Winston Churchill must be turning in his grave to see just how Britain has broken it's societies from within, whilst giving it's assets and accessible welfare system away to Europe just 70 years after defending it at the cost of many thousands of lives. What message is being missed by the 3 main parties that UKIP and sadly BNP recognised by including our wartime leader in their promotional literature at last years local and Euro elections? We need a strong leader to get us out of this malaise and put the United Kingdom back on the map as a serious worldwide contender rather then a talking shop where our denied vote, that's 60 million votes were not taken up, whilst 4 million Irish votes were counted twice once for NO then for YES,and why is the US so keen for us to be in Europe? so we can do their bidding as the trusted puppy dog we have become!It pains me to say this as a life long Tory supporter, in fact part of the canvasing team for one Eldon Griffiths in Bury St.Edmunds in 1983 I was commended for my dedication and support at the after election celebrations that saw Margaret Thatcher return for a second term of office. Whilst many people had misgivings of some of her policies one thing she did do at the time was to instill a sense of pride in the British way of life at the time and respect for the law as our police and courts were the envy of the world, a far cry from the laughing stock they have become today!
Parties in fight over the family
Labour and the Conservatives have been setting out their plans to support families - expected to be a key election battleground.
Labour says it will change the law so that if parents split up, grandparents will not have to go to court to apply for contact with grandchildren.
They also say they will give fathers more support in bringing up children.
The Conservatives have accused Labour of stealing their policies - especially on grandparents' rights.
Ministers say employers and health and children's services in England all need to recognise the role fathers have in caring for children.
Fathers will be given more information before a child's birth to encourage them to be responsible parents.
'Custody battles'
Labour's Families and Relationship Green Paper - being released today - sets out a wide range of measures designed to support "all families".
Under Labour's plans, separating couples will be strongly encouraged to seek mediation rather than going to the family courts to settle problems.
“ What I am not going to say is that if you are a widow or if you are a lone parent because your husband threw you out in an abusive relationship, you should be disadvantaged ”
Ed Balls, Children's Secretary
On the BBC's Today programme, Children's Secretary Ed Balls clashed with Conservative Families Spokesman David Willetts over the issue of giving tax breaks to married couples.
Mr Balls said he supported marriage, but did not believe it should be reflected in the tax system.
"The evidence shows that if you are married, children do better, although once you adjust for the fact that people who are married tend to marry older, be better educated and have higher incomes, once you adjust for these things, you find that it is not the legal form, it is the strength and stability of the relationship which is the most important thing," he said.
"What I am not going to say is that if you are a widow or if you are a lone parent because your husband threw you out in an abusive relationship, you should be disadvantaged."
Mr Willetts said the Conservatives were committed to looking at the most effective way of "helping marriage through the tax system", although this was not something which would happen immediately if his party came to power.
“ Strong families provide the stability, warmth and love we need to flourish as human beings, and the relationships they foster are the bedrock on which society is built ”
David Willetts, Conservatives Families' spokesman
He said: "You could have transferable allowances. You could have married couple allowances. There is a range of ideas and that is what we are looking at.
"This is something we are committed to doing in the lifetime of the next Parliament.
"It is not something we are likely to be able to do in the first budget.
"That means, if there were a Conservative government, it is something we would have the time to consider what was the most effective way, given the state of the public finances, for helping marriage through the tax system."
But Mr Balls suggested that the Conservatives would opt for a transferable income tax allowance for married couples which would cost £4.9 billion and benefit wealthier families while penalising widows, divorcees and couples where both partners work.
Mr Willetts said any attempt to use the tax system to support relationships outside marriage would be "incredibly complicated and intrusive".
Draft manifesto
Later, Mr Willetts launched the family section of the Conservative Party's Draft Manifesto.
The party says it would make Britain more "family-friendly" by reforming the tax and benefits system, by "taking a new approach to early intervention and by "helping families to balance their lives".
Mr Willetts said: "We can't go on ignoring the importance of strong families.
