My petition to Network Rail: Clean up Steppingstone Railway Footbridge!

On most days I walk to work using a railway footbridge in Spalding called Steppingstone Railway Footbridge. It is a very popular bridge as it connects up the Wygate area of Spalding with the Town Centre and is used by pedestrians and cyclists of all ages. 

Over the years as Spalding has changed one of the challenges that our community is facing is that of litterbugs. People who thoughtlessly discard litter without thinking of the consequences. Eventually sooner or later someone has to pick it up.

I gave the bridge a thorough clean a couple of years ago and I was quite pleased with the end results even if it did cost me a broom!

Since then thanks to the sterling efforts of other volunteers, it is longer the mud bath for your feet that it once was.

However, no volunteer or paid council employee can do anything about the issue I am highlighting. Litter that has been discarded over the bridge and is now adorning land owned by Network Rail. It is now a complete eyesore. 

It is a statutory duty of Network Rail to clean up litter on their land. They acknowledge this on their website 

Under this very busy footbridge in Spalding they have failed to do so. This bridge connects the Spalding town centre with the Wygate area of Spalding and is used by families and individuals of all ages.

Unfortunately it has also at times seen antisocial behaviour in the form of street drinking which has resulted in a build up of cans and bottles over a number of years. Spalding has had a litter problem in recent years and volunteers are now making efforts to address this.

In 2012 Network Rail made efforts to clear the site  and sought to work with British Transport Police to tackle those responsible. Calls were also made for additional litter bins. Whilst efforts were made to improve the bridge there has been a failure to maintain the land on a regular basis.

Underneath the vegetation which by some miracle has continued to grow,the amount of litter is now huge.I took this photo in 2016 when Network Rail decided to cut back the vegetation which has now grown back. 

Is this acceptable to you?

I don't find it acceptable and have tried to do something about it seeing as our local Councillors have failed in their efforts and seemingly given up. They certainly are not making much public noises about it. 

•  In 2018 I reported the issue to Network Rail only to receive a response to the effect that that no manpower was available.
• Last month I launched a petition which has received a response from Network Rail advising that they will pass it down again to the local area team.

The fact that they acknowledge that it is something that they should do something about is to their credit, but I am concerned that I will be fobbed off again, which is why I am making this public call. Please sign my petition.

The more who sign  my petition the more that they will have to take notice.

My petition not only calls for action to deal with the immediate problem, but also calls on Network Rail, British Transport Police and South Holland District Council to commit to a long term plan to prevent the problem occurring again. 

My petition can be found on Change and I call on all who care about our town to sign it.

Finally a message to those who drop litter:- 

Put it in the bin!

What if..........?

One of my interests is family history. Every so often I come across a gem that I feel should be shared more widely and this is one of those moments. 

During my research I have had the opportunity to read a newspaper report of a municipal conference in Paris involving 115 civic dignitaries from the cities of  Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Liege, The Hague, London, Madrid, Moscow, St Petersburg, and Westminster. One of those attending representing the City of Westminster was then Alderman Robert Woolley Walden my first cousin three times removed. 

The report in the Shoreditch Observer of Saturday 6 June 1914 includes the bold headline "Plea for an Inter-Communal Parliament". Intrigued, I read the report in greater detail and in it there includes a most inspirational speech by M. Chassaigne-Goyon, President of the Paris Municipal Council which I want to share in full:-

“It is to England, to London, that I address my first welcome, to your admirable City which was praised by Tacitus, and the municipal organisation of which goes back to the days of the Magna Charta. There is nothing equal to the majesty of London, where each monument, each tomb, each stone brings to us a great and virile lesson in patriotism and national continuity, as well as the charm and beauty set in relief by their contrasts. What a prodigious animation, what unrivalled activity in the City, in those immense docks, those world-famed warehouses, which it would be necessary to have visited in order to understand your national character, compounded of concentrated energy, reflective will-power, and methodical and conscientious heroism.

