Firstly, may I thank you so much for inviting me to this Open Day at Sadler Road.

It is exciting to see the integration of Microwave Marketing & Linwave Technology on a single site.  I know that this site forms a key part of your growth strategy, supporting high calibre staff with first rate design labs and manufacturing clean room facilities, while expanding capability to handle larger projects as you grow.

It is a great reward for the whole team here that you have continued to absorb the demands of expanding customer needs with great drive and enthusiasm.

This development will help your firms’ expansion into new markets and it is good to see the growth of a local Lincoln business serving the U.K and Europe’s Radio Frequency (RF) requirements in the high technology areas of commercial, aerospace, defence & medical  applications.

I am especially pleased that this open day celebrates another positive step forward for a Lincoln Business.  We have in our City and the surrounding area many successful larger manufacturing and technology companies and also many thriving and expanding SME’s including recently a 47% rise in new business start ups in May in the City with a total of 210 new enterprises in that one month. We are a City with a very bright future and I am pleased that Microwave Marketing and Linwave Technology are a part of that.

Thank you so much, once again, for inviting me to this Open Day. I wish you all well in your endeavours in the future.

- ENDS –

For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk

Karl M^cCartney (Lincoln) (Con): It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) and, of course, the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), who should take heart from the fact that although our initial reaction on the Government Benches perhaps disproves the adage that everybody goes crazy about a sharp-dressed man, we agreed with some of the points he made, which were valid. I will cover in my speech some of the points on which I perhaps do not agree with him.

Chris Bryant: You broke my leg.

Karl M^cCartney: Not on purpose.

We were told during the dying days of the previous Labour Government that the 50p tax rate was always intended to be a temporary measure. That remark came from very near the top level, as it was made by the previous Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling). Many of us suspect, however, that at the top of that economically discredited Labour Government, the then Prime Minister, who is now much missed in his absence, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), had a more political plan, perhaps with three prongs. First, the 50p tax rate was a bone to throw to the Opposition’s political masters who run the unions. It said, “Look how we are clobbering those who earn—or should I say ‘are paid’—slightly more than you.” Secondly, it was part of the Labour party’s scorched earth policy, a desperate act up there with the protectionist decision of the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath further to increase the indebtedness of our armed forces’ budgets by ensuring the most watertight contract, despite the fact that Whitehall lawyers are not renowned for their prowess in closing legal loopholes, for two new aircraft carriers, which funnily enough were not to be built in English or Conservative Members’ constituencies.

Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP): Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Karl M^cCartney: Not at this stage.

18 Apr 2012 : Column 353

Thirdly, the 50p tax rate was designed to be something that any new Government would have to address at some time early in the next Parliament and to reduce to an acceptable level to ensure the competitiveness of our nation in the international marketplace.

Stewart Hosie: Will the hon. Gentleman give way now?

Karl M^cCartney: In a minute.

One hopes that the Labour party knows and realises that the 50p tax rate it introduced for spurious reasons made our country economically uncompetitive, but it has never let the truth get in the way of a good soundbite, has it? It is not fair to say that the reduction in the 50p tax rate and other measures announced in the Budget are a tax break for the wealthiest because, in total, the measures announced will see the wealthiest paying many times more.

Alison McGovern: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Karl M^cCartney: No, I certainly will not at this stage.

Chris Bryant: That is very ungenerous to a lady.

Karl M^cCartney: Later, I will be as generous as the hon. Gentleman was if hon. Members will let me get through some of my speech. I certainly will not speak for as long as he did.

The Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr Lindsay Hoyle): Order. I think we are having a few too many interventions. I say to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) that although the hon. Member for Lincoln (Karl McCartney) might have broken his leg, he obviously did not break his tongue, which he ought perhaps to hold a little more.

Karl M^cCartney: Thank you, Mr Hoyle for letting me continue. I feel I ought to correct what might be an untruth: I did not break the leg of the hon. Member for Rhondda. I gave him quite a good pass—not even a hospital pass—on the rugby field and the two large gentlemen who were about to tackle me then tackled him.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility agrees that the 50p rate raises only a fraction of what was supposedly intended. So, one of my questions to the Chancellor and his Ministers is whether they know of any reason why any Member would disagree with the highly respected OBR other than for disingenuous political gain?

The 50p rate is bad economics. The previous Labour Government’s Chancellors and Prime Ministers and the Labour party’s current shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls), are well aware of that privately but cannot bring themselves to acknowledge it publicly. Ultimately, it is the highest tax rate in the G20. Our Government are clear where they stand on the 50p tax rate: it has not raised anywhere near the revenue expected as many individuals cleverly engaged their own or their accountants’ knowledge to bypass the rate and lower their tax bills. The Government have now sent out a clear signal to the international community that Britain is open for business and will no

18 Apr 2012 : Column 354

longer have the highest tax rate in the G20. The same clear signal cannot be said to be coming from those on the Opposition Benches.

Owen Smith: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Karl M^cCartney: Not at this point.

It has been interesting—and would be again—to hear from the Chancellor or his Ministers what positive signs we have seen from businesses after he announced the change? Once again, why does the Labour party fly in the face of business leaders’ opinion? As I have said, the 50p tax rate raises only a fraction of what was intended and is bad economics. It is better to put the British economy first, ahead of cheap headlines, but then that was never the Labour way, was it? One would have thought by now that Labour might have learnt some economic lessons.

