In this section
- Section Home
- News Archive
- Campaigns

Welcome to our news page. On this page you can read the latest news from Somerton & Frome. 

For Annunziata's latest News and Press Releases visit  www.arees-mogg.com

23rd February 2009

Time to shift power to local people and rein in Whitehall bureaucrats
Bold new blueprint to give Somerset more power - and make councils more accountable

 Local residents will have the power to instigate local referendums, will know more about how their council tax is spent and South Somerset council will have more powers and funding under a new Conservative blueprint for local democracy.
The proposals to revive local democracy were recently unveiled by David Cameron in a major policy document, and have been endorsed this week by Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton & Frome. The new policies include:

* Abolishing all regional planning and housing powers in the hands of regional government, returning powers and discretion back to local communities.
* Creating bottom-up incentives for house building, by allowing South Somerset council to benefit from the increase in council tax revenues from new homes.
* Allowing councils to establish their own local enterprise partnerships to take over the economic development functions and funding of South West Regional Development Agency.
* Giving a real incentive for councils to promote local economic growth, by allowing them to keep the uplift in business rate revenues from businesses growing in size.
* Granting South Somerset council a new discretionary power to give discounts on business rates, allowing them to help local shops and services, such as rural pubs or post offices, or even create new local enterprise zones.
* Making greater use of direct democracy, including allowing South Somerset's residents to veto high council tax rises, or instigate a council-wide referendum on local issues if 5% of local residents give their backing.
* Requiring South Somerset council to publish detailed information online about its spending - including the pay and perks of senior staff; and issuing new guidance to stop 'rewards for failure' to sacked town hall staff (highlighted by the recent Baby P scandal).
* Scrapping Labour's new Infrastructure Planning Commission, which it intends to use to force through the environmentally damaging Heathrow expansion and other controversial projects.

Annunziata said:
"These radical plans will put local people in the driving seat, and cut back interference and meddling by Whitehall bureaucrats.
"The next election won't just be about whether to transfer power from Labour to Conservatives.  It will also be about whether to transfer power from the central state to local people.
"Greater powers for local government must also be accompanied by more openness, greater accountability and new measures to protect the pockets of local taxpayers."

27th January 2009             Local campaigners seek help for our small schools

Last Tuesday, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton & Frome and Councillor Matthew Ellis representing the Conservatives on Somerset County Councillor, met the Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families Michael Gove in Westminster to raise their concerns over issues surrounding village schools in Somerset.

During the meeting, Mr Gove pledged to give parents choice over their local schools and decide what sort of school they wanted. He said; "The Conservatives believe in choosing the education that is right for your child. Under our policy proposals, parents would be able to have a much greater say in where their child is educate and how the school is run."

Following the meeting Annunziata said, "It is great that the Conservative front bench not only listen to our local concerns but have strong policies that will help us in Somerset."
"Study after study has shown that young children do better in a nurturing environment, which helps them develop. Such schools are a crucial part of the fabric of local communities and whilst there are challenges about keeping the, I personally believe in defending them for the future.

"Locally, Councillor Ellis has worked closely with the local community to save Hemington School from the closure threatened by the Liberal Democrat County Council. Nationally, the Conservatives have pledged their support for small schools and we shall continue campaigning to support them in their fight for survival."

Conservative Party Conference 2008, Birmingham

Breaking the mould this year, the Conservative Party Conference was hosted by Birmingham; the UK's second city. Having recently undergone a dramatic transformation, this energetic, dynamic and vibrant city could not have been a better venue for David Cameron's Conservatives to meet.

Sometimes hailed by critics as an excuse for delegates to drink champagne and pat themselves on the back, the mood at conference in Birmingham was one of unity and determination. With a backdrop of economic misery as the credit crunch took another casualty on Monday, no one was there to assume victory in a general election yet to be fought. David Cameron's closing speech reflected the sobriety and optimism of the conference as he urged delegates to go out and show the country that the Conservative Party is ready for government.

As a financial journalist I am only too aware of the severity of the global economic crisis that we are now accustomed to seeing headlining the news daily. As a 29 year old living in Somerset, affected daily by the soaring cost of petrol, food and energy prices (to list but a few), I do not need reminding of the damage that this global crisis is doing closer to home.

In his speech at conference George Osborne laid out his plans for economic recovery. Constructive meetings with the Government last week prove that even in Opposition, the Conservative Party have the policies to address this situation, with the interests of the country at the top of the agenda. The failure of Gordon Brown's economic policies during his 10 years at the Treasury cannot be ignored but it is essential that the main political parties now work together for the benefit of us all.

But whilst global issues dominated the week, at an event hosted by the Countryside Alliance, the plight of rural economies was the hot topic amongst delegates. In 2002 I met with the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss the damage that excessive government regulation was doing to small companies. Rural areas have almost three times more businesses than urban economies, so in Somerset we have a particular interest in this. As costs to these businesses rise and the spending power of the consumer wilts, small firms are being strangled by red tape whilst Labour protects the City.

And whilst the Shadow ministers were making their speeches to a packed hall in the ICC, the rest of Birmingham bustled with a plethora of fringe events. The author Bill Bryson addressed delegates on the value of Our Local Environment as President of Campaign to Protect Rural England. The event marked the launch of a CPRE pamphlet on Communities and the countryside, containing a speech by David Cameron focusing on how strong social values can help rural communities.

Bill Bryson struck a chord which chimes with the social reform at the heart of the Conservative Party's aims - it is not only crime and the break down of urban communities that we must focus on. It is time rural issues were brought back to the forefront of the national agenda.

So, Conservative Conference this year was no time for complacency and I am working hard to take our messages to the doorsteps of Somerton & Frome.

The meetings in Birmingham showed that the Conservatives are ready for office and prepared to meet head on the considerable challenges an incoming government would undoubtedly face.

Whilst we all grapple with the fallout from the credit crunch it is essential that Politicians do not lost sight of the issues of importance to rural communities. The credit crunch may have started in the City but it is being felt here in Somerset too.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg

Protecting Somerset Countryside

Our environment is under threat. Last weekend, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, our prospective candidate for Somerton & Frome, flew over the constituency with experienced pilot Pat Mountain to see first hand what we are doing to our local habitats. In order to offset the flight, she will be planting trees in Somerset this autumn as she has done every year for more than a decade and would welcome suggestions for appropriate sites for the new trees to be planted.

Annunziata went on to say, "from the air the Somerset landscape is even more impressive than from the ground. Seeing it from 1,000 feet made me realise just how important our farmers are to our local habitats. This constituency is a patchwork of well kept fields, which give it the wonderful character we all take for granted. We must all support our farmers to ensure it is maintained"

 ******************************************************** 

Voices across the political spectrum are warning of inflation-busting hikes in council tax, following the publication of the Government’s new tax and spending plans for the following years – the so-called "Comprehensive Spending Review".

Annunziata remarked:

"Thanks to Labour’s fiddled funding, council tax has gone through the roof across the country. Since 1997, council taxes in Mendip have already rocketed by 98%. Now I fear that Gordon Brown is creating three more years of inflation-busting hikes. These rises will hit the most vulnerable in our society the hardest – particularly pensioners on fixed incomes.

"This is yet another tax con from a tired Government that has run out of ideas. Using council tax to raise more money is the most dishonest tax hike of them all – engineered by Whitehall but with local councillors taking the blame when bills hit the doormat."

***************************************************

Inflation-busting council tax hikes are another Labour tax con – Annunziata Rees-Mogg

News