CambridgeshireNerd

@McivorJaymey My sons school ban smartphones already. They have to put them in a faraday pouch at the start of the day & can unlock them on the gate on th way home. I’m so pleased they have been a forerunner in keeping kids safe & present during the school day, & soon all schools will follow.

Which part of this policy is Conservative? Nanny state is never the answer. I actually would go as far as to say this is going to make life hell for some of the most vulnerable children at school.

@AndrewRosindell Who do you imagine is free to protest at 9am on a Monday?? Boomers? The unemployed? Not “hardworking drivers, families and businesses” I imagine.

🚨 NATIONAL FUEL TAX PROTEST 🚨 This Monday, Reform UK are taking the fight to Westminster. Hardworking drivers, families and businesses are being squeezed while fuel costs remain too high. It’s time for action! We need Rachel Reeves to listen and cut fuel duty now. If you’re fed up with paying more at the pump, join us: 📍 Whitehall 🗓 Monday 27th April ⏰ 9:00 am Together, we can send a clear message: enough is enough! 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@SandyofSuffolk On paying his staff.

Let's all ask Jacob what he spent his £200,000 in expenses on shall we? As if his salary and subsidized food and drink weren't enough. Snout in trough anyone?

@Iromg Mostly to pay his staff I imagine.

Jacob Collier claimed over £200,000 in expenses from the taxpayer last year - on top of his MP salary.

@AndrewRosindell This may all be true. But I’m pretty confident the over 60s oyster would go. And free travel for under 16s. Public transport in Essex is poorer and more expensive than in Greater London.

In case you missed it, here is my latest column in the Romford Recorder explaining to older people why... THE FREEDOM PASS IS SAFE!   I have always campaigned to keep the Older Person’s Freedom Pass and extend it, beyond “Greater London” to all council areas that are served by Transport for London. For example, Brentwood and Epping Forest, who are connected by the Elizabeth Line and Central Line. To prove it, I even have legislation currently before the House of Commons - TfL Extension of Concessions Bill - which would achieve this. Putting the Freedom Pass and other TfL Travel Concessions on a statutary basis for all boroughs where TfL operate. bills.parliament.uk/bills/4008   The Freedom Pass is a lifeline for many over the age of 66, enabling free access to all transport services operated by TfL. Having worked hard all their lives paid their taxes and contributed to the economy, the Freedom Pass allows senior citizens to stay connected and live active lives. I will never allow the Freedom Pass to be taken away for as long as I remain the MP for Romford! That is why, in January this year, when the Labour controlled “London Councils” suggested that the scheme could be curtailed, I launched a petition and raised the issue in Parliament.  We won the argument then and so now, the Freedom Pass is safe. I and Reform UK, will ensure that it stays that way.   However, there are so many misunderstandings about the Freedom Pass and the people of Havering must be told the truth. The Freedom Pass scheme existed long before the Mayor of London and Greater London Authority came into being.  The Freedom Pass does not come under the control of the Mayor and he doesn’t pay for it.  Free travel for pensioners is not a gift from Sadiq Khan! Thr fact is, Havering Council funds the Freedom Pass directly, based on how often local residents use public transport.  So if you jump on the Elizabeth Line using your Freedom Pass, Havering Council pay your fare. Last year alone, Havering Council paid a total of £7,286,083.00 to TfL to fund the cost of the Freedom Pass for Havering's pensioners and disabled people. Free bus travel is a national scheme supported by the government. So, it is entirely false to claim that the Freedom Pass is dependent on Havering being under the Mayor of London and GLA. To say otherwise is a cruel attempt to frighten older people. Those candidates so desperate to win their council seats on 7th May, who are pushing this lie about, should be ashamed of themselves!   It is entirely possible that Havering could return to being a fully Unitary Authority Council again, whilst remaining in the Greater London region, just as we used to be before the year 2000 when there was no Mayor or GLA. Havering did not stop being part of Greater London and our status as a London Borough remained unchanged. When the old GLC bureaucracy was rightly abolished by Mrs Thatcher in 1986, we didn’t miss it.  We saved money and controlled how our local finances were spent; we kept the Freedom Pass, red buses, trains, and tubes; we retained the Metropolitan Police and had local police stations with a visible police presence in all parts of our borough; and we kept the services of the London Fire Brigade.  London weighting was never effected either, in case your wondering! All these things carried on, but Havering then only paid for the services we actually received, rather than our money being spent on the Mayor's inner London priorities and projects, which are mostly of no direct benefit to towns like Romford and Hornchurch. It is hard to see what Havering has received in return for the hundreds of millions of pounds we have paid to the Mayor and GLA over the past twenty six years. Our borough needs our local money spent on local services for local people in Havering.  That will be my objective and that of a new Reform UK controlled Town Hall, working with a future Reform UK government led by @Nigel_Farage We will put Havering first! 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@sophielouisecc Anyone on means tested benefits gets NI Credits. So they may not have worked for their state pension.