The cut in the 50p tax rate was never a priority of this Government. Raising the personal tax allowance and helping low and middle income earners has always been the No. 1 priority tax cut for the Government and that is what we have done. This is a Budget to be welcomed by all with far-reaching tax reform that Labour should be embarrassed it never even considered. It announces the largest ever increase in the personal tax allowance, which will benefit 24 million ordinary families up and down our country. Most basic rate taxpayers will gain at least £220 every year. In total, this Government will have taken 2 million low paid people out of tax altogether.

Labour spent much of the aftermath of the recent budget indulging in photo calls in unfamiliar territory for Labour Members—any pasty shop they could find. Even an unannounced visit to my own constituency of Lincoln by the photogenic brother of the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband), featured such a stunt. Among all this new-found fondness for pasties, but perhaps notably not for one bottle of a famous brown sauce, the Leader of the Opposition has strongly criticised the decision to cut the top rate from 50p.

The right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) made a laughable claim when he said:

“After today’s Budget, millions will be paying more while millionaires pay less.”—[Official Report, 21 March 2012; Vol. 452, c. 809.]

He is the true heir to Blair, is he not? Soundbite, not substance—and not even basic mathematical understanding. After this Budget, not only will millions of people pay less tax, but many low earners will pay little or no income tax. If, as we know, the 50p top rate raised only a fraction of what was intended and in addition harmed our international competitiveness and, as other Budget changes have ensured that the direct cost of the reduction to a top rate of 45p has been mitigated many times over, that should surely be welcomed by Members on both sides of this House.

In response to the remarks of Canon Dr Mark Hocknull (CLICK THIS LINK - Morality of the Markets Forum Paper), Karl M^cCartney made the following response:

Well many of you probably will not be surprised to hear that I do not believe that we will build a better economy by turning our back on the free market, we’ll do it by making sure that the market is fair as well as free. While of course there is a role for government, for regulation and intervention, the real solution is more enterprise, competition and innovation.

Open markets and free enterprise are the best imaginable force for improving human wealth and happiness. They are the engine of progress, generating the enterprise and innovation that lifts people out of poverty and gives people opportunity.  If anything, I, and all Conservatives believe that there should be no limit on an individual’s aspiration, and I further believe that that aim can best be achieved in an open and free market.

The Prime Minister has argued that we should use this crisis of capitalism to improve markets, not undermine them. As well as social responsibility we need to open up markets and ensure more people are engaged in, and with, a genuinely popular capitalism. Capitalism will never be genuinely popular unless there are genuine opportunities for everyone to participate and benefit.

In government we are taking steps to achieve this aim: we are providing new rights for public sector workers to create mutuals and own a stake in their success. And we have announced that these steps will all be brought together and simplified in a new Co-Operatives Bill that will be put before Parliament.

So, in the discussion earlier following Professor David Head’s Lecture we heard a phrase referring to the need for moral markets – we as Conservatives have referred to Responsible Capitalism – but what is ‘Responsible Capitalism’?

There is no doubt that these are difficult times. The economic challenge remains the greatest one for our Government and our Country.  We started back in May 2010 dealing with our debts and achieving growth – but it doesn’t end there. We think we should use this crisis of capitalism to improve markets, not undermine them.

We need to reconnect the principles of risk, hard work and success with reward. But that is a world away from what we’ve seen in recent years – where the bonus culture – particularly in the City – has been seen to be out of control and the link between risk, hard work and success with reward has been broken. Excessive bonuses reduce by many times over lending to small businesses. Large rewards for failure when companies are suffering means fewer rewards for customers and shareholders. The Business Secretary has recently set out our detailed plans to tackle rewards for failure including any necessary legislation to follow that will be required as some of you may know.

In these difficult economic times we need to do more than just pay down the deficit. As we recover from this crisis we must build a better economy, one in which a responsible and genuinely popular capitalism works for all of us and spreads wealth, freedom and opportunity across our Country and society.

I now want to spend just a short time as I conclude to be perhaps ‘devil’s advocate’ here in the Chapter House as I would like to take the opportunity to address some of the points, questions and issues raised in the first Q&A with David (Professor David Head) following his lecture.  Firstly there are unfortunately some individuals in the City to whom Gordon Gecko is a role model – for them, Like Lord Mandelson – greed is good.  But there are individuals, and the 120 plus Guilds and Worshipful Companies that are philanthropic to an amazing degree and long may that continue.

Earlier the Chief Executive of the Cathedral offered some potential reasons for the higher risks taken financially – that we want our pension funds to be the best they can and so for the returns to achieve this pension fund managers have along with other financiers made decisions that vastly increased the risk of the investments they make on our behalf.  The reason they had to do this is that Gordon Brown as Chancellor in 1997/98 decided to raid our pensions industry by £8billion pa.  Before 1997 our pension provision in this Country was the envy of the world, after Gordon Brown and Tony Blair we are now the laughing stock of the world with regard to pension provision and languish in the company of such 3^rd rate pension providing countries as Italy and Greece.

If Northern Rock had been Southern Rock then it would have been allowed to go to the wall – but 2500 jobs in the North East – it was a political decision to prop up the bank to keep those NE electors in work… and hence Banks saw they would be bailed out… but if NR had been allowed to fail, yes people would have lost their jobs, and I know how horrible it is to be made redundant – but no mortgagee would have lost their house because NR wasn’t bailed out– they would have found some other bank or financial institute would have taken over the ‘mortgage book’ and they would have carried on making the same payments for their mortgages.

