DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE ARMED FORCES MUST END
I was proud to participate in the South Ayrshire ceremony last week to mark the 6th Armed Forces Day taking place as we also reflected on the Centenary of the First World War. It was also good to see that the main UK event to mark the day was held at Stirling emphasising the important role Scotland plays in UK defence.
Our Armed Forces are the very best of Britain. They serve our country with pride and distinction. But there are still too many members of our Armed Forces, past and present, who face discrimination as they go about their daily lives.
That's why Labour wants a change to the law so that for the first time ever it would be a specific criminal offence to attack them or discriminate against them because of their service.
I’ve been helping to collect signatures for Labour’s petition to end this discrimination, and help us ensure that our dedicated and committed servicemen and women are treated with the dignity that their bravery deserves. You can find out more at www.labour.org.uk/forces
PEOPLE DESERVE THE TRUTH ABOUT TAX AND SPENDING PLANS
In tough times, it’s important that the policies of all political parties are properly costed and funded. People rightly want to know that the sums add up.
That’s why Labour has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – the government’s independent budget watchdog – to audit the costings of every spending and tax commitment in Labour’s next General Election manifesto.
The Government’s economic failure means that in 2015 Labour will inherit a very difficult situation and, while we’ll make big reforms, we’ll have to do so with less money around.I want rigorous scrutiny of our next election manifesto - and I think the Tories and Lib Dems should be willing to subject their manifestos to the same examination. It’s time to restore trust in politics and I think this is a step towards doing so.
But the Tories continue to show how out of touch they are. Last week in Westminster Labour voted for the OBR to be able to scrutinise all political parties’ election manifestos but the Tories and Lib Dems voted to block this important reform.
It’s as disappointing as it is predictable that they would take such a narrow approach and play politics with the nation’s finances. David Cameron and George Osborne make false claims about Labour’s plans while running scared of having their own manifesto audited.
PHONE HACKING SCANDAL SHOWS WHOSE SIDE DAVID CAMERON IS ON
This week we learned that Andy Coulson, who was given a job at the heart of Downing Street by David Cameron, was a criminal who conspired to hack phones. The Prime Minister made a conscious decision to ignore repeated warnings about Andy Coulson, and now his negligence, his character and his judgement are in question.
Our first thoughts should be with the thousands of victims of phone hacking, including the family of Milly Dowler. David Cameron was more interested in defending his friend and close advisor Andy Coulson, and in getting as close as he could to Murdoch, than he was in doing the right thing.
When David Cameron gave Andy Coulson a job, Coulson had already resigned as News of the World editor over phone hacking that had happened on his watch. Over the next four years, more and more evidence emerged that Coulson knew what was going on at the paper he ran. But David Cameron clung onto Coulson, and took him into Downing Street. He said it would be a "disgrace" if it turned out that Coulson knew about phone hacking. He's right, and the disgrace is his.
It's just the latest example of the Prime Minister choosing to stand up for the wrong people instead of doing the right thing. It's just one more reason why we need a Labour Government led by Ed Miliband.
Sandra Osborne MP
I was proud to participate in the South Ayrshire ceremony last week to mark the 6th Armed Forces Day taking place as we also reflected on the Centenary of the First World War. It was also good to see that the main UK event to mark the day was held at Stirling emphasising the important role Scotland plays in UK defence.
Our Armed Forces are the very best of Britain. They serve our country with pride and distinction. But there are still too many members of our Armed Forces, past and present, who face discrimination as they go about their daily lives.
That's why Labour wants a change to the law so that for the first time ever it would be a specific criminal offence to attack them or discriminate against them because of their service.
I’ve been helping to collect signatures for Labour’s petition to end this discrimination, and help us ensure that our dedicated and committed servicemen and women are treated with the dignity that their bravery deserves. You can find out more at www.labour.org.uk/forces
PEOPLE DESERVE THE TRUTH ABOUT TAX AND SPENDING PLANS
In tough times, it’s important that the policies of all political parties are properly costed and funded. People rightly want to know that the sums add up.
That’s why Labour has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – the government’s independent budget watchdog – to audit the costings of every spending and tax commitment in Labour’s next General Election manifesto.
The Government’s economic failure means that in 2015 Labour will inherit a very difficult situation and, while we’ll make big reforms, we’ll have to do so with less money around.I want rigorous scrutiny of our next election manifesto - and I think the Tories and Lib Dems should be willing to subject their manifestos to the same examination. It’s time to restore trust in politics and I think this is a step towards doing so.
But the Tories continue to show how out of touch they are. Last week in Westminster Labour voted for the OBR to be able to scrutinise all political parties’ election manifestos but the Tories and Lib Dems voted to block this important reform.
It’s as disappointing as it is predictable that they would take such a narrow approach and play politics with the nation’s finances. David Cameron and George Osborne make false claims about Labour’s plans while running scared of having their own manifesto audited.
PHONE HACKING SCANDAL SHOWS WHOSE SIDE DAVID CAMERON IS ON
This week we learned that Andy Coulson, who was given a job at the heart of Downing Street by David Cameron, was a criminal who conspired to hack phones. The Prime Minister made a conscious decision to ignore repeated warnings about Andy Coulson, and now his negligence, his character and his judgement are in question.
Our first thoughts should be with the thousands of victims of phone hacking, including the family of Milly Dowler. David Cameron was more interested in defending his friend and close advisor Andy Coulson, and in getting as close as he could to Murdoch, than he was in doing the right thing.
When David Cameron gave Andy Coulson a job, Coulson had already resigned as News of the World editor over phone hacking that had happened on his watch. Over the next four years, more and more evidence emerged that Coulson knew what was going on at the paper he ran. But David Cameron clung onto Coulson, and took him into Downing Street. He said it would be a "disgrace" if it turned out that Coulson knew about phone hacking. He's right, and the disgrace is his.
It's just the latest example of the Prime Minister choosing to stand up for the wrong people instead of doing the right thing. It's just one more reason why we need a Labour Government led by Ed Miliband.
Sandra Osborne MP