Now Government should help pensioners, says Theo

AN urgent income tax cut to help pensioners has been called for by West Somerset Parliamentary candidate Theo Butt Philip (pictured).
The Liberal Democrat candidate last week said pensioners’ lost income from interest on savings due to Bank of England rate cuts was a price worth paying for the greater good of the country.
Now, Mr Butt Philip, of Wells, wants the Government to help pensioners who will lose income on their savings as a result of the record-low interest rate.
He said: “While the Bank of England was right to cut interest rates for the sake of the economy as a whole, the Government must take action to help those who will lose out.
“Pensioners who supplement their State pensions with personal savings will be badly hit by the latest interest rate cut.
“The Chancellor should raise the income tax personal allowance so that those on low incomes pay no income tax at all.
“This, combined with abolishing the unfair council tax, would provide much needed relief for those who are suffering.”

Income cut for pensioners is price worth paying to save economy says Lib Dem candidate

PENSIONERS and others in West Somerset who had managed to put away money in savings would have to suffer a loss of income for the greater good of the country, the district’s Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate said today.
Theo Butt Philip (pictured) was speaking after yesterday’s Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut interest rates to a record low of one per cent.
Mr Butt Philip, who lives in Wells, said: “The bank was right to cut interest rates.
“It is a desperate, but necessary, measure.
“The current economic situation is a very difficult one, and this cut will not help savers.
“However, for the sake of the economy as a whole, it is imperative that we get people spending again.
“The interest rate cut alone will not be enough to see us through these difficult times.
“The Government must do everything it can to increase the flow of credit.
“That means temporarily nationalising those banks which are already majority owned by the taxpayer and directing them to increase lending.
“Furthermore, the Government should bring forward investment in capital programmes and in projects to protect the environment.
“By building more social housing, insulating our current housing stock, and investing in railways, the Government could create jobs, stimulate the economy, and create assets which will be of real long-term value to the country.”

£60 on every Somerset council tax bill 'pays for Lib Dem borrowing'

HIGH-spending Somerset County Council was today criticised for locking itself into uncompetitive borrowing rates for years to come - just as the Bank of England cut rates to their lowest ever level.
The Liberal Democrat-run county has long-term high interest rates on more than £300 million which it has borrowed to fund its spending spree in recent years.
The average rate was about 4.3 per cent - which previously looked good, but not with a base rate now down to just one per cent.
Conservative group finance spokesman Councillor David Huxtable (pictured) said the council could now borrow at rates of less than one per cent.
Councillor Huxtable said: “We have been warning the Lib Dem administration about their huge borrowing and now it has come back to bite them.
“The difference in rates could mean the council paying up to £11 million over the odds this year alone.
“This would put an extra £60 on the council tax for every hard working family in Somerset.”
Somerset Conservative group leader Councillor Ken Maddock said: “The Lib Dems have slipped up big time here.
“They have trebled borrowing in the last six years. Who do they think they are - Gordon Brown?
“We need to act like a responsible council - not like a dodgy hedge fund.
“The Conservatives would reduce Somerset’s dependence on debt and borrow less.
“This is as important to a county council as it is to everybody’s personal finances.”