar to more than 100 other local authorities across the country – had placed deposits with Icelandic Banks. Even the Labour governments much prized Audit Commission, had over a million pounds in the same banks.
The borough council has already received £2.4 million back from Icelandic banks. This extra £3 million, with interest, takes the total to £5.5 million.
Cllr Robert Pritchard said: “When local Labour says the money was lost they are wrong or telling lies. We have been working hard to get the public money returned and that hard work is paying off. All local Labour councillors voted for the council treasury policy, that saw the council depositing money in high yield accounts back in 2007-8 and before then. So if they want to blame councillors, they have to include themselves in the blame game.”
He added,
“It is widely accepted that when Gordon Brown froze the Icelandic Banks UK assets with anti-terrorism legislation it triggered the collapse. This is another example of Labours financial bungling costing the Tamworth tax payer dearly.
Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth, has welcomed new figures which show that disadvantaged children in Tamworth are set to receive £853,000 this year under the Coalition government’s new ‘pupil premium’.
The pupil premium is a new policy promised by both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats before the general election last year. It is an extra lump sum of cash which follows every disadvantaged child and is received by schools, allowing them to provide additional support such as one-to-one tuition and extra pastoral care.
The Government has announced that in the year from April 2011, the pupil premium will be worth £430 for every pupil on Free School Meals, £430 for every looked-after child, and £200 for every child who has a parent in the armed services. This means that in Tamworth this year:
Christopher said:
“This is fantastic news for children in Tamworth. The gap between the academic performance of children from deprived backgrounds and their peers is far too big and has been ignored for too long.
‘The pupil premium will tackle this disparity head on, providing targeted funding for those who need it most. This could mean extra one-to-one tuition or more pastoral support.’
‘The Coalition government didn’t create these problems but, even in these tough times, it is delivering a massive boost to the education of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.’
‘Service children also face unique stresses and challenges, whether in being separated from a parent who is fighting on the frontline or having to move school on multiple occasions. I am particularly pleased that the pupil premium will provide schools with dedicated funding to help meet service children’s needs.”
Tamworth MP Christopher Pincher has published an update of what he has been involved with over the last ten weeks of Parliament, including his thoughts on the Budget, Support for Local Soldiers and why he opposes the proposed tinkering with the Voting System.
You can read his update in full here.
Conservative Member of Parliamentary for Tamworth
Christopher Pincher was first elected MP for Tamworth in May 2010 with a majority of 6,090. Christopher was re-elected in 2015 with an increased majority of 11,302.
Born and bred in Staffordshire, and a Midlander through and through, Christopher is committed to representing Tamworth residents.
Christopher believes strongly in the power of local communities where people look after one another, support their local schools and hospitals and post offices, respect common traditions and stand together against the threat of crime and anti-social behaviour.
After becoming MP in 2010, Christopher worked conscientiously to get Britain back on track. Along with advocating issues relevant to Tamworth, Christopher specialized in national issues, including: energy, climate change, and defence. He was appointed to the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and also served on the Armed Forces Bill Committee.
Click here to view Christopher’s full bio.