Finally – capital is global.  Tax on bankers’ or financiers’ bonus’s is collected in this Country whilst they are here… if they up-sticks and relocate to operate on a pc screen elsewhere in the world – our Government loses that tax income and hence part of the budget that ‘the State’ as socialists like to call it, can then spend – whether that’s on nurses, Dr’s, defence or other parts of the public sector, It would be diminished.  Currently around 47% of the Inland Revenue’s yearly tax take is derived from the financial sector.  This pays for nearly half of ‘the state’ and hence those working in the Public Sector and for those workers in the NHS.  We shouldn’t shoot the ‘Golden Goose’ and so I am also pleased the Prime Minister David Cameron, and our Chancellor George Osborne have resisted some EU leaders will to spear our City by refusing to allow a financial transaction tax, beloved by our French friends.  I agree the FSA has a lot to answer for but I would advise caution in respect of the gentleman who said: ‘Markets without regulation do not function to the benefit of the people.’ And I do agree with his statement, but I feel that: ‘Markets with too much regulation will fail to function’.

Thankyou so much for inviting me to today’s event.  I am delighted to meet the first young people to take part in the National Citizen Service in Lincolnshire – around 120 of you, along with your mentors and other guests.  I know you have a busy day today, and I promise to keep my remarks relatively brief – from a politician that is a welcome promise!

This is, of course, the first year of the NCS.  The NCS is a Government flagship programme for young people, at the very heart of the Prime Minister’s vision for a Big Society, and I am absolutely delighted that pilots will be taking place in Lincolnshire.

The Prime Minister’s Big Society policy, if I can call it that, rests on the fact that in our communities, there are individuals, businesses and charities that are better placed than local or national government to confront the problems our country faces.  The Big Society ideal is to enhance the ability of the people of Britain to find solutions to the problems we face.  There are 3 strands that underpin the Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron’s, and my, belief in a Big Society: social action; public service reform; and community empowerment.  In this context, the NCS is absolutely pivotal.  The scheme will help to build a more cohesive, responsible and engaged society by bringing 16 year-olds from different backgrounds together in a residential and home-based programme of activity and service.  Activities will include outdoor challenges, structured tasks to develop personal skills, whilst visiting and helping groups in the local neighbourhood, and designing and delivering a social action project in consultation with local communities.

The young people of this country today are as passionate and idealistic as any generation before, perhaps more so.  The NCS will give you an even greater sense of purpose, show you how rewarding community and social action really is, and teach you transferable employability skills that will hold you in good stead in the future, particularly when you apply for college or university courses, apprenticeships and jobs.  Moreover, it is hoped that this experience will be so rewarding, that you might choose to do further volunteering in the future.

I have been a fervent supporter of David Cameron’s plans for an NCS, even before I became the Member of Parliament for Lincoln last year.  But, of course, it isn’t the Government that will, in the end, make a success of the National Citizen Service. As we know, Lincolnshire and Rutland Education Business Partnership will be the lead organisation delivering the pilots in Lincolnshire and I would like to congratulate Lee, Elaine, Sarah and indeed everyone at the EBP on their successful bid for this first year and I am already engaged with them in assisting them on their year 2 bid as the process has already started.  I have no doubt that, under your stewardship, the NCS in Lincolnshire and Rutland will be an outstanding success.

I would also like to take this opportunity to send my sincere thanks to the 30 mentors who will be working with the young people in the NCS.  And also to the companies who are sponsoring the NCS in Lincolnshire.  I also know that Cllr Patricia Bradwell’s support, and the support of Lincolnshire County Council for this project, and her Chairmanship of the Lincolnshire NCS Stakeholder Group has been invaluable and I am very grateful for her time and effort too.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone well for today, the launch day, and of course for the programme in the month of August, as well as for the ongoing success of the Service in years to come.

- ENDS -

For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk

A some of you may already know, I strongly believe in the value of apprenticeships  – what you may not know is that I served a plastering apprenticeship with my Grandad during my teenage years which has stood me in good stead throughout my life and especially in my early 30s when I went back to plastering for a month or two after being made redundant. So apprenticeships are very useful in that they give both young people and adults an opportunity to learn skills in a work-based setting.  Sadly, despite their rhetoric, the previous Labour Government did not share the new Government’s belief in the importance of apprenticeships, with the UK lagging behind its international partners in the availability of apprenticeship opportunities. In Germany for instance, 25 per cent of employers offer apprenticeships compared to only eight per cent in the UK, highlighting a need for us to raise the level of employer investment to increase the competitiveness of the UK.

This coalition Government is now working to change this and I welcome the latest figures that show that more than 100,000 people started an apprenticeship this year compared to last year’s figures and more than double the new Government’s ambition. In November my Government said it wanted to raise the value of apprenticeships and I am pleased to say that it appears to have achieved this, demonstrating a change in attitude in apprenticeships as a viable alternative to higher education.

In addition, there will now also be a new Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England that will ensure that every apprentice will receive at least 280 hours of guided learning per year and will participate in a programme that increases the learners’ basic skills. The Government has also committed to investing in at least 100,000 work placements for young people.

I believe that apprenticeships can be a useful tool in training and re-skilling the workforce of our country which will, in turn, support economic growth. It is this investment in developing a skilled economy that will provide a positive platform for long-term economic prosperity for all of us.