What delicious freshness, what an impression of calm satisfaction are on the other hand evoked by your parks, the luxuriant vegetation of which creates the illusion of being far away in the country. What sweetness and grace are to be found in these homes, where you shelter your family virtues, and of which we were privileged in 1905 to taste the charm and delicious intimacy, a truly ideal framework for this British, reserve, hiding such cultivated minds, and such fine and delicate sentiments. What poetry in this incomparable view over the Thames, which your gentle sunlight plays, delicately shadowed by grey smoke tempered with white puffs of steam, which like a gauze veil, painted with gold, envelopes those Gothic monuments of Westminster, true marvels of architecture, those palaces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, where we have had the honour of being received by you. We shall ever have present in our minds the splendour of that festival at the Guildhall, where all your nobility of blood, heart, and intelligence gave such a beautiful tribute of honour to our respected President of the Republic, who, in your eyes, embodied France.

My discourse would be but a repetition if I wished to set forth all the beauties of the cities where so generous and luxurious a hospitality has been offered to us. Our close proximity has permitted us repeatedly to accept the kind invitations of Belgian municipalities. The reception by your capital and your great cities, gentlemen, was a genuine competition in attentions in an atmosphere of charm and elegance. 

Brussels, with her aristocratic thoroughfares, has preserved the centre of so modern a city that marvellous group of ancient architecture, bearing witness to the heroism of your ancestors, which makes the square of your Hotel de Ville an unrivalled museum in stone. Nothing is more flattering to us than to hear your capital described as a second Paris. “Can Antwerp not attribute to herself what Taine said of Rubens: ' He enjoyed creating worlds!' Is not your enormous port and your prosperous city so rich in artistic treasures, a very world?

In the picturesque Walloon country of proverbial activity, Liege rises up, industrious, smart and proud upon the smiling banks of the Meuse. The warm sympathy you showed us there four years ago will remain among our most pleasant recollections. It seems like yesterday to me that we were received at Ghent with such friendly courtesy, where the splendours of horticultural exhibitions were side by side with your incomparable exhibitions of Flemish art, your belfry which rang out the freedom of the communes, and the feudal monuments of your “prodigious city as Albert Durer called it.

Is not the vessel which figures in the coat-of arms of the City Paris the living symbol of the warm sympathy uniting our capital to that of Denmark? Between the shores of the blue watered Sound, as on our river, the picturesque prow the valorous Vikings floats gaily, proudly ' over the swan's road.’

It would need the riches of the Castillian tongue to describe the reception given us by Madrid, where we spent some fairy-like hours last autumn. The renowned and chivalric courtesy of that glorious nation was a powerful fairy, foreseeing wishes, outstripping desire. Better than the flowers, even, were the radiant Spanish girls, adding beauty to the gate of Toledo; the ancient stones were enlivened by their youth, their grace and the pearl of Spain ornamented these monuments of antiquity with a living smile. For a moment I coveted the riches of Calderon’s language. ' It would need Eastern poetry as well to praise sparkling Andalusia.

Are not the beautiful flowing waters also one of the most beautiful ornaments of The Hague, where they wind gracefully through the eternal verdure of their flowery banks? In your City, royal, wealthy, distinguished, beautiful, enframed by a forest which seems to bring a fresh dowry of coolness each morning, the mirror of the Vyver reflects the Mauritshuis and the Binnenhof, whence the mighty souvenirs of your history live over again, beside the immortal works of your masters. What a sublime page you would add to this history, if in the splendid Palace of Peace, inaugurated last year, you should succeed in erecting dyke against war?

A dyke, is not that the very heart of Amsterdam? proud city rising like Venus out of the waters, city of refuge open all the proscribed, immutably true to its traditions, impassioned for independence, whose museums with their eternal masterpieces, the canals with their pure waters beautifully shaded, the vast harbour, where giant steamers, dainty sailing ships, and heavy caravels but lately left an indelible impression upon us.

