UK Economic Policy

It is appalling to see one of Gordon Brown's nominees to the Bank of England, David Blanchflower, running down the Western Isles - or as he so ignorantly put it "Eilean Siar in the Western Isles".

It is also interesting that he seems to think that the Bank of England have no remit or responsibility in this matter, and it is entirely the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. He obviously considers that economic advantage (or disadvantage) has no effect on "happiness".

Perhaps, to paraphrase Eddie George, he thinks it is "a price worth paying" to keep the bonuses in the City of London at an obscene level.

Election campaign

....and they are off in what I predict will be a very dirty and intense five week period. Labour have covered Stornoway and approaches in posters, stealing a march on everyone else.

Cartoon

I came across this cartoon the other day, and have scanned and posted it for posterity.

That's me, Iain MacLeod, Blackwater, and Morag Munro explaining to Angus Graham why the new Councillors weren't happy with his persecution of Murdo "Apple" Murray.

Tax avoidance

Tws has made a few snide comments about my profession, so it is only right to bring to his (and others) attention just how tax avoidance works. It is simple, the more money you have, the less tax you end up paying as a percentage.

Being super-rich and foreign is the best tax avoidance device there is.

If you can be classed as "non-domiciled", then you can reach an agreement to pay a lump sum in lieu of tax on all your world-wide income in the way that us mere mortals have to.

The Guardian has a very good article on it, but to put it into perspective, one only has to look at the affairs of Mohammed Al-Fayed. He, his two brothers and his son agreed to pay £150,000 in income tax each year for the four of them rather than have to bother to complete Income Tax Returns. Not bad for the owner of Harrods and Fulham FC. This equates to taxable income of under £350,000 between the four of them! And this is only scratching the surface of the problem.

But they are not the worst. News International made profits of £1,387,000,000 in ten years and paid no, NIL, zero, nada, UK Corporation Tax. Stop all the abuse of tax havens, holding companies and insist of a minimum percentage tax payment and us humble taxpayers could see cuts in the burden.

BTW, my clients would be most upset if I didn't try to minimise their tax bills, but I'm also more than happy to divulge the simple things people need to do.

Energy saving bulbs

Policy & Resources today approved the replacement of all incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones in a gradual process over the coming years.

Spend to save -- save the planet.

Heat reclaiming

We are looking at installing a hot air reclamation pump into the office, on the recommendation of provider of this service.

It looks good on paper, but does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of having such a system in place?

(Jokes about politics, politicians and accountants are entirely predictable)

Late Hours Catering Licences

The Civil Government Licencing Panel met today to consider two late hours catering licences.

Both were granted, for the Thai at the former Manor Filling Station and for Burnside Chip Shop, Daliburgh.

As always there was an interesting debate, although the suggestion that refusing the Thai Saturday into Sunday was dismissed, as it was pointed out that they inted to open on Sunday's afternoons and evenings anyway, and that was not within the control of the Comhairle.

P60 time

I spent most of today getting P60s printed and submitted to the Inland Revenue. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

We have about 70 payroll clients meaning about 1,500 P60s to be printed, checked and submitted, before the start of the new tax year.

Thankfully, we are able to submit them electronically before the end of the current tax year, so as soon as week 52 is processed, of it goes.

The last of the Norwegian Tax Returns went this week too. Over 30 sent this year, all within three months of the end of the tax year, based on Norwegian P60s forms, most of which were Norwegian. If UK taxpayers had to complete their tax returns within three months, they'd mostly be in jail.

Windfarm policy (1)

I make absolutely no apology for returning to this topic again, as the coming election is the key time for all the local voters to make their views known and to determine our future for the coming decades.

But, I am now going to try to lay out - over the next few days - a coherent policy that I hope everyone can sign up to. I was asked to do this a long time ago, so it is not spur of the moment, but as those who asked me then didn't want to hear the answer, I haven't given sceptics a full chance to dismantle/destroy my ideas.

Criticism is therefore welcome, nay, demanded.

Policy 1a: A public inquiry is a bad idea. The Comhairle will have to pay for it, and forget any change out of £250,000 (that's £27 on the Council Tax). Moreover, any Public Inquiry will consider the process only and not the principles behind the decision. As the Chief Planner for Scotland has already said that the process was exemplary, the realistic prospect of any flaw being found is negligible.

Policy 1b: A time-limited public inquiry is unknown in Scots Law, and appears to be totally contrary to the legislation. For the reasons given above, any Public Inquiry is a Bad Idea.

Policy 2: A referendum is a bad idea. Who sets the question? The Comhairle?? Who is able to vote (Ness only, or the entire Western Isles)? What other decisions of Councils are to be removed from public democratic control? Why should a planner from Edinburgh tell us what is best for us.

