Alberto Costa has sent a letter to postal voters in Angus, in which he writes:

Remember, a vote for the SNP or the Lib Dems will only risk another five years of Labour or a hung Parliament.

Of course, the only thing that would make another five years of Labour more likely in Angus, is a vote for Labour candidate Kevin Hutchens. But Alberto does not mention that, as his intention is clearly to spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about voting for the SNP or the Lib Dems.

Mentioning the Lib Dems as well as the SNP, but not Labour, clearly shows that Alberto knows that Angus is now a three way battle.

What is particularly worrying, is the sense of entitlement Alberto Costa displays in his letter to Angus residents. There is an assumption that the Tories have a right to power and that Angus residents have a responsibility to vote for him:

If we really want change, we all need to play our role and that means electing a new Conservative MP for Angus.

The reality is that if they want real change, then Angus residents have the opportunity to vote for the Liberal Democrats who can deliver it for them.

Alberto Costa, Angus, Conservative, Tory

In March, we began in investigation into a bonus culture within NHS Tayside. You can read our initial investigation into it by clicking here.

In the response received from NHS Tayside, we discovered that indeed there are bonuses paid to consultants that are not simply awarded in one year, but are permanent additions to their salaries.

It now appears that NHS bosses are also in on the act, getting similar bonuses added to their salary, contributing to their pensions and completely unrelated to ongoing performance.

Liberal Democrats investigation unearthed the matter which is reported in today’s Observer:

NHS boss earned £68,000 in bonuses – on top of six-figure salary

GPs, nurses and junior doctors are all denied access to any similar sort of compensation scheme.

Having received a reply from NHS Tayside over bonuses, these bonuses are written into the standard contracts offered to consultants across the whole of Scotland.

Bankers have been quite rightly been criticised for excessive bonuses along with Chief Executives of many companies who are earning 100 times more than their average employees. But I was shocked to discover such a bonus culture written in black and white into the contracts of NHS Tayside consultants. How can it be fair that the best paid staff in the NHS are the only ones able to get huge bonuses on top of their already very generous salaries? There does not seem to be any bonus system for staff such as nurses and porters.

In particular these ‘Distinction Awards’ are not one off bonuses, but added to consultants salary every single year and increase their pension contributions accordingly. 1 out of every 3 consultants will receive one of these awards during their career, so the system is hardly restricted to only the best and the brightest.

Even more worrying is that consultants can nominate each other or even themselves for these huge additions to their salary. It is not difficult to see such a system being quickly abused with friends nominating each other.

With money tight across the country, and frontline services in the NHS at serious risk, surely we should end the bonus culture in the NHS right now?

Angus, Bonuses, NHS

Montrose Academy held a mock election on Friday, run magnificently by Ian Watt. It was great to see Sean Massie, the Liberal Democrat candidate win the mock election. Congratulation to Sean and his class who ran an excellent campaign. I’ve had to ask Sean for a copy of his stump speech, as it included some key points I hope to use.

I really appreciated being invited to attend a hustings after the vote, between the Angus parliamentary candidates. During the discussion, Angus SNP candidate, Mike Weir admitted that there are three parties whose candidate could be elected, saying:

Whoever gets elected whether it is the SNP, the Tories or the Lib Dems,…

Conspicuously absent was any mention of the Labour candidate, Kevin Hutchens. Clearly, Mike has recognised that people in Angus are looking at all the main options available to them.

The national campaign shows this will not be just a once in a lifetime election. It will be a unique opportunity to sweep away the two old parties’ grip on power. They have and will do anything to stop things really changing.

It is no longer a two horse race nationally, nor is it here in Angus. Residents do not have to pick the least worst option.

When choosing between myself, Mike Weir and Alberto Costa, Angus residents now realise that by voting for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, by voting for me, Sanjay Samani, their vote will count and their voice will be heard.

2010, Alberto Costa, Angus, General Election, Mike Weir, SNP, Tory

During this recession, many people across Angus will be feeling the pinch, working fewer hours or with reduced pay, whilst still having to meet rising food and petrol costs. With huge bonuses for bankers and tax dodging millionaires donating to political parties, most voters must be wondering whether politicians will deal with this unfairness.

The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for a fairer tax system. We promise that if you earn less than £10,000 you will pay nothing, zero, £0 in income tax. If you earn more that that, you will pay £705 less.

So if you earn, say £8,000, you will pay no income tax, saving you £305 per year, an extra £25 per month. If you earn, £17,000, you will save £705. That’s almost £59 per month extra in your pay packet, to help you pay for your shopping, put towards your holiday or buy that special treat for your kids.

We will pay for this by cutting special tax breaks that only the wealthiest can use.

Pensioners will save £100 a year, which combined with relinking pensions with earnings, will help the most vulnerable in our society.

We will invest £3.1bn to create 100,000 green jobs, including £400m to refurbish harbours to manufacture offshore wind turbines. As your MP, I would fight for that investment to come to Montrose, creating jobs across all of Angus. We will pay young people on apprenticeships, so small companies can take them on.