As some of you may know on Friday, 11 February, at the end of National Apprenticeship Week I visited the Gelder Group at Tillbridge Lane to congratulate them on their apprenticeships’ success.  The Gelder Group has invested over £800,000 in the last two years in developing its very own Gelder Training Academy – a building trades skills learning centre used by people of all ages.  In addition to seeing at first hand the work of the apprentices, some of whom are from the Lincoln area, I was able to congratulate the Group for reaching the final of the Lincolnshire Co-operative Ltd-sponsored Supporting the Community Award, part of the Lincolnshire Echo Business Awards presented in association with Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  I was very grateful to Mike Johnson and the Gelder Group for inviting me to visit and see for myself the excellent work of the various apprentice mentors and managers at the Gelder Training Academy and, of course, the apprentices themselves – who were a little surprised I think that I did so well at the hammering nails test they set me!  I am sure that the recent success of the Academy will play a pivotal role in the futures of its apprentices in Lincoln and I wish it continued success in the future.

I am also very pleased to have learnt that the Gelder Training Academy is now an approved National Apprenticeship Service Apprentice Training Agency (ATA), providing a large network for apprentice and providers.  The Academy has already taken on two apprentices into the ATA, one being Reuben, the first apprentice to be employed through the ATA whilst serving at HMP Lincoln.  This clearly is a milestone in the Gelder Group’s and the prison services’ development programme and all the more commendable insofar as the Gelder Group, I gather, are the first company to take on a serving prisoner as an apprentice. So well done to all involved!

Building a highly skilled workforce is vital to our economic future. Investment in skills is essential if we are to rebalance the economy and return to sustainable growth. This is why plans for a further expansion in Apprenticeship places were central to the Budget announced by the Chancellor earlier this year.

Over the next four years the Government will make available an extra £180 million to create up to 50,000 more apprenticeships. 40,000 of these places will support progression from the expanded work experience programme, helping more unemployed young people into skilled employment.

As the Chancellor said in his Budget statement, these proposals build on the biggest ever expansion of Adult Apprenticeships that was outlined in the Skills Strategy that John Hayes MP, the Minister with responsibility for apprenticeships policy, published last November. In total, there will now be funding for 430,000 apprenticeships, more than we have ever seen in our history.

The growth in apprenticeships to over double the planned ambition, including sectors such as IT, advanced manufacturing and engineering, demonstrates the Government’s commitment to delivering the skills businesses need to grow and young people need to build productive careers.  With the biggest boost in apprenticeship numbers in our history, these figures mark an historic achievement by learners, employers and training providers. We’ve achieved growth at every level and for all age groups.  The Government’s ambition to grow apprenticeships by 50,000 in the first year has been met and doubled, bringing the total number of apprenticeships to the biggest in modern history.

But we are not complacent and I know Ministers like Lincolnshire Member of Parliament John Hayes  are aware that we must do still more.

Our planned investment will deliver some 360,000 apprenticeships this year alone, and we will continue to work with the business community to make it easier for more employers of all sizes to take on an apprentice and reap the benefits they bring. With every £1 of Government money delivering a return of some £40 to the wider economy, this is a sound investment in the country’s future.

By the end of this Parliament, the Government is committed to supporting an additional 250,000 apprenticeships, compared to the previous Government’s plans.

The Government is determined to do more to boost growth, rebalance the economy, extend opportunity and break down barriers between academic and vocational learning. By reducing bureaucracy, improving guidance and opening routes to higher learning we can seed opportunities for thousands of Britons and build the economically successful and socially just nation we crave.

Thankyou to Mike and Clare for inviting me here today and for everyone for making me so welcome, on what is the beginning of an exciting era for many individuals involved at the ‘coal face’ so to speak and for all of us who see apprentices and apprenticeships as helping to ensure that the economic wellbeing of our nation is secured as well as offering meaningful training for young people and adults as they find their way in our world.

- ENDS -

For further information, please contact Karl M^cCartney MP at karl.mccartney.mp@parliament.uk

Good evening everyone… and I’m conscious I need to be brief as the evening draws to a close and the bar is still open…..

Firstly I would like to add my thanks to the following :

• the Lincolnshire & Rutland Employment and Skills Board for their hard work and hosting the event
• Those who have sponsored/ given prizes / printing
• Those students who won and those who entered.

Secondly I would like to congratulate all the students who entered, and all of those who won! as well as the successful employers this evening  (updated during event as winners announced):

• Apprentice of the Year (per business sector and overall)
• Young Apprentice of the Year
• Employer of the Year (4 categories for different sizes)
• Apprentice Alumni of the Year
• Personal Achiever of the Year
• School Award for Partnership and Collaboration

I would also like to thank Geoff and his team for organisiing and hosting a wonderful awards evening, John from Lincs FM for ‘Marshalling’ us through the awards and Paul Barron for an informative inspiring and entertaining keynote speech.

Apprenticeships…..

Apprenticeships are the lifeblood of the British economy and also the economy of Rutland & Lincolnshire (you could it has been a scandal that for decades their importance has been downgraded – of that is your opinion).

This Government and my Conservative colleagues are committed to apprenticeships and hence there will be an extra 50,000 apprenticeships over the next four years taking the total to 250,000 – with an investment of £180m as announced in the recent budget by the Chancellor George Osborne.

