David Ruffley - MP for Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Needham Market

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Will EU proposals price first time car buyers out of the market?

The EU has decided that we need to clamp down on CO2 emissions from cars. Manufacturers will be set a target that is about a fifth less than an average Ford Focus does today. Or a third of the total emissions of a top spec Range Rover.

Emissions from cars need to be cut – we all agree on that. This is the future of our planet we are talking about. But car manufacturers have said that these proposals will add £3,300 to the price of a new car. This will price many people out of the market – especially when it comes to buying their first car.

Will people, especially first time buyers, be prepared to pay more for a greener car? There are alternatives – Lotus Cars in Norfolk have been doing a lot of work with US firm Tesla Motors. The Tesla Roadster has an electric motor that produces fantastic performance and has a range of 250 miles. Most importantly of all it has no CO2 emissions at all. The problem – at the moment each Tesla Roadster will cost £50,000. But this is cutting edge stuff and much more should be done to support this kind project.

Posted in Climate Change on 7 February 2007 by David Ruffley

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The burglary capital of Europe

Britain is the burglary capital of Europe. Levels of assault are also the highest in the EU while car thefts and sexual offences are not far behind. In Europe’s overall crime league Britain comes second only to Ireland. These shocking figures show just how hollow Brown and Blair’s words are when they say crime is falling.

The EU survey even showed a clear link between levels of violent crime and alcohol consumption. Yet ministers have the nerve to tell us that their 24 hour drinking laws have had no impact on crime levels. This report should be compulsory reading for the Government. Just glancing at it will show them the reality of the yob culture they have inflicted on modern Britain.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain all managed to have below average crime levels. All of these are countries comparable to Britain. Ten years of Government failure have left us more at risk from both property and violent crime than anywhere else in Europe. Blair’s Britain – what a complete shambles.

Posted in The Home Office on 6 February 2007 by David Ruffley

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Bird flu hits Suffolk

160,000 turkeys are currently being slaughtered in Suffolk. This is Britain’s worst outbreak of bird flu and it has happened 50 miles down the road from my constituency in Holton near Lowestoft. The cull is set to continue around the clock and may not finish until tomorrow.

Local people have every right to be concerned. There is a risk that the bird flu may have passed to the wild bird population. If this is the case bird flu could be a massive continuing problem.

That’s bad news for East Anglia’s hard working poultry farmers. When this happened in France a number of countries axed trade with them. If there is an export ban on live birds and meat it could cost Britain up to £370 million. Suffolk jobs and livelihoods would be on the line.

The Government response to the crisis has been a shambles. Tests for bird flu only started on Friday – three days after turkeys first started dying. Key disease controls were not put in place until Saturday evening. How on earth was this allowed to happen? The risk of the disease passing to humans is low and we must all keep our heads and not panic. Demand for poultry is bound to fall and farmers could face a disastrous drop in income. I just hope the Government shows them the support they deserve.

Posted in Bird Flu on 5 February 2007 by David Ruffley

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Bad schools on the up

Quarter of million kids are getting a rotten education. Bad schools are on the up. The school watchdog has targeted 700 ‘sink’ schools that are letting our kids down. They have put 171 schools into special measures, 2 have been closed and hundreds more are on the brink of closing. The total number of failing schools has gone up from 203 to 243 – that’s a rise of nearly a fifth.

Blair’s school reform agenda is a complete flop. If children get a bad start at primary school they suffer for the rest of their lives. This is a hammer blow to Blair’s record on schools – whatever happened to ‘education, education, education’? As Dave Cameron said yesterday, why doesn’t Blair do us all a favour and jack it in now. Whitehall is in gridlock waiting for King Gordon. Not that he will do much better.

Posted in Education on 1 February 2007 by David Ruffley

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IFS Green Budget

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published its ‘Green Budget’ today. It reveals that taxes have gone up by £40 billion since 1997. That is a total of £1,300 for every family in the country. Since 2005 Gordon Brown has announced £6 billion of new tax increases but what do we have to show for it? The NHS is in financial meltdown and our prisons are bursting at the seams. To make matters worse the IFS predicts that the tax burden will increase by £13 billion over the next five years – that is the equivalent of £422 for every household.

In his 10 budgets since becoming Chancellor Gordon Brown has shown an insatiable desire to raise taxes and has demonstrated little sympathy for average families who are already struggling under the burden of soaring fuel bills, interest rate rises and inflation.

Of course the Treasury has disputed the IFS’s findings stating the figures are ‘incorrect and that it is ridiculous to suggest families are worse off’. But the IFS is a highly respected body once described as ‘an institution that is rigorous in research, proudly impartial and objective in analysis’. The person that said that – Gordon Brown MP. We will find out in March if he has listened to their advice.

Posted in Gordon Brown on 31 January 2007 by David Ruffley

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