On the delta of the Neva, where the majestic river becomes a branch of the sea, there is St. Petersburg, a centre of intellectual, economic and political life ; a city hospitable beyond any. The noble regularity of its views, brightened by the bright colours of the houses, surmounted by the gilded cupolas of your cathedrals, and the bold spire the Admiralty, is worthy of a great nation. Along the splendid quays, bounded by the pink granite of Finland, the Neva bathes innumerable palaces, museums, with priceless masterpieces, an ancient citadel, and its charming islands, as beautiful in the soft spring nights as in their winter dress. From his gigantic pedestal Peter the Great watches over his capital, so poetically described by your immortal Pouchkine.

It is the first time that a large city has seen together, called by its Municipal Council, such numerous and important delegations from foreign municipalities. Allow me to hope that it will not be the last, and that this day marks an epoch, the point of departure of a new era in the history of inter-communal and international relations. 

I believe that for the historians of the future the most characteristic feature of our time will perhaps be the irresistible movement leading men to unite in each country, and each country with another, where common interests draw them together, or similar conditions of life or identical aspirations. For the last fifty years we have seen International Conferences created, where, periodically, the chiefs amongst the politicians and lawyers of the great civilised nations, by studying, by discussing the complex and difficult questions, raised by the organisation of work and other important problems of social life, learn to know one another, to understand one another, and to appreciate one another ; we have seen, on the initiative of a large hearted monarch, all the powers concerting, and all the desires for peace of our epoch taking shape in the Conference of the Hague.

INTER-COMMUNAL PARLIAMENT 

Why should we not endeavour to establish among us a system of permanent relations, allowing us to share experiences, confide our attempts to one another, study together the causes of our successes and failures? 

It is certain that work would not be lacking in this kind of inter-communal parliament. The problems which the development of the modern city lays before us are practically the same for all latitudes, and do not cease to grow in extent and importance. Everywhere the country is becoming depopulated, and the workers are migrating to the towns; everywhere poverty, the overcrowding of slum dwellings, ignorance of the laws of hygiene, favour the spread of tuberculosis, and of epidemics generally. 

• What is the method suitable to adopt in order ensure the normal extension of the city? 
• How is the struggle against poverty and slums to be conducted? 
• How is knowledge of and respect for the laws of hygiene to be propagated amongst the workers?
• How shall a comfortable and healthy lodging at a reasonable price be procured for them and what method should govern the establishment of the budget of a great city?
• What is the best way of managing the great communal services? 

So many questions which, imperiously demand our attention and upon which it would be of the greatest interest to exchange views, require solution by us. “But, gentlemen, however great the practical importance of our meetings might be, their moral compass would be still greater. In the profoundly troublous period we are going through, where rival ambitions are searching for a perpetually unstable equilibrium, have not all often had the impression that, the forces of peace and the forces of war being practically equal, an imprudent movement, or a passionate movement, would be enough for a misunderstanding cleverly worked to let loose on the world a frightful catastrophe? 

It depends upon us to constitute an incomparable peace force by establishing from city to city an ever closer network of friendship, and with ever closer bonds. More free than the governments of our respective countries to follow the inspirations of our hearts, more representative on account of the order with which we are invested than simply private individuals, we can have our own role, quite our own, in preparing and consolidating these friendly relations which, propagated from country to country, will end, one day—l hope soon —by encircling the Universe.”

This speech was given on 2 June 1914. Just eight weeks later World War One broke out.

Makes you think does it not? What would have happened if such a Parliament had been established? What if the forces of peace had held sway against rival ambitions? How many millions of lives would have been saved?

Those who claim that NATO is the foundation of peace in Europe, are wrong in my view. The foundation of peace is the European Movement that Winston Churchill and others established as the anecdote to the tragedy that beset Europe in the 30 years that followed this speech. We should as a nation be seeking to nurture the European Movement at a time when once again those who promote nationalist rivalries are making ill informed attempts to unravel it all. 

Why have we, the nation that has stood up twice to the forces of nationalism that have come close to destroying Europe in the last century, reached a point where we consider that we have no role to play in that which we have helped to build? Why are we entertaining the values of nationalism that has been responsible for claiming millions of lives? We should - nay must reject those values and consign them to the past once and for all.

