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The May
4th 1979 was a very special day:
1)
It was my 10th birthday and
2)
The UK would begin a new chapter in its
history with the eradication of the 90% tax rate and the end of union led
strangulation of our workforce that had brought the UK to its knees on so many
occasions. Britain had a new Prime Minister and for
the next 18 years we would see our country grow to one of the most successful
G-8 economies in the world.
Granted I
didn’t appreciate all this at the time. All I knew is that we had our first
female Prime Minister and my parents hoping that Margaret Thatcher would lead
the UK in a tide of change that was so
badly needed.
Even from
an early age, I believed:
- That everyone should stand on
their own two feet (if possible) and had a duty to play their part in a
successful nation.
- In a small efficient
government that would protect the weak but not pander to the lazy who
couldn’t be bothered working!
- A government that stood for
freedom by enabling us all to make our own decisions on how we want to
live our lives.
I still
believe in the same principals today and therefore the Conservative party has
played a very large part in my life for many years.
Finally,
being part of the United Kingdom is very important to me. It took Ireland over seven decades to build a
successful economy and in a dog-eat-dog global economy today, I do want to
put our success at risk.
The SNP
paint a fairytale picture of how Scotland would blossom under its own steam
and to date, no-one from the SNP can sell to me:
- How they will pay for
independence without raising income tax to levels seen in many other
smaller EC countries. Until recently the Irish suffered a 50+% tax rate
that cut in at less than £10K equivalent per annum. If the SNP forced
this level of income tax on the people of Scotland (which they would have to),
then nearly every working person would have to pay at these levels!
- They’re against nuclear yet
they refuse wind farms in Lewis. Nuclear is clean and extremely
efficient. Wind turbines are a blot on our landscape and will only ever
deliver around 20% of our required energy, never mind the high carbon
footprint required to build them and get them onsite. Coal power again
requires the raw material to be shipped into Scotland at enormous cost.
- The SNP want to introduce a
local income tax that would see the majority of Strathaven residents
seeing their BAND-F council tax rise from circa £2,500 to an annual
local income tax of well over £5,000 per year.
Is this
what you want?
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