Writing this column on a grey day, I hope we have not seen the last of the summer sun!
This last week we commemorated the 80th Anniversary of VJ day which effectively ended the Second World War. The most destructive conflict in human history ended in the Allied victory, paving the way for the world we live in now. However imperfect a world it is, the alternative does not bear thinking about. To that end, it was right to take stock, to reflect and give thanks for all those British, Commonwealth and Allied troops that fought against Imperial Japan.
As readers may recall, I am backing a campaign for a permanent memorial for “Forces Sweetheart” and long-time Sussex resident Dame Vera Lynn. One of her defining contributions was to entertain the troops fighting in the Far East. Even then, there was a feeling they were “the forgotten army” yet those brave troops fought in some of the most challenging terrains on the globe against an implacable enemy.
We recite the Kohima Epitaph named after their fierce battle in Burma each Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.
We must remember them.
Unfortunately, in recent days we have had some truly worrying economic data emerging as businesses shed jobs following higher inflation and tax hikes from the Labour Government. UK payrolls have fallen by 164,000 over the first year of this government. Jobs are particularly hard hit in our hospitality industry as they are more sensitive to wage costs.
Remember - in Labour’s first budget, the Chancellor hiked National Insurance for employers, cut business rate relief and hit our rural economy hard with the Family Farm Tax.
It is a simply economic truth; businesses create growth and jobs – all targeted by the Government. Other economic data has shown a sharp slowdown in growth in the second quarter of the year with economic indicators deteriorating.
The respected think tank - the National Institution for Economic and Social Research - has estimated that, based on this weaker growth, the Chancellor’s budget gap has widened to £41 billion. Runaway spending has increased our borrowing costs, contributing to the budget gap, while proposed legislation changing employment law will punish businesses even further.
Every day I read of more rumours and suggestions of how this gap will be filled by – you guessed it – tax rises. One suggestion has been to raise council tax. Residents in the Wealden and Lewes Districts already pay some of the highest council tax in the country and any further rise would place a huge strain on my constituents.
Perhaps the economic news and the grey skies go hand in hand after all!