A way towards a brighter Christmas

There have been a number of comments recently regarding the poor Christmas light displays in Spalding and Boston. Indeed they do seem poorer with local authorities blaming the cost of providing them.  In Lincolnshire we also have a County Council that is now turning lights of at night because it can't afford to pay for them. This is the same County Council that decided to take a stance against wind farms simply based on a survey completed by just 4,000 people.

A brighter alternative vision

Blackpool Tower and North Pier

Blackpool is world famous for it's illuminations and you might wonder how if our local authorities cannot afford to pay for Christmas lights or for street lighting at night, how can Blackpool afford the illuminations without bankrupting the local authority or making rates so expensive so as to force the average Blackpool B & B out of business. The answer is simple. Some years ago a wind farm was built off the coast of Blackpool. Part of this wind farm was set aside to power the illuminations, with the surplus energy being sold to the National Grid. The income from this has funded modernisation of the lights in Blackpool and the system is now carbon neutral thanks to the introduction of LED lighting.

Blackpool illuminations

Now that the lights are going off in Lincolnshire, could it be that the stance taken by Lincolnshire County Council against wind energy was somewhat short sighted? Could they not ask the Wind farm providers in the North Sea to join a similar scheme so that Lincolnshire residents can see at night any enjoy a brighter Christmas in future?

UKIP and the European Union - Why I believe they are wrong

I saw the report on The Lincolnite about the Visit of UKIP's deputy leader Paul Nuttall to Lincoln and started this as a response on Facebook. As it ended up as an essay, I have decided instead to post it here.

To my mind there is the UKIP version of the European Union facts and the real version of the European Union. The facts that UKIP and some in the Brexit campaign spread are not backed by evidence. Now I am not going to claim that the European Union is perfect - far from it. There are many ways that it could be improved and I hope that after a vote to Remain in the European Union, those who have engaged positively in the debate will be willing to join organisations such as European Movement UK so that the question of what kind of Europe we would like to see can be discussed in a genuine way without any hindrance of party politics. The question of Britain's relationship with the European Union cannot be allowed to fester for another generation - back in 1975 leaders of the No campaign accepted that they had lost. That should have been the end of the matter - indeed many at the time accepted that it was.

Since 1975 we have had two key treaties that reformed what was then the EEC. The Maastricht Treaty that established the European Union and the concept of monetary union (the Euro) and the Lisbon Treaty which took into account changes that were necessary with the accession of new countries into the Union. In neither case did the Governments of the day allow a referendum on those treaties. I have always felt that this was a mistake. Other Countries had referenda on these treaties that resulted in changes being made to take into account the views of individual nations and also allowed an opportunity for people within those nations to find out more about how the European Union worked. We were not denied those referenda by the European Union, we were denied them by our National Parliament. If we had, had the opportunity to have a say I believe that there would be a more settled view on the European Union and Britain's relationship with it.

As it is we now face a decision to Remain in the European Union or to risk the uncertainties that leaving the European Union would entail. I believe on balance that we are better of remaining within the European Union, I also believe that the debate we are having is one that may aid the calls for reform of the European Union to make the decision making process more transparant so that we can see how those rules are made. If they were transparant then some of the myths that are coming out from the Leave campaign would be seen for what they are.

The rules from the European Union are not made by unelected Commissioners. The Commissioners simply make proposals that are then discussed and debated by the elected European Parliament and Elected Ministers from each Nation http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/decision-making/index_en.htm. In the vast majority of cases the original proposals are changed during that process and some never come into being. A recent and tragic example is the handling of the Syrian refugee crisis. The idea of sharing refugees between all member states is one that seems to be dead in the water. What ever you might think of the original proposal from the European Commission, what more evidence could you want that the European Commission make our laws? If they did then the sharing of Syrian refugees would have been in place long ago.