Policy 3: The Scottish Executive should urgently determine a Scottish Energy Policy. They should "redline" areas for protection and designate areas for windfarm development. This latter area should be subject to very significant compensatory measures for the affected areas.

So endeth part 1. I'm going to post part 2 shortly, and I really would welcome constructive criticism of my attempt to find a majority position. Supporting or opposing the above statements won't commit you to supporting or opposing the final complete version, but I am trying to clarify the main issues step by step, by looking at the components before considering the whole.

I know there will be some (a lot) of doubt about my motives, but please do treat it as an absolutely open attempt to find common ground.

MSUO

It seems like forever since I posted about the weekend. Most of Sunday was taken up in the Board Meeting where we had an enormously important discussion with the European Maritime Safety Umbrella Organisation (MSUO) about what is required for Europe. For those in the know, the presentation by the Co-ordinator and the discussions about Interreg II and IV were hugely important. Interreg is a series of programmes funded by the EU which deal with very specific policy issues. Interreg IV has about 13om Euros to be spent in some very tightly controlled geographic and policy areas over the next 5 years and these could substantially improve the work KIMO does.

The Comhairle is also trying to tap into another set of Interreg IV funds, so I will be able to bring the personal contact to bear on our application, with a bit of luck.

The entire contact came about after KIMO appeared on the front page of Lloyd's List on 29 Jan on the back of the sinking of the MSC Napoli, and MSUO wanted to meet an organisation that was proactive and forward looking.

The trip to Denmark wasn't a junket (it wasn't paid for by the Comhairle) but might have a huge benefit for the islands in the long run, which is all we can hope to achieve.

"Fuel Cell Today"

As an avid reader of the above publication, my eye was drawn to the article about how the Creed Recycling facility will be used to create hydrogen to power cars. Quiet obviously, this is a huge triumph for the islands, and along with the developments at the College, we could find ourselves as world leaders in this technology.

I will have to publish a list of the projects which the Environmental Services Committee have brought to fruition over the past four years. It is quite impressive, even if I say so myself, to see the amount of work that officers of the Comhairle have done, and for which I take the glory (or the blame).

It is their success, not mine, so well done Gents and Ladies.

Arnish

It's good to see that a new company - Altissimo Ltd - is due to start at the Arnish fabrication yard next week, and I live in hope that all the employees will be taken back, and we can see the economy of the islands picking up again.

Perhaps the only outstanding question is: who is behind the new company?

Registered only in January, it shares the same solicitors and Registered Office as Camcal (deceased). No doubt we will be told in due course, but irrespective of that, what contracts does it have?

Update 30/3/07: I was asked not to disclose anything as negotiations were at a tricky phase, hence the comments being edited. The full story is in the Herald today.

Cute animals

I've been persuaded by a correspondent to post about cute fluffy animals until the election is over.

All together now, aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
and again....
and again ....
Damn! Looks like it might be more difficult than I thought.

Thoughtcrime

Wikipedia: The Thought Police (thinkpol in Newspeak) were the secret police of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four whose job it was to uncover and punish thoughtcrime. The Thought Police used psychology and omnipresent surveillance to find and eliminate members of society who were capable of the mere thought of challenging ruling authority.

Orwell's Thought Police and their pursuit of thoughtcrime was based on the methods used by the totalitarian states and competing ideologies of the 20th century. It also had much to do with Orwell's own "power of facing unpleasant facts," as he called it, and his willingness to criticise prevailing ideas which brought him into conflict with others and their "smelly little orthodoxies." Although Orwell described himself as a democratic socialist, many other socialists (especially those who supported the communist branch of socialism) thought that his criticism of the Soviet Union under Stalin damaged the socialist cause.

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I have always believed that a healthy debate inside a political party strengthened the party and it's members. That was why I was disappointed when the '79 Group inside the SNP were expelled in the early 80's for their strong Republican Socialist stance. A leading light of that movement was one Alex Salmond.

I am just a tiny little unimportant cog in the great big machine, so my views don't count for much, but I do like to think that I adhere to and agree with the vast majority of the policies, and when the local branch take a position that is (a) wrong, and (b) contrary to national policy, I think it is only right that I make my views known, even to those who refuse to listen, discuss or debate.

Angus MacNeil explains his
windfarms policy to the SNP Council Group

How naive of me.

Us little cogs are supposed to shut-up, do as we are told, be undermined, forego our beliefs and principles and not rock the boat. Or else, as the email I received below demonstrates: -

Cllr Angus Nicholson (sic)
38 Francis Street
Stornoway
Isle of Lewis
HS1 2NF

23 March 2007

Dear Cllr Nicolson,

Your blog - http://angusnicolson.blogspot.com/index.html - has been brought to my attention. On 3 March you wrote an article in which you state that you are now able to run as an Independent candidate in the May elections. I believe that you have made clear your intention to run as an Independent, and have distanced yourself entirely from the SNP.