That’s fairness for you, but what about the way MPs have behaved with our money?

The ugly SNP / Tory expenses and donations spat in Angus makes clear that we need a complete overhaul of our political systems. Labour and the Tories propose a tweak here and there, but after 20 years of scandal after scandal, it is clear we need genuine democracy.

The Liberal Democrats would cap donations and limit spending by political parties and introduce independent audits of expenses. We would create a register of political lobbying, a Lib Dem proposal that Mike Weir voted against in 2006. Crucially, you would have the right to sack corrupt MPs.

The UK needs a written constitution that sets out exactly what MPs can and cannot do and defines the roles of judges, ministers, the Head of State, parliament and national assemblies.

We would introduce a fairer, proportional voting system so your voice is heard. Mike Weir was elected with just 1 out of every 5 of the possible votes. A full 2/3rds of voters, voted against him. Surely Angus deserves an MP with a better mandate than that?

During this General Election in Angus, the Liberal Democrats are the only party that will bring genuine fairness back to our economy and our politics.

2010, Angus, Fairness, General Election

In an amazing poll for the Sun from YouGov, the Liberal Democrats are in second place just 3% behind the Tories. Labour have been pushed back into 3rd place. The full results are Conservative 33%, Liberal Democrats 30% and Labour 28%.

Under our completely broken political system this could well lead to Labour having the most seats in parliament, despite having the fewest votes of the main three parties. The prediction from uniform swing calculators would be the Labour Party would have 275 seats, Conservatives 245 and the Liberal Democrats 99.

Is Labour worried and ashamed to drop back into 3rd place in the polls? Not in the slightest:

It is little wonder that after 13 years in government, the Labour Party has not enacted any meaningful political reform. Labour and the Tories are completely happy with the way things are. A system that denies millions of voters across the country a real voice in the way their country is run. A system that means that tens of thousands of voters across Angus will be denied genuine democracy.

John Prescott and the Labour Party should be ashamed of themselves for celebrating our broken political system.

This is why we must have real change in this elections. This is why we cannot let Labour and Conservative just pass the baton back and forth so they can continue to deny us genuine democracy and carry on their decades of corruption.

The Liberal Democrats would cap donations and limit spending by political parties, introduce independent audits of expenses and set out exactly what MPs can and cannot do. Voters would have the right to sack corrupt MPs.

We would introduce a fairer, proportional voting system so your voice is heard. Mike Weir was elected with just 1 out of 5 of those eligible, voting for him. Surely Angus deserves an MP with a better mandate than that. The Liberal Democrats are the only party who would introduce a system that supports that.

Electoral Reform, Labour, Parliament

I was really disappointed to read two new articles on the ongoing ugly spat over donations and expenses between Mike Weir and Alberto Costa. Angus residents really do deserve better from their prospective representatives.

I highlighted how this spat has become national news in my previous post, which you can read by clicking here. The whole sordid affair reflects badly on Angus and I had hoped that the matter would end there. Unfortunately the argument has continued to rumble on.

Firstly The Daily Record highlights how Alberto Costa’s campaign received £10,000 from Swiss banker, Henry Angest, funnelled through a City company called Flowidea Ltd. You can read the article in full by clicking here.

Then Alberto Costa hit back, accusing Mike Weir of accepting a £4,000 donation from someone who he is running a campaign for taxes on holiday lets. You can read the full article in the Press and Journal by clicking here.

The merits of the accusations and counter accusations aside, there is clearly a need for our politics to be cleaned up.

In my previous blog post and in an open letter to all the other candidates, I called on them to give cross party support to full political reform, rather than nips and tucks or little tweaks here and there, asking:

Will the other candidates back proposals for a fairer political system, including the right of Angus residents to recall their MP, to cap donations to political parties, independent auditing of expenses and limits on spending by political parties? Crucially will they back a written constitution that clearly sets out the role and powers of MPs, ministers, judges, the Head of State, parliament and national assemblies?

On a separate issue, will the candidates back proposals for a fairer, proportional voting system, as used in Angus Council elections? Mike Weir was elected as MP for Angus, with just over 1 out of 5 of those eligible actually voting for him and very nearly 2/3rds of actual voters, voting against him. Surely the Angus MP needs to have a better mandate than that?

The letter has appeared in all the Angus local newspapers and I have yet to hear a response from any of the other candidates. This is hardly a surprise as Labour, SNP and Conservative MPs, including Mike Weir, have all voted in the past against proposals by the Liberal Democrats to clean up politics. It is little wonder that Nick Clegg described the last session as “the most corrupt parliament in history”.

I make my call again:

I would ask for full backing from Mike Weir MP, Kevin Hutchens and Alberto Costa. Angus residents can that way be assured, that whether it is myself or one of the other candidates that is elected at the forthcoming election, they will be voting for genuine, open, fairer political reform.

Will the other candidates back full, genuine, fair political reform to create a functioning, responsive, clean democracy in this country?

Alberto Costa, Conservative, Donations, Expenses, Mike Weir, SNP, Tory