In any case, it is a matter of fact that many of our politicians take proposals put forward by Think Tanks and other pressure groups which are then drafted by Civil Servants. Are they not unelected?

No one can be blind to the changes in population demographics in the south of the county. I see them first hand every day, but as whenever I travel to other parts of the county, I do not see the same affects of a significant change in the nationality of the local population. This visual impression is backed up by the statistics from the 2011 census. Check them out on Research Lincs. It is only the areas in the south east of the county that have seen changes that have been rapid. But have they? I can remember at the turn of the millenium when there were a lot of Spanish and Portuguese in the area. Today they are few and far between. This is what the free movement of people means. They can come here for work, but they can equally return home just as easily.

It is also a matter of fact that farmers and growers cannot recruit locally born workers these days. Agricultural and horticultural work is hard, and in many cases requires a very early start and is on minimum wage. It is the kind of work that many young people don't want to do. Furthermore if you look at the unemployment statistics for the area it is actually low. EU citizens do not come here to take work from British Citizens. They come here to do for jobs that would otherwise be hard to fill.

The issues that rapid population change has caused should be addressed by providing resources and encouragement to local authorities to address them. Such a decision is a National one. Lincolnshire has been short changed of resources and instead of clamouring to leave the European Union, with all the risk that entails we should be calling with one single voice on central government to provide the extra resources to address the very issues that UKIP have identified as affecting our county.

Thoughts on Theresa May Conservative Party Conference speech & what she is does not seem to understand

Being at Work I was unable to see Theresa May’s speech to the 2015 Conservative Party Conference in full. I have however seen the reaction to it and have seen some snippets. She cites the example of the Huguenot’s. This country took in 50,000 Huguenot refugees. Far more than the 20,000 Syrian refugee’s being proposed today. She also says that refugees should seek refuge in the first safe country – there is merit in that, but is Turkey safe?  Certainly not all of it.  

Are the Greek Islands the most suitable first refuge?

Many refugees only feel safe when they have successfully made that hazardous boat journey to mainland Europe. In the case of the Greek Island’s what are they supposed to do when they get there? Remain on the Islands?  Does Mrs May know how small the Greek Island are? Lesvos is the biggest. But there is also Kos.  Lets compare London, Lesvos & Kos. The maps below are to the same scale.

Lesvos

Kos

London area

The London area is far bigger than either Lesvos or Kos. One thing that the maps at this scale do not show is the landscape of the area. In the London area there is nowhere that could be classed as inhabitable. Lets look at Kos.

Kos from Marmari area

Kos up in the mountains

Kos from Zia village

Tigaki, Kos from Zia village with island of Pserimos

Mountains over Zia village

Tigaki, Kos from Zia village with island of Pserimos

Lesvos also has many similar mountainous areas that are not inhabitable. Just where are the refugees supposed to live if they are to remain on the Greek Islands Mrs May. In caves? On the beaches?

If sense prevails anyone can see that it is not an option for all of the refugees to remain on the Islands. OK take them to the mainland. Except the mainland also has a lot of inhabitable mountainous areas.  Even if geographical facts are overlooked how is Greece with its own economic woes supposed to support all of the refugees who arrive on her shores? As Europeans we should be helping out our fellow Europeans the Greeks in offering alternative refuge in just the same way we help them defeat the tyranny of Nazi occupation.

There is no such thing as "Can't"

In another part of Mrs May’s speech, she said:-

“…when immigration is too high, when the pace of change is too fast, it’s impossible to build a cohesive society.  It’s difficult for schools and hospitals and core infrastructure like housing and transport to cope.”

I agree – we have seen the effects of this in Lincolnshire & the Fens, where we have migrants from other parts of Europe who have come here for employment. Our Agricultural and Food processing businesses which feed the country would grind to a halt without them. Not only that, our health service would also suffer as there are many who are now employed by our hospitals. The area has been put under intense strain – but the reason is not extra population. It is a lack of investment into housing, schools, doctor surgeries. Local councils of all political hues have been pointing this out for years in Boston, Spalding and Wisbech just to mention a few.  

