Newspaper redundancies
Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): Does the Secretary of State accept that in many communities the local newspaper is as important as the local post office, the local shop or the local pub? Given the number of closures, which he has already referred to, and the fact that journalists are being laid […]
Budget
In the week since the Budget, there has been plenty of time to look at the small print. As in all Gordon Brown’s budgets, his speech only tells half the story. The good news was largely leaked in advance. The bad news was not even contained in the speech at all. As ever, it is […]
Budget – March 2006
Last week’s Budget was more notable for what it did not say that what it did. While it contained a number of worthy measures to promote micro-generation, to help our athletes prepare for the Olympics and to support those in further education, it did nothing to address the serious economic problems facing the country. The […]
Government spending in Essex
With Council Tax bills landing on doorsteps soon, John sets out the background to local government spending in Essex. I am often asked why, when inflation is only around 2.5 per cent, the average Council Tax for a band D property in Maldon and Chelmsford has gone up from around £640 in 1997 to around […]
Third Reading of the Gambling Bill
John Whittingdale responds to the Third Reading of the Gambling Bill in the House of Commons. We have always made it clear right from the start that there is much in the Bill that we agree with. It contains a number of important measures that will help to introduce controls over remote gambling, for instance, […]