One in four employers in Germany have apprenticeships, but only one in ten in the UK so that’s why it is so important and Lincolnshire and Rutland’s businesses are leading the way. And I am of the firm belief that apprenticeships are a fine example of the Big Society in action, helping those who perhaps need some direction and a chance to do something worthwhile, ensuring that they are able to play a full and engaged part in the society that they live in. So I welcome these awards and the work the Board does as an example of the Big Society playing a positive part in ensuring more young people re given chances to be nurtured and play  positive role throughout their lives through the training they receive initially as we reach our late teens and early and mid twenties.

Now some of you may know that I have been an adviser of small (and SOME big) businesses for 12 years before being elected, and I also have managed a family small business with one of my brothers – so I know what bureaucracy and red tape can do  – or more importantly how badly it can stop small businesses effectively working and surviving.  I want our government, both local and national – and the European Union – to get off the back of businesses in our country and to cut red tape, and businesses taxes like corporate levels of tax  – as soon as we can ensuring our small businesses can thrive and expand, so ensuring we have a strong private sector led economy in our country – and I believe we are well on the way to achieving this.  And as many of you know I will never stop campaigning for investment in our road and rail network in the county of Lincolnshire because we all realize that economic wellbeing for an area is heightened by effective transport improvements.

I am therefore well aware that local businesses create jobs, and they create the conditions to employ generations of apprenticeships to keep the prosperity of our County and Country going. Certainly a virtuous circle.

Lincolnshire’s and Rutland’s local businesses are the backbone of the county and the country as a whole.

That’s why I will do all I can to help them as a local member of parliament and to help ensure generations of young men and women have the opportunity to be an apprentice.

And, as this event has done, I will continue to support the Board’s mission in ‘raising the status, profile and value of vocational skills’.

And further it gives me great pleasure to help the Board raise awareness of a new campaign that the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) are about to run in Lincolnshire. It will be titled ’100 in a 100′ and seeks to generate 100 new Apprenticeship opportunities in 100 days’. The Lincolnshire Echo have confirmed that they will offer their backing too …..  and I believe the campaign will fully swing into gear later this month.

So thankyou to all the participants this evening and to all the businesses and apprentices across Rutland and Lincolnshire  – and thankyou all for coming – do have a safe journey home.

Thank you and congratulations John in your new role as president, and to Hugh on his year as President.

Thank you to you both and to you all for inviting me to your Annual meeting today and after attending the Conservative Conference last week and Parliament this week it is an honour to be with people who actually create jobs on the ground rather than politicians and lobbyists who mostly merely talk about creating jobs.

And as many of you know, I have always been a keen supporter of Lincoln’s businesses whether large or small because they and you are the engine room of this city and without your entrepreneurship Lincoln would not be the vibrant place it is today.

And without wanting to sound like the usual patronising MP, who says a few nice things and then toddles off to the next meeting, with both my wife and I having set up and run successful small businesses, and worked with and in big business organisations, I know about the bigger picture issues you face:

• the Kafkaesque regulations,
• mountains of paperwork,
• the ever increasing taxes, and
• often an attitude from civil servants or officials who forget that it is only because of the taxes you and other businesswomen and men generate, that they have jobs and associated wages (and we could be here for a long time if we talked about public sector levels of pay and pensions and whether it is appropriate in today’s economy).

So I will be fighting your corner on those bigger picture issues and at least we now have a Government who understands the importance of entrepreneurship and of businesses, not a Government who just believes that the sole purpose of people risking their capital to create wealth and jobs is so they can be taxed within an inch of their lives. As the Parliament unfolds and we get to grips with the deficit, I will continue to make the case to ease the tax burden on Lincoln’s and British business as a whole.

But what about Lincoln itself?     Well, I am not here to tell you how to run your companies or businesses, but a key part of my election campaign and my work as an MP is to create a far better trading environment for Lincoln’s businesses.

As far I am concerned that means investment in what I believe is just basic infrastructure, talking up and investing in the heritage of this great city and fending off some of the organisations that want to purposely damage the prosperity of Lincoln.

Infrastructure

In terms of infrastructure, now that the plans for the Eastern bypass have passed through the county council, we now need the money to be made available and I will continue to work with the county council, City, North Kesteven, and West Lindsey District councils, in lobbying the Department of Transport for those funds.

And it is not that I have anything against the Dutch but we also want rid of the clogs on the Western bypass.

It never ceases to amaze me how cheapskate decisions of Government go on to blight generations all for the sake, in relative terms, of a couple of quid at the time. The Western bypass needs to be exactly that, a bypass and no more endless roundabouts and changes between single and dual carriageways.

I of course, also support the east–west link road which will mean the city starts to have at last the road infrastructure it needs and pays its taxes for – utilising to better effect the two flyovers we do have already to enable traffic to traverse the immoveable railway tracks.

Lastly, and not forgetting the good old railway, we need more direct links between Lincoln and London. The disgraceful u-turn by East Coast railways in drastically reducing the number of promised direct trains to and from London, who then have said no more free wi-fi last month, shows that having the rail links we need is something all agencies are aware of, and will be the missing piece of the jigsaw.

As you all know here, the lack of transport infrastructure in the key areas of our city, and County, is holding this City and our region back. We have great entrepreneurship, a city rich with history, a renowned manufacturing base that now leads the fields in some niche sectors, the connections with the armed forces, a top class university -no matter what some comedy programmes might say – and great people, but we need that little extra to really put the city at the top of the pile.

