Compulsory Living Wage would cost London businesses £612m

Posted by GLA Conservatives in NewsShare

Nov
19

– This yearly wage bill is equivalent to 32k hospitality jobs in the Capital
– Use small business tax cuts to boost wages without the need for sackings

Making the London Living Wage compulsory would cost London’s businesses £611.8m every year, the equivalent of 32,287 jobs in the hospitality sector.¹

GLA Conservative Tony Arbour, who calculated the figures, is calling for wages to be raised through business rate relief for smaller firms and VAT cuts in the hospitality sector.

GLA Conservative Assembly Member, Tony Arbour, said:

“We need to think practically about how get more Londoners on the Living Wage. It’s an ideal win-win situation for business, employees and the public purse. It puts more cash into people’s pockets and improves working conditions. But forcing firms to sign up to this, especially start-ups and small businesses – such as B&Bs, restaurants and coffee shops – will only hurt them and may even put them out of business. What we need instead are common-sense measures, such as tax cuts, designed to ease the burden on small business whilst boosting pay for employees. First, we need to give business rates relief to small businesses that sign up to the Living Wage. Next, we need to cut VAT in the hospitality sector. I will work with the Mayor of London and lobby the Government, to make sure pay can be boosted without the need for price hikes or sackings. These tax cuts will pay for themselves through reduced dependency on in-work benefits and increased tax-revenues.”

 
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London needs to tap into £94bn oil and gas industry to create 46k jobs

Posted by GLA Conservatives in NewsShare

Oct
22

Local geographic area has 4.4bn barrels of shale oil, which could bring £93.7bn to London’s economy

London is on the doorstep of one of the country’s most promising new areas for oil and gas exploration.

There could be £93.7bn of oil within the Weald Basin,¹ a geographic region directly south of London, spanning from Kent to Dorset, according to new estimates from GLA Conservative Tony Arbour.

The oil and shale gas industry has the potential to create jobs not only where the wells are located, such as a recent well found in Horse Hill Surrey worth £2 billion, but within Greater London as the industry requires a great deal of support.

Estimates show over 46,000 jobs – such as lorry drivers, geologists and hydraulic technicians – could be sustained throughout the next three decades.²

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MQT Question List: Sept 2012

Posted by GLA Conservatives in BlogShare

Sep
17

The following are the questions the GLA Conservatives will be asking at this months Mayor's Question Time (MQT). The MQT will be held on September 19^th, so stay tuned for the live coverage starting at 10am, via the groups Twitter stream. There will also be video summaries made by the GLA Conservative Assembly Members after the event via the groups Youtube Channel.
 
 

Squatting laws
Question No: 2524 / 2012

Steve O’Connell
Do you welcome the recent law which now makes squatting in residential buildings a criminal offence, allowing police to arrest squatters?
 
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MQT Summary – May 2012

Posted by GLA Conservatives in BlogShare

May
23

Mayors Question Time May 2012 was a great success. The GLA Conservatives have made several summaries of the event, and hope to give you an idea what our priorities are.

Roger Evans Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge discuses the changes with the new Assembly, Romford Station review (0:25), the New Routemaster expansion (0:52), and his proposed moment of silence for the Munich Games Massacre (1:12)

Look after the break for more on the moment of silence, and some information on the proposed Silvertown Crossing.
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Rogers Evans AM Speech During Mayors Question Time

Posted by GLA Conservatives in BlogShare

Jan
29

Roger Evans AM for Havering and Redbridge discusses the issues he has with the proposed budget amendments from the Liberal Democrats (at 0:10), Green (at 1:32), and Labour party (at 2:30).

He speaks of the parties wish to raise and extend the congestion charge, and the missing information on how the Labour Party is to support its new fares deal.

Boris Johnson's MQT Speech

Posted by GLA Conservatives in BlogShare

Jan
27

Value for money and freezing the precept

Good morning

This administration has been dedicated to delivering value for Londoners’ money, and to leading the city to a strong economic recovery.

You must remember that in the last four years we have not only been dealing with the deepest recession for 50 years.

We have had to overturn and reform a culture of waste in City Hall.
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