STOCKPORT WELCOMES GRAHAM BRADY MP AND FORMER STOCKPORT MP TONY FAVELL

Stockport Conservatives welcomed Graham Brady MP, for Altrincham and Sale West, and former Stockport MP Tony Favell as guests at their St George’s Day Dinner held at the Davenport Park Hotel on Friday 24^th April 2009.

At present Graham Brady is the sole Conservative MP in Greater Manchester and Tony Favell was MP for Stockport until 1992.

Stephen said, “It was a pleasure to welcome our guests to Stockport.  In particular I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Tony Favell who worked hard for the people of Stockport.”

BUDGET RESPONSE – LABOUR HURTING STOCKPORT’S FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES

Stephen Holland, Prospective MP for Stockport, has hit out at the Government’s plans to increase taxes on families and local firms across Stockport.

• National Insurance will be increased for workers and for firms. This jobs tax will discourage businesses from hiring staff, cut people’s pay packets, and mean anyone earning £20,000 a year or more will be worse off.
• National debt will double to £1.4 trillion – this is equivalent to £22,500 of debt for every man, woman and child. Taxes are to rise by £1,000 for every family over the next two years.
• Fuel duty is up 2 pence per litre, and will continue to rise by more than inflation for the next four years, increasing the cost of travelling to work, taking children to school and going shopping.
• Alcohol duty, which was hiked up in December, will rise again as part of the Government’s plans to increase the cost of beer, cider, spirits and wine by more than inflation every year. This punishes responsible drinkers and is putting small local pubs across Stockport out of business.
• Business rates are rising by £1 billion in the middle of a recession. Business rates are the biggest cost for firms after rent and staff costs. Bills have soared for Stockport’s firms since the beginning of April, and further large hikes are expected next year too.

Stephen Holland said, “In these tough economic times, families and local firms across Stockport are going to pay the price for Labour’s failings. These aren’t taxes for the few; they are taxes for the many. At a time when people are losing their jobs or facing pay freezes, hard-working families in Stockport now face smaller pay packets and a higher cost of living thanks to Labour. Why have the Chancellor and his parliamentary aide, Stockport’s Labour MP, let down the people of Stockport?

“It’s time for change. Conservatives will work to repair our broken public finances and help lead the country out of recession.”

SPEAKING UP FOR STOCKPORT – MY LETTER TO THE CHANCELLOR BEFORE THE 2009 BUDGET

Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr Darling

BUDGET 2009

The current recession is having a detrimental effect across the United Kingdom, not least in Stockport.

Many of Stockport’s residents and businesses are victims of this recession.

As a Chartered Tax Adviser I wish to highlight to you some groups who are affected and measures that I consider should be put into place in next week’s Budget to help them through these difficult economic circumstances.

1. Pensioners

Stockport’s pensioners are struggling following an increase in the cost of living during the last decade whilst the Government stopped the repayable dividend tax credit on dividends on investments held in their pension funds.

I urge you to increase the personal allowances for pensioners by at least £2,000 a year in your Budget, thereby benefiting them by up to £400 a year.

2. Savers

Stockport’s savers are suffering after interest rates were slashed to try and tackle the credit crunch. People who have acted responsibly and saved all their lives are now getting little or no return on their savings.

I urge you to reduce the 10p starting rate and the 20p basic rate of tax on savings to zero, thereby benefiting basic rate taxpayers by up to over £7,000 a year.

3. Employers

Stockport’s shops and businesses are falling victim to this recession and being left empty as highlighted recently by your Cabinet colleagues.

Instead of promoting schemes to turn these empty shops into art galleries and dance studios, I urge you and the Government to take a more proactive stance and put into place measures to help prevent Stockport’s shops and businesses from closing in the first place. These measures would include simplifying the business taxation regime and providing tax breaks for employers who create jobs. A busy high street will lead to more job opportunities for the people of Stockport.

I look forward to seeing the above measures implemented in next week’s Budget so that more help can be given to pensioners, savers and employers in Stockport during this recession.

Yours sincerely

Stephen Holland
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Stockport

SPEAKING UP FOR STOCKPORT’S RETAIL BUSINESSES – MY LETTER TO THE STOCKPORT EXPRESS

Dear Editor

The British Retail Consortium is right to question the Government’s announcement that empty shops in Stockport should be used as art galleries. Our shops need more direct help to stay in business instead of schemes to use their empty premises.

This Government is hiking business rates during a recession as well as scrapping rate relief on empty property. Next April’s rate revaluation and new planning rules in favour of more out of town developments will make it even tougher for our high street shops.

A Conservative Government will give local authorities a new discretionary power to levy business rate discounts to help local shops, and make small business rate relief automatic. Instead of window-dressing more should be done in this month’s Budget to help Stockport’s businesses such as simplifying business taxation and cutting unnecessary red tape.

Stephen Holland

Prospective Conservative MP for Stockport

SPEAKING UP FOR STOCKPORT’S SAVERS AND PENSIONERS – MY LETTER TO THE STOCKPORT EXPRESS

Dear Editor

Two of the biggest victims under Labour’s recession are savers and pensioners. Savers have lost out after interest rates were slashed to try and tackle the credit crunch. Pensioners have suffered in the last decade after Gordon Brown raided their pension funds to the tune of £5 billion a year.

Conservatives are pressing the Government to abolish income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers and to raise the annual tax-free personal allowance for pensioners by £2,000. As a chartered tax adviser, I believe these critical measures should be introduced by the Chancellor at the forthcoming Budget on 22 April.  Readers may be aware that Stockport’s Labour MP is the Chancellor’s parliamentary private secretary.

Of course it’s not just Labour who are hitting Stockport’s taxpayers hard in the pocket. The Liberal Democrats who run the local council have increased this year’s council tax by an inflation-busting 4.25%. Under the Conservatives, local residents will be given powers to veto these unacceptable high council tax rises.

Stephen Holland

Prospective Conservative MP for Stockport

SPEAKING UP FOR STOCKPORT’S WORKERS – MY LETTER TO MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

Dear Editor

While Lord Mandelson hails the minimum wage as a ‘huge success’ (MEN Business, April 2), there are increasing numbers of low paid workers who are falling behind.

In the last four years, the number of people being paid less than the National Minimum Wage has doubled to almost 500,000 people.  Many will be working here in Greater Manchester and, like the rest of us, feeling the pinch in the recession.

Stephen Holland

Prospective Conservative MP for Stockport