In an area where the indigenous population is ageing we needed the vitality that comes with young people who have chosen to come here and do work that many British people don’t want to do and by golly most of them work hard. There are of course some who cause problems with anti social behaviour, but the same can be said of some British. There are some who break the rule of law through ignorance or deliberately. We should educate those who are ignorant of our laws and punish those who commit deliberate acts. and in the worse cases seek to repatriate them to their country of origin. They would not get away with some of their actions at home, so why should they here? We should also look at whether it is reasonable to pay children tax credits & child benefit where the children are living overseas. However these are, I would contend, minority examples.

Most workers who have come from the Eastern Countries of Europe are law abiding, tax paying citizens. We should be encouraging them to integrate into Society by supporting the teaching of English and by allowing them to partake in our democracy by encouraging them to become British citizens.

History tells us that many Huguenots settled in the area. Many descendants are unaware that once their ancestors were considered outsiders and viewed with suspicion in just the same way that Mrs May's speech will fuel.

The inference of  the statement made by Mrs May is that “We can’t” Can’t is not a word that anyone with an entrepreneurial  spirit would recognise. We can build the core infrastructure and we must. We should not be peddling the language that stokes up racial tension & prejudice.

Holbeach development and long term effects on healthcare in South Holland

I am writing this just after the announcement that the application to build  900 new homes on the south western edge of Holbeach. Of these just 300 will be "affordable". Will that be enough? Time will tell.

Whilst it is pleasing to note that the planner will be contributing to a new school and other infrastructure improvements in Holbeach and that it has already been accepted that the Medical care facilities in Holbeach require an overhaul, I hope that the planned new medical centre is built before any significant development on the Manor Farm site begins. Indeed I believe it is right to ask the question whether the new medical centre will be sufficient to cope not only with a 3,000 increase in population that the latest plan means but also has capacity for at least three times the amount as the area west of Holbeach bounded by the A17 and A151 will be an obvious site for future development and clearly there will be some smaller scale development in close by villages over the next 20 years. If a new medical centre is to be built, it must be future proof.

The population of Holbeach Town in 2011 was 7,346 and that of Fleet was 2,136. A total of 9,482. The addition of 900 new homes over a period of time will increase that by a third. Here is another statistic. In 2001 the combined population of Spalding & Holbeach Economic zone was 72,721. This had increased to 84,126 by 2011. An increase of 11,500. The 900 homes proposed for Holbeach combined with long term plans for Spalding will probably mean that by 2031 the population could have increased by a further 10,000 plus. 

If we consider the population of the Boston economic zone, in 2001 it was 68,105 but by 2011 had increased to 77,532. Therefore Spalding & Holbeach are growing faster than Boston and this is probably due to proximity to Peterborough and the A1 as much as any other reason.

Why am I flagging this? It is clear that the resources of Boston Pilgrim Hospital are being increasingly stretched. An increase of 10,000 in Spalding & Holbeach plus the increase that Boston will also see - lets say its also 10,000 will result in a 20,000 total increase from 2011, or more strikingly 40,000 plus from 2001! This represents a 1/3rd overall increase in population from 2001.

The Johnson Community Hospital opened in 2009 already seems incapable of offering much in the way of diagnosis. It has no CT scanning facilities and the blood test facilities are limited. This means that people from Spalding & Holbeach have to travel to Boston for such diagnostic tests. Given that Boston Pilgrim is already showing signs of strain and given that population growth seems to be higher in Spalding & Holbeach, I believe that the time has come to consider whether it is now time to ensure that Johnson Community Hospital has more diagnosis facilities so that the residents of South Holland do not have to undertake the trip up to Boston.

It is time for the cost of Healthcare in the UK to be transparently funded

The National Insurance Act of 1911 had two strands – provision of medical benefits and provision of a time limited Unemployment benefit. It followed on from the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 which provided a small non contributory pension for the over 70’s. The principles behind these two Acts formed part of the great Social Welfare Reforms of the pre World War One Liberal Government that have stood the test of time. The next inevitable step was the creation of the National Health Service and the post World War two Welfare reforms following the Beverage Report.