As a result, you have invalidated your membership of the SNP and I will have your name removed from the membership list forthwith.

Yours for Scotland (sic)

Duncan Ross
National Secretary

So there you have it, after 28 years of membership they can't even spell my name correctly. Now, just thinking about standing as an independent is obviously a crime, which must be worrying for the other local SNP members who already sit as Independent Councillors. But, my goodness, I said all this 18 months ago, and only a fortnight ago the SNP drew my annual membership by direct debit.

There is an upside. I no longer feel constrained to temper my comments. So let's start with: - It's over 2 years since the Data Protection Act registration with the Information Commissioner lapsed. I repeatedly advised the MP and the Branch to comply with the law, but they still haven't. I used to pay for this and ensure compliance with the law, but after May 2005, it was made clear that this was not to be my responsibility. That makes all the emails that have been sent out, a breach of the law.

Then, of course, there are the party political emails I received from a parliament.uk address which are utterly contrary to the rules for public funding. I am sure that taxpayers will be unhappy with this sort of improper back door funding of a political party.

Phewww, that's a weight of my shoulders. If I need to cleanse my soul anymore, then here is where I will do it.

Conference

Last night and today have been spent with my colleagues from Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Holland, Netherlands, France and Denmark trying to formulate and extend our policy on various issues relating to the Marine Environment.

We have had a number of recent successes - after years and years of trying - at both OSPAR and at the North Sea Commission. Were it not for KIMO, there would be no mapping of munitions dumps and no statutory reporting framework for munitions washed ashore; the prevention of marine litter and associated training programmes would not be on the agenda; the debate on liability for pollution from container ships would have been buried; and, the arguments for a European Coastguard service to prevent oil pollution and protect our shores wouldn't even have begun.

We have yet to succeed in stopping nuclear waste transportation by sea, but it remains and active objective.

This weekend we are fine-tuning some new policies and these will be adopted by the 6.5 million in 9 countries that KIMO represent. As International President, I present these policies to the members and the European politicians, and hope that some of them will take up the ideas and carry them forward.

Danish Jazz

After the first meeting finished last night, we were "entertained" in the adjacent Fanø Jazz Club. Jazz is apparently very big in Denmark, and it appeared to me that we were in some kind of 1960's Beat Club with berets, Gitanes and a tight-suited, sweaty guitarist accompanied by a piano and a double-bass.

Singing in Danish, or quite possibly in English.

I made my excuses and left.

Baby food

In the Guardian today (well I am travelling) there is an article about the loss of traditional pubs, focussing on the Lewes Arms in, well Lewes. This pub is being boycotted by it's regulars as the new owners (Greene King) have stopped selling "Harveys" Real Ale.

Valami Goodyear, 53, a regular for 35 years, says: "My son took his first solid food in the Lewes Arms ... the corner of a beer mat."

I'm boycotting Ruddles and Old Speckled Hen in sympathy.

Update 30/3/07: A lot of hits from the Greene King TLD, so they must be monitoring this campaign. I doubt my boycott has affect the sales figures much, but they obviously hate bad publicity.

Ferries

The population of Fanø is 3,200 people most of whom work in Esbjerg. So what kind of ferry service do they have?

The two ferries between Fanø and Esbjerg run a shuttle service through daylight hours, with the crossing taking about 20 minutes. The ferries themselves are bigger than the Loch Portain, and both were very busy with cars and people as I crossed. The fare was 35DKr, about £3.50, single.

What lessons do you think Scotland could learn from this???

Bitter/sweet

“Do you feel bitter about how the SNP have treated you?”, a Council colleague asked.

You must be joking. A long time ago I learned the maxim “If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out”.

Being stuffed by ‘colleagues’ in politics is part of the game, and I’m never going to complain. That’s doesn’t mean I’ll take it lying down.

If I have burnt my bridges it is due to adhering to principles, and failing to be a yes-man.

Another weekend, another island

This weekend sees me flying in to Esjberg, Denmark, for a KIMO conference on the island of Fanø, just off the city of Esbjerg.

The first thing I noticed as we landed was that the ground crew didn't have the paddles that UK ground crew always have. The positioning of the aircraft on the apron therefore took on the appearance of someone trying to help a very large car back into a very tight space.

My second impression was despair, as I realised my Danish Kroner was actually Swedish Kronor and I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for the bus, as they wouldn't take my Euros either. Thankfully, a very kind gentleman returning from a fishing weekend on the Dee paid my fare to Esbjerg town centre, where I found a cashpoint.