"They provide the stability, warmth and love we need to flourish as human beings, and the relationships they foster are the bedrock on which society is built."
The draft manifesto he said outlined "a comprehensive approach to encourage stability and tackle social breakdown - a new system of flexible parental leave which lets parents share maternity leave, more health visitors to support new parents, and encouraging commitment by recognising marriage in the tax system".
Stability
Liberal Democrat families spokesman David Laws told the Today programme the key thing was stability - and it would be better to direct funds at helping children through the education system.
He said:"We are deluding ourselves as a nation if we think that some sort of small tax break is really going to make a fundamental difference to parenting or marriage.
"The key thing is whether there is stability and whether there is love and that can often be highly associated with marriage but it is not exclusively associated with marriage."
“ Focusing that money on those children - giving them skills, aspirations, as much stability as we can and the life skills they need - will do far, far more. ”
David Laws, Liberal Democrats
"The policies Ed Balls is announcing - the Dads' Guide and the websites - will make very little difference. I would put all of this money into the education system.
"Focusing that money on those children - giving them skills, aspirations, as much stability as we can and the life skills they need - will do far, far more to promote responsible citizens and good, stable families."
Government plans to involve fathers more in child-rearing include leaflets targeted at them, which will be distributed from next month.
Research suggests fathers who are involved with the birth of a child are more likely to stay involved in the child's first three years of life.
And longer term involvement leads to children having higher self-esteem, educational achievement and fewer behavioural problems, research says.
Recent studies suggest more and more fathers are sharing and even taking over responsibility for childcare.
'Myth-busting guide'
The booklet for new fathers is being drawn up to give tailored advice and tips to fathers ahead of a new birth.
Written with the Fatherhood Institute, officials say it will be a "myth-busting guide" about how fathers can be just as good hands-on carers as mothers.
It will also offer advice about legal issues like registering the birth, health issues for both parents, communicating with the baby and keeping him or her safe, providing financially and maintaining a good relationship with the mother.
A spokesman for Families Need Fathers said it had been lobbying to make proper mediation compulsory before attending court, and that it was encouraged that the government would now consult on this.
And the former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith has renewed his attack on the government over family policy.
The think tank he established - the Centre for Social Justice - issued a dossier claiming that more than 40% of children in the UK were now born outside marriage and that child abuse had risen 34% over the past four years.
The report said: "The peculiarly high levels of family breakdown found in Britain are at the heart of the social breakdown which is devastating our most deprived communities and fracturing British society in general.
"Strengthening families is vital, both to the health of Britain and in ensuring a more socially just society."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...on/8469735.stm
Published: 2010/01/20 17:28:11 GMT
© BBC MMX
We remember the Miners strikes and we remember the 'milk snatcher' but for me the saddest legacy from those Thatcher years is one of greed and selfishness and you can have it all attitude in her yuppie era, the legacy of which is the youth and the teenagers of today are born out of and as a result have no aspirations, live for the day and expect everything to come their way and more worrying the attitude of many who say so what to drugs so what to chlamydia and a chastisement from the police and ultimately the law courts is seen as a feather in the cap rather then the cause of shame that it should and a system that now gives children from the age of 11 to 16 rights that supersede their parents responsibilities that should guide our young to a moral and ethical stronghold rather then the feral misdirected lifestyle so many have chosen to accept.
There is a failure of family life that could take a generation to fix, yet still all we see and hear is the rival parties vying for political capital and seizing the issue of the day only to tamper around the edges to make in look like they are doing something. A little like Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, almost 10,000 fellow Australians have taken their lives in the 2 years of his leadership from the trauma caused by Family Court, CSA and Social Services yet the best he can offer is support groups for the bereaved or those he has finally recognised have a problem!
Fathers to be offered more help!
Fathers are to be offered more support in bringing up children, under new plans being set out by the government.
Ministers will say employers and health and children's services in England all need to recognise the role fathers have in caring for children.
Fathers will be given more information before a child's birth to encourage them to be responsible parents.