I am please that many businesses and agencies are aware of many of the issues I have covered today – I am heartened by the examples of all working together for the benefit of the city and further I welcome the proposals put forward by the co-op led Lindongate development that will be a huge benefit to the City and our bid for better transport links for all

It is safe to say that transport in and around Lincoln is one of my top priorities.

Heritage

The second area in putting Lincoln first is to make sure that what we have already is used to the full.

I have been working with the Leader of the County Council to lobby the Government to move the Crown Court out of the Castle, not just because it is an inappropriate location and building for the Crown Court, but it will also enable the Castle to become, alongside the cathedral, a centrepiece of the city.

We want a centre for the Magna Carta not just because of it historic nature, the fact that there are only three (four possibly, but the jury is still out on the exact date of the fourth) in existence and that it is the foundation stone of modern democracy but because it will also bring more tourists into our City and our County, which is currently well undersold and a hidden gem that many are just not aware of. The City and County has so many virtues and we should not be held back in putting them on display.

Fending off organisations

I mentioned at the beginning about fending off organisations that can act as a threat to the prosperity of the City. I could of course talk for hours about the European Union – and some of you may know the trouble I found myself in on Wednesday when I voted against my own Government and sending initially another £2billion plus to the EU – , or perhaps Lincoln City FC’s next opponents but the bête noire as an organisation for me and I suspect most of Lincoln, is Network Rail.

It is bad enough at the moment with the repairs on the East Coast main line meaning more trains are diverted through Lincoln but with Network Rail’s plans for the city centre barriers to be down 40 minutes per hour on a permanent basis from 2013, the damage to the City and its economic viability cannot be understated.

I have held meetings with the Ministry of Transport on this because it is clear that Network Rail, an unaccountable body of people who are not remotely interested in the success of the City and the disruption that their plans will have, need to change their plans.

I do not want a sign next to the barriers that says Lincoln is closed for business by order of Network Rail

When I debated this issue with one of Network Rail’s spin doctors on Radio 2 in the summer, it was clear that Network Rail’s view was that it was just hard luck. Well I am not the type of MP who shrugs their shoulders and accepts that. I am on the case – continually.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion:- when I was selected to be the candidate for Lincoln way back in 2004, and then on the second time of asking became the MP in this great city where I live with my wife and two children, what made me so proud was because this is not any old constituency or City.

It is because our City is at the heart of a great county, with a history and tradition that forms the roots of our country and with people and businesses who really believe this in the City. It’s why I am proud to say that as an elected representative of the City I will always be: Putting Lincoln First.

My Lord Bishop, Civic parties, Leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon and Bishop John, thank you for your kind introduction, yes I have given my maiden speech and I wasn’t too humorous but did include a few bon mots I hope… and it really is a pleasure for me to be invited to speak today at your AGM.

When Roy asked me to come and speak to the CAB AGM, a well respected volunteer organisation, my mind took me straight back to the first couple of hours after waking up on 7^th May following the election count.

As anyone who has been involved in a General Election campaign or even a local election campaign, knows – it involves a lot of volunteers.  and it is tiring for all involved! The combination of polling day itself and the count normally means you have been up for at least 24 hours and win or lose you grab a few hours sleep and then people then either ring to congratulate you or to commiserate.

In 2005, it was commiserations for me, but this time, in this very hall at 3.35am in May, it was at last congratulations.

So, after taking the first couple of calls, my lovely wife Cordelia made me a strong cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich and I trotted off to look at the computer to see what other results there were around the County and Country, and to check any emails.

After looking at the first few emails in my inbox, the importance of my new job suddenly hit me. People in the city were in such need of help that they were already contacting me asking for support with various issues and problems they had.

And in just under three months, I have helped and taken up the cause of hundreds of people, with the most common being housing, anti-social behaviour, traffic and employment issues. And I am pleased to say that so far I have won more cases than I have lost. – and I intend to keep up that record.

The disappointment for me though is that it people have felt that they had to come to their Member of Parliament to receive an answer or to access help from the city, district or County council, or a statutory agency or a Government Department.

And the disappointment and frustration I have is that its not just because they haven’t received the service they should have done, its because although they have written to or contacted these organisations to complain or seek help it is often the case they just don’t get anywhere and are left banging their heads against the bureaucratic brick wall. They become lost in a Kafkaesque maze of red tape and unhelpfulness.

Then, when frustrated and at the end of their tether often, they then contact me, I send a crisp letter in a light yellow House of Commons envelope with the crest on, and lo and behold they receive more often than not the answer they needed and wanted all along – or at least in part receive some of what they require.

It really shouldn’t come to this.  People in this city and across the whole county should have access to the support from the state they need and not have to contact their MP to ensure that correct, suitable coherent and human response that aids them in their time of need.

I know you are wondering why I raise this.  Some, or maybe all of you, might have been thinking (and I hope I’m right in using the past tense) …oh, he’s just another one of those chinless MP’s just wanting to talk about himself and worrying about how to pay for the upkeep of his duck house, the new washing machine, flat screen TV or the paper bill for the Lincolnshire Echo.

But the point I am raising is this – in my short experience as an MP I have been given a stark and even clearer understanding of the value and importance of the work that Lincoln & District Citizens Advice Bureau performs on behalf of the people in this city and as a national organisation, across the country.