There are 8.4M on UC credit 66% of those (so over 5m) completely unemployed. Yet you want me as a young person to be angry at pensioners for getting a pension they have worked for No chance. express.co.uk/news/uk/219153…

@AndrewRosindell I assume, as someone who has been a conservative and intimately involved in the running of Havering Council (as Cllr and the MP) you are shouldering most of the blame?

As Romford's MP, I have been visiting all parts of my constituency over the past few days, campaigning to bring about the change and reform our borough so desperately needs. It's time for a fresh start for Havering! Our Town Hall is broken. Romford has been neglected and particularly let down by the old political establishment. Conservatives, Residents' Association and Labour have been running the council on and off for decades. They must all take their share of the blame for the decline of our cherished "town and country" borough. We can and must do better, so we need to elect a new Reform UK administration to run our Town Hall, working with Havering's Reform UK Member of Parliament and a future Reform UK government. The Romford Team 23 of Reform UK candidates are standing in my constituency and will work with me, if elected as local Councillors, to improve Romford and end the decline presided over by Con/Lab/HRA! On Thursday 7th May, we have a chance to vote to reverse the downward spiral, restore pride to our town centre in Romford and press ahead with a plan to restore powers back to Havering from the Mayor of London, with the backing of the next UK government, led by Nigel Farage MP @Nigel_Farage 🩵 Vote REFORM UK for a Romford, Havering and Britain that we can all once again be proud of! 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@SandyofSuffolk We do need breakfast clubs for parents who work. But we parents should pay for them, like we have been for years, literally years.

The excuse 'We need breakfast clubs at school so we can get to work on time' won't wash. Either get a job starting at 9.30 or pay a childminder or family member to look after your child at 8am and take them to school at 9. Like we used to. And don't forget to brush their teeth and use the loo instead of nappies before you pop off to work too. Like we used to.

@LeaderofKCC This is why. When your councillors get jailed then people think twice about voting for you again. I think this is the moral.

The moral of this story is, if you vote Conservative you get Green.

@louderry @KemiBadenoch Nope. She’s referencing South Cambs council who are paying their staff for 37 hours work while only expecting them to work for 30 hours. On the taxpayer.

My brother works a 40 hour week over 4 days, and has done since he left school, he's never been out of work. According to @KemiBadenoch he's lazy

@Rosiewr50 @kevinhollinrake It’s now permanent. scambs.gov.uk/news/council-v…

@Thatgirlfromrom @kevinhollinrake I don’t know if it’s still going but it was a trial. I haven’t seen anything to say they adopted it in its current format. They may have, I don’t know.

That’s absolutely not the deal, inc at Liberal Democrat run South Cambs District Council Shockingly, it’s a 30 hour week for 37 hours pay. Funded, of course, by many struggling taxpayers.

@andyjameshicks Fair enough. But it’s what Kemi was referring to and you were claiming she was wrong. Which she isn’t. And it’s South Cambridgeshire, not Cambridge, just for clarity.

@Thatgirlfromrom That appears unique to Cambridge, not the concept I'm referencing.

It's the same hours you clown...

@ADOSRelease @kevinhollinrake scambs.gov.uk/four-day-worki…

@Thatgirlfromrom @kevinhollinrake link?

@Rosiewr50 @kevinhollinrake A trail for three years?

@kevinhollinrake Calm down, it’s a trial. Can’t see this model working or being taken up by other councils

@KevinG39009596 @kevinhollinrake Lib Dems have run South Cambs for years. They voted this through, objected to by Tories. It’s been four days work for five days pay since 2023.

@kevinhollinrake Your showing a trail from 2023 for Cambridge? So this was set up whilst you lot were in power

@ADOSRelease @kevinhollinrake It’s been happening since 2023.

@kevinhollinrake OK so that post admits it's a "trial". How about we wait to see the outcome of the trial before assuming the outcome?

@russellquirk Right. I mean, so local like Farage is to Clacton yes? Or Goodwin was to Denton? This is a weird one to press on when your party is v guilty of imposing candidates on areas.

Basildon and Billericay deserve an MP that has genuine roots in Basildon/Billericay and knows the area, its people, its businesses and its issues. Richard Holden was dropped into this seat in a typically cynical Conservative Party selection stitch up and probably thinks that Sun Corner is a tanning shop.

@samm50647 @neveragain499 @lukerobertblack @Chequebookjerry Yep. NI Fund pays for state benefits including State Pension, ESA and JSA. And it’s topped up from general taxation when needed. It’s not a pension pot that people pay into.

@Thatgirlfromrom @neveragain499 @lukerobertblack @Chequebookjerry

“Paid in”. What do you mean “pay in”? You don’t “pay in”. It’s not a personal pot. NICS fund government spending. State pensions are a benefit paid for by general taxation. This is boomer slop

@samm50647 @neveragain499 @lukerobertblack @Chequebookjerry It’s a contributory benefit. Like JSA or ESA (new style). There’s no pot that that you’ve paid into other than general taxation.

@neveragain499 @lukerobertblack @Chequebookjerry It’s a benefit as long as you’ve paid at least 35 years NIC. UC and other benefits don’t require you to have paid NIC. That’s the difference