The concept that National Insurance contributions formed the basis of a savings pot for a basic state pension and also was to fund health care provision was a concept that clearly was embraced by the British public. This is why that National Health Service is such an important issue today. People care about it and want to see it protected & properly funded.

It is no secret that successive Governments have dipped into the pension element of our “pension pots” that have been built up from our National Insurance Contributions. It is the real tangible implication of Government borrowing. The new pension regime that the Labour Government under Gordon Brown introduced which the Coalition Government carried forward to implementation is testament to that. It ensures that contributions into the “National Employee Savings Trust” (NEST) or into funds provided by Personal Pension providers are protected from future Governments and they will no longer be able to borrow from our pension savings. This means that the pressures on our National Insurance Savings pots are reduced.

However  there is no transparent link between the cost of all elements of health care and the National Insurance Contributions that we pay. Given that we now have sophisticated Computer Accounting Software that makes it far easier and quicker to collate the costs of providing a service, I think it is time to completely overhaul the way our National Health Service is funded so that it can be transparent as to how much our health care costs are and that it is equally clear how they are funded from specific forms of taxation raised by the Government. Any reduction in funding would then be clearly seen.  Not just rhetoric about ring fencing the NHS budget but actually doing so in a way that it can be seen that it is ring fenced. In short, taking health care out of the political agenda

Firstly I think we need to look at how much the NHS together with all aspects of health care both physical & mental elements regardless of whether that is provided by the NHS, local authority or the voluntary sector and link that cost with specific taxes. The following list of taxes should automatically go to the health care budget.

• All forms of taxes paid by tobacco & alcohol companies as well as VAT & other duties collected at the point of sale.
• An element of road taxation and fuel duties to account for the cost of accidents.
• An element of taxation collected on the sale of unhealthy foods (high fat & high sugar). Perhaps even a small targeted increase in VAT to encourage companies to really look at the content of processed foods.
• All taxes paid by the pharmaceutical sector and on the sale of medicines.
• All taxes paid by private health insurance companies.

This would still leave a big hole. Whilst we have National Insurance, the concept of a direct link which was first conceived by Lloyd George's 1911 National Insurance Act has all but been broken. Not only that with the medical breakthroughs that there have been, the actual cost of treatments available are way beyond that envisaged during the Edwardian era. We need to modernise the concept of the 1911 Act.

• Employer's National Insurance Contributions should be abolished - they are seen as & are a tax on jobs. This also removes a tax on the NHS and other health care service providers to provide health workers.
• Abolition of NHS prescription charges. They are a punitive tax on being ill.
• Instead there should be a specific flat rate “Health Care Insurance” tax chargeable to all individuals (over a certain threshold) & Companies. The rate should be specifically linked to the cost of health care not covered by other taxes already highlighted thereby ensuring that if the cost of health care increased, the cost of that increase was automatically met by an adjustment to the tax rates covering health care.
• The part that private health care has to play must be recognised. If a specific tax was paid by employers, they should be able to offset the cost of health care insurance provided to employees against that tax. For the employee, the current status of private health care as a taxable benefit should be removed. How can health care insurance ever be considered a taxable benefit? It should be routine for employers to provide health care insurance to their employees.
• All Local authorities to receive so much a head of population to cover their element of health care services, with the amount being made publicly available. It would then be for the local authority to demonstrate what they have spent that money on and for councillors to defend their record on the decisions made.

This would then leave National Insurance. Whilst there would remain a need for National Insurance to cover entitlement to state benefits the actual rate payable should be reduced for all to account for the health care element being transparently funded. In addition the thresholds for paying contributions should be increased and should be set at the same threshold as the specific “Health Care” Insurance to keep it simple.

The overall tax totals raised may of course be higher than it is now because of the clear need to cover more areas than the NHS currently covers, but surely if people could actually see what they were paying for it would be a price that they would be happier to pay.