No matter what the colour of the rosettes the MP’s are wearing, or the ream after ream of new rules and regulations new Government’s bring in or whatever the up and downs of the national or international economy, you are always there for people – local people who are desperate and need that assistance.

And those frustrations I mention, have been the frustrations of Citizen Advice Bureaux for over 70 years, but you have never let them cloud or detract from the way you go about providing a first class support service to the people of our great city, many of whom have tried every avenue or did not even know where to start with their particular problem or issue.  As a JP/magistrate I have often seen the consequences for those who have not received the help they needed early enough – anyone can quite quickly ‘come of the rails’ of life.

Those five and a half thousand people you supported last year are five and a half thousand people who would still be feeling alone with their problems if it wasn’t for Lincoln & District’s CAB Service, whether that’s problems with debt, unemployment, benefits or the myriad of other issues.

You will all be pleased to hear I hope that I have always been a supporter of the Citizens Advice Bureaux, and my wife was a CAB trustee in Kent before we came to Lincoln, but I am not just a supporter of what you do because of the help you give, but also because you are clear about exactly what you do, you pass the Ronseal “it does what it says on the tin” test.

And even more so I am pleased that you reinforce the fact on your website that you are clearly not a Government Agency. I know he is not often quoted in these arenas perhaps, but it does remind me of when Ronald Reagan said that one of the most terrifying phrases in the English language was “We’re from the Government and we’re here to help.”

Your independence is absolutely invaluable and the New Conserv…coalition government – is well aware that often bureaucrats are not the best deliverers of a service or need – those with the right skills and experience are.

Although the Coalition Government are looking for organisations such as this to play an even bigger role in society – yes the Big Society policy -  I know this places more pressure on you because as a country and a county and a city we are not out of the financial woods yet.

The pressures you already face can already be seen by the increases in people you have supported in the past year – this will either increase or plateau but certainly not reduce for some time I suspect. This is a real concern and I know with financial pressures everywhere things are tight, but I would urge the councils that provide support to you to continue as best they can and I know that local MP’s will try and help, as we are all in this together. Citizens Advice Bureaus are not luxuries, they are essentials. People need help and you are the best place to find and provide it.  Myself and those that work with me in my offices in both Westminster and Lincoln are well aware of the amount of work you as an organisation provide that we would have to if you didn’t – I pass on their and my thanks.  I, and my fellow MP’s in the county, will always support the work you do because you support us and you support the people we represent.

So on behalf of myself and the my fellow MP’s, I would like to thank you all, and your colleagues and volunteers right across the county for all the work and support that you provide year in, year out. And before I finish, I would particularly like to say to Roy I heard all your messages loud and clear.  Thank you.

Download PDF
Speech to Lincoln & District CAB on 28th July 2010

I intend to comment on two matters of importance today.  The Finance Bill that is before this House this afternoon, and Lincoln, the constituency that I have been elected to represent.

Before either of these matters though, I would like to pause to pay tribute to my parents, John and Brenda M^cCartney, who are here in the gallery along with my wonderful wife Cordelia, who I am very pleased is still here as I am indebted to her for so much, not least our sons Henry and Freddie.

Capital Gains Tax

Let me now turn to the Finance BilI.  I think the thing that concerns me most is the current lack of support for long-term share ownership.  This is evidently displayed by the current Capital Gains Tax regime – which ironically seems to be now based on principles at odds with how we are to treat ‘banker bonuses’- where, with an increasing proportion of their compensation being compulsorily taken in the shares of their employing parent company, this has the quite admirable aim of encouraging actions that have at their centre the long term interest of the companies they work for.  This is commendable.

Less commendable is the loss of taper relief which encourages long term share ownership and investment – surely many on all sides of this house would see the retention of taper relief as desirable?  Also less commendable is the loss of indexation relief where, following a change introduced by the previous Government, payers of capital gains tax will continue to be taxed on illusionary gains.

A simple example might help explain my concern.  Let us say that an average price for a pint of beer is £2.50.  Now, instead of buying a pint you could invest that £2.50.  If inflation averages 7% pa for 5 years and your investment keeps pace, the beer will have risen in price to £3.50, as will the value of your investment, which you would expect therefore to still buy you a pint.  Except that it will not!  because you will have to pay 28% CGT so your investment will only be worth £2.50 net of tax.  This is clearly inequitable.

Given the widespread acceptance that short-termism by investors is a problem faced by businesses up and down the country trying to attract capital, for start-up funding, for working capital, and for expansion, surely this is short sighted?  Enabling the measures I have mentioned would also have the merit of discriminating against individuals who seek to benefit from Capital Gains Tax rates being lower than the income tax rates by converting income into short term capital gains.

This is a matter that I know is important to a number of the people who are both resident and work in the City of Lincoln.  My fellow constituents are industrious, they are hard working, and a good many of them either own their own business, or want to start up their own business, or work for a small family owned business.  They know the importance of access to capital, as either an owner, manager or an employee.  Enabling measures that encourage investment is surely what this House should be about.  What we have in place now enjoys the invidious merit of achieving the exact opposite in my opinion and I do hope my senior colleagues may well have a rethink on these issues at the earliest opportunity. I know we are where we are because of the utter mess bequeathed to us by Labour in the last Government, so I hope that as soon as we have rebalanced the nation’s finances we can reverse these measures, if not at the current time.

Lincoln’s history

Let me now say a few things about Lincoln.  I will mention the history of the City, some of the main issues affecting the constituency today and summarise my thoughts and areas of interest, as well as detailing my predecessors and the military links we enjoy.