Grandparents are also to be given extra recognition, with an automatic right of contact with their grandchildren.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls said: "By giving families and grandparents the right information and advice, they can remain in control over how and when to access help and support when they are under pressure and their relationships are suffering."
'Custody battles'
The government's Families and Relationship Green Paper sets out a wide range of measures to support all families.
The Conservatives are also expected to outline their policies on the family later on Wednesday.
Under the government's plans, separating couples will be strongly encouraged to seek mediation rather than going to the family courts to settle problems.
This, it is hoped, will help avoid costly and damaging custody battles, often funded through legal aid by the taxpayer.
Statistics suggest many separating couples end up in a revolving door of court appearances, which can be both stressful and damaging.
Settling differences through mediation services could be quicker and far less stressful, ministers argue.
Research suggests fathers who are involved with the birth of a child are more likely to stay involved in the child's first three years of life.
“ Caring for children is not a role just for mums ”
DCSF spokesman
And longer term involvement leads to children having higher self-esteem, educational achievement and fewer behavioural problems, research says.
Recent studies suggest more and more fathers are sharing and even taking over responsibility for childcare.
This is, in part, fuelled by the rise in the number of women returning to work after having children and also by men losing their jobs in the economic downturn.
The Family and Parenting Institute suggests that fathers will lead the changes to family structure to come, but many child and family services remain very focused on women.
Mr Balls and Andy Burnham will be hosting a summit later this week with health visitors, midwives, charities and new fathers to address how they can be helped to get more involved.
'Myth-busting guide'
A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: "Caring for children is not a role just for mums. Health and children's services and employers need to recognise this.
"By giving fathers more information before the birth of the child, we can encourage and support them to fulfil their responsibilities - especially if they are young and disadvantaged.
"Both parents are equally responsible for their child's health, so dads need information too."
A booklet for new fathers is being drawn up to give tailored advice and tips to fathers ahead of a new birth.
Written with the Fatherhood Institute, it will be a myth-busting guide about how fathers can be just as good hands-on carers as mothers.
It will also offer advice about legal issues like registering the birth, health issues for both parents, communicating with the baby and keeping him or her safe, providing financially and maintaining a good relationship with the mother.
A spokesman for Families Need Fathers said it had been lobbying to make proper mediation compulsory before attending court, and that it was encouraged that the government would now consult on this.
He also welcomed the fact that grandparents were now recognised as a vital part of a child's life.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC News - Fathers to be offered more help
Published: 2010/01/20 01:55:45 GMT
© BBC MMX
That problem exists here in the UK and one solution, in my opinion, to solve the key issue would be for an incoming Tory administration to appoint Lord Tebbit as Lord Chancellor and Justice Minister succeeding to the post currently held by Jack Straw and let this former Minister lambaste, in his trademark robust way, the Law Lords such as Lord Justice Ward ( Wall and Woolf too) for winging that they know the problem exists and family court orders are not being enforced onto erroneous resident parents, but there is nothing they can do! Well if they,our law makers, can't do it who are they waiting for to come along and fix it some Eurocrate?(I would not hold my breath) An leveling up of the playing field as far as parenting is concerned would be a major step in the right direction to get the respect and discipline back on the streets and into our children's mind sets for the next generations!
It may be a bit cliche, but our children are the future and state intervention has proved detrimental in all the 13 years of this appalling Labour Government, and it must end ( disband CAFCASS for goodness sake ) and allow Grandparents and extended family be the carers of children rather then irreversible and damaging care of the failed social services who need John Hemming and Lynne Featherstone to take control at CSF & DWP for the urgent reform so long overdue!
Above all the British people crave for and deserve a stop of the apathy and self serving politics we have endured for the past 20 years or more and for all those in a position of authority whom we vote for (Don't know how Brown slipped through) to prove to be accountable to the public and not just kissing up the big business and the money factories who have wronged us now for so long.
Where is that strong leader?
My thanks to fellow campaigner Ivy Beard for her contribution to this blog, Davey.
No comments:
Post a Comment