I can say for the record that it is a privilege and an honour to represent the constituency of Lincoln.  When I first embarked on the long and arduous ‘B’ road to selection, re-selection and election I did not imagine that I would have the privilege of representing such an ancient, traditional and famous constituency as Lincoln.  I aim to show my constituents that they ‘chose wisely’ as a Jedi might say.

Lincoln is not just another name in the list of 650 constituencies, it is a city that plays, and will continue to play, a pivotal role in our nation’s democratic tradition.  Naturally, I am proud to represent Lincoln and as honourable Members may know, it has one of the oldest constituencies in the country. The Romans quartered a legion in the city and Edward III presided over a Parliament in our cathedral, and this cathedral, which is one of the glories of English architecture, dominates the City and a large swathe of Lincolnshire.  It is still as impressive today as when it stood as the tallest building in the world for 238 years, the only building in the UK to have ever held this title.  And if my Government ever feels the need I am sure Lincoln would be willing to again host a meeting of Parliament, or the cabinet, at a date of their choosing.   Although not a historian at all, I can safely reveal to honourable members that the historical evidence for Parliaments before 1295 is patchy. Lincoln and York head the list of towns summoned to send Members in 1265, and with the splitting of the City of York recently into two seats, it would seem that Worcester and Exeter appear alongside Lincoln as having a claim possibly to being the oldest continuously existing borough constituency.

Lincoln of course has so much more to commend it as a destination and as a place of history and worship than perhaps its two equally ancient constituencies. The Cathedral is stunning, and has proved a welcome sight and landmark for many travellers over the centuries and our brave Airmen in Bomber Command during the Second World War.  Lincoln is also the home to one of only three existing original copies of the Magna Carta, the foundation stone of British, and therefore, world democracy. With my new Government’s plans for a Great Repeal Bill, we can see the relevance that the Magna Carta still has today, nearly 800 years after it was originally signed.

The city’s MP’s have included the redoubtable Dick Taverne who continues to sit in the other house, The Rt. Honourable Member for South Derbyshire, originally Miss Margaret Jackson when in Lincoln, eventually Mrs. Beckett.  And more recently, I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of the last Conservative Member for Lincoln Sir Kenneth Carlisle who served happily between 1979 and 1997 and for whom there is mutual deep affection for and from the City of Lincoln and its people. And my direct predecessor Gillian Merron who worked hard for her constituents and was incredibly photogenic, appearing in our currently daily paper with regularity, something I fear I will not be able to emulate, not least as many of my friends say I have the perfect face for radio.

Lincoln and the Armed Forces

The people of Lincoln and Lincolnshire are proud to be yellowbellies, a hark back to the original Lincolnshire Poachers Regiment, now amalgamated and part of the 3^rd Anglian Regiment, who I will be meeting later today. They serve us well abroad and in many fields of conflict and I know that the people of Lincoln are immensely proud of their, and all the military services association with our City such as links with the RAF and Grenadier Guards.

As well as the City, my constituency covers the lovely villages of Skellingthorpe, Bracebridge Heath and Waddington where the RAF are based.  RAF Waddington is one of the busiest and most varied operational airbases in the United Kingdom, as well as being one of our country’s longest established air bases, and it has played an important role in the defence of this country and in supporting and servicing our armed forces. Soon Waddington is due to become home to the Red Arrows, another well loved and appreciated aspect of Lincoln life as we are often treated to their practice sessions in the skies above our City.

Addressing Lincoln’s Transport Problems

Despite its wealth of attractions, both historic and current, Lincoln has poor transport links which have worsened over recent years. There is now only a post election promise of one direct rail link to London and there are inadequate connections to other places. The A46, is soon to be dualled from Nottingham to Newark and the knock-on effect maybe that the A46 single carriageway and roundabouts that plague our western, and only, bypass, may cope even less than they do presently, with the only other route being through the centre of our City using the single carriageway A15 or negotiating our High Street with its famous Level Crossing.

I would say at this point that I am not aware of any other cities in our country who are being held to ransom by Network Rail who are currently threatening the City with the closure of this level crossing for up to 40 minutes in the hour throughout the day to enable freight trains, which are of no benefit to Lincoln, to pass through.  Lincoln needs investment in its transport system which will provide a vital benefit to the long-term prosperity of both the City and the whole County, like the East-West link road currently proposed.  On all these transport issues the Secretary of State and his ministers can expect continual representations by both myself and my fellow Lincolnshire MPs I am sure.

Putting Lincoln First

Many experiences, people and types of employment have shaped my life so far and I am a great believer in being the owner of one’s destiny.  If you feel the world owes you a living, it doesn’t, but if you are willing to believe in your own self-determination, there are no limits to what an individual can do – many individuals from all sides of this House are testament to that philosophy.  I now have the opportunity and ability to help make decisions that affect our nation and to question and challenge them properly in this House with, I hope, the important addition of compassion. It is a privilege to have that opportunity to do this, in tandem with serving the kind and generous people of Lincoln who did me such a great service in electing me to represent them in this traditional and great place. Doing my best for our City will be a major pre-occupation of mine for as long or as short that the people of Lincoln allow me the privilege of representing them in this House.

Mr Hoyle thank you for your and the House’s indulgence in allowing me to speak today.

Download PDF
Maiden Speech